Tag: John O’Sullivan

March 13, 2017

WYC 110 – Championship Culture Part 6 – TJ Rosene talks Chasing the Lion & Leadership Development

–

TJ Rosene is a 3x National  Coach of the year. He has already compiled over 300 wins as a college coach and has most recently put together 8 straight 20-win seasons. TJ also serves as the Director of Coach Development for PGC Basketball, and co-hosts the Hardwood Hustle podcast.

Twitter: @CoachTJRosene

Websites: pgcbasketball.com; hardwoodhustle.com

–

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘If your dreams don’t scare you- you’re not dreaming big enough’ – Chasing the Lion

1st steps in building culture

  • The first step is believing
  • Then define key cornerstones

Buy-in & Building great teammates

  • Have your players brainstorm about what the characteristics are of the best teammates. Then ask the players whether you have their permission to hold them accountable to those standards.

Empowering players

  • The best time to have players figuring things out on their own is when there is less on the line. That’s true of lower levels of youth sports. That’s true of early in the season even at higher levels of athletics.

Communication needs 3 things:

  1. Truth
  2. Love
  3. Transparency

Start each practice talking for 5 to 8 minutes

  • This helps everyone to get to know each other and
  • My commitment Monday
  • Tough Tuesday
  • Thankful Thursday

Communication – Life skills

  • They have their athletes do the following when ordering at a fast-food restaurant:
    • Eye contact
    • Call the person by name
    • Ask them how their day is going
    • Express gratitude

Caz McCaslin’s 2 minute Coaching tips

  • Tough love – Set standards that build not just great athletes but great leaders
  • Remember the off the court impact you have is more important than what happens on the court

Captains

  • TJ’s teams have never elected captains. He just lets the natural leaders emerge.
  • When leaders arise who he wouldn’t have chosen – he is honest with them and works to develop them and train them how to be a better leader. He is also honest about what the 2 or 3 behaviors are that will affect their teammates adversely if they don’t work on improving them or eliminating them.

Leadership development

  • The first step is asking the players who wants to lead
  • They create levels of leadership around 4 traits: Character, Courage, Consistency, Communication
  • They define levels 0 to 3 with tangible steps

Connecting with kids

  • Sometimes you have to draw lines. It’s scary because we don’t want to alienate a player, but it is important.

The One that got away

  • Losing a national championship game – TJ had not prepared himself for what could go wrong.
  • You have to learn from the adversity and not live in the adversity

Best Stolen Idea

  • Don Meyer – Sent TJ a note and book within 48 hours of his passing. TJ learned that you’re never too big for any situation or person.
  • Be a lifelong learner!

PGC Basketball Clinics

  • 10,000 kids go through their camps every summer – check them out at: pgcbasketball.com

Parting Advice

  • Keep perspective. Define your legacy.

– 

Today’s Sponsors

Established in 1995, Upward Sports is the world’s largest Christian youth sports provider. Approximately 100,000 leaders and coaches deliver Upward Sports programming to half a million young athletes around the country.

Upward Sports promotes the discovery of Jesus through sports, by providing a fun, encouraging environment in which young athletes can learn technical skills and a love of the game. We use sports like basketball, volleyball, soccer and flag football to help young athletes develop mentally, athletically, spiritually, and socially. We are about the whole athlete—that’s our 360 Progression.

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

March 6, 2017

WYC 109 – Championship Culture Part 5 – Sara Erdner talks Mental Toughness and Relational Resilience

–

Sara Erdner is a PhD student in Sport Psychology & Motor Behavior at the Univ. of TN. She is a lifelong athlete including multiple triathlons and most recently Strongman competitions. Today she will share with us some of the research she has done on relational resilience.

Twitter: @serdner

Facebook: /sara.erdner

–

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘In society we think of competition as going head to head with someone else and trying to beat them. But if you look at the Latin root of the word – it means To Strive Together. You put your best foot forward and I’ll put my best foot forward. Even if I lose, I will thank you as my competitor for bringing your best that day.’ – Joe Ehrmann, paraphrased

Competition

  • Joe Erhmann talks about the word competition – ‘In society we think of competition as going head to head with someone else and trying to beat them. But if you look at the Latin root of the word – it means To Strive Together. You bring your best foot forward and I’ll put my best foot forward. Even if I lose, I will thank you as my competitor for bringing your best that day.’

Relational Resilience

  • Adversity – Perception is reality, so if you perceive a situation as adverse, then it is.
  • 5 characteristics of being resilient:

1 – Positive outlook

2 – Intrinsically motivated

3 – Focused

4 – Confident

5 – Perceived social support is high

Coaches’ & Parents’ role in resilience in athletes

  • It all starts with you. If you are not resilient yourself, it’s nearly impossible to develop resilient athletes. Are you positive & focused?
  • Self reflection is one of the most powerful thing you can do as an individual.
  • Acknowledging when you’ve done something wrong is important.
  • Emotional support is the key. The concept of empathy is critical. Being able to strive to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Empathy is important to overcoming and working through the shame that has been put on you by your parents or coaches or others in your life.

Mental toughness

  • Traditional coaching behaviors such as yelling, throwing things – these old standards create negative emotions that drive fear and anxiety
  • Care, love, positive emotions – are the true ways to bring out the best performances

Caz McCaslin’s Coaching Tips

  • Developing a player athletically:
    • Teach them to have a great work ethic
    • Teach them to be constantly learning

Empowering kids

  • Ask open-ended questions
    • What do you think you would have done in that situation?
    • Are there other things you might add to that?
    • It takes more time, but it has infinitely more valuable

Positive Energy

  • Sara gets her positivity from her mom – Shout out to Sheryl Erdner!

The One that got away

  • Sara was in a triathlon and was so in the flow state that she forgot to do the 2nd lap of the biking portion.
  • She had a friend tell her – ‘These are the moments that will have the biggest impact on making you a better athlete, because it forces you to think about what happened and what you could do have done better’

Best Stolen Idea

  • Dr. Rebecca Zakrajsek, PHD from Univ of Tennessee – Had a book called The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha – she shared a story from to start each class. Started the class with positive energy. Eventually she started to ask the class what awesome thing happened to them lately.

Favorite coaching book/quote

  • Quote: ‘Stop trying to prove yourself because you’ve already done it.’ There’s a difference in trying to prove yourself and trying to improve yourself.
  • Book: Grit by Angela Duckworth

Parting Advice

  • Start practices with something fun and something motivational/positive.

– 

Today’s Sponsors

Established in 1995, Upward Sports is the world’s largest Christian youth sports provider. Approximately 100,000 leaders and coaches deliver Upward Sports programming to half a million young athletes around the country.

Upward Sports promotes the discovery of Jesus through sports, by providing a fun, encouraging environment in which young athletes can learn technical skills and a love of the game. We use sports like basketball, volleyball, soccer and flag football to help young athletes develop mentally, athletically, spiritually, and socially. We are about the whole athlete—that’s our 360 Progression.

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

February 27, 2017

WYC 108 – Championship Culture Part 4 – Pete Jacobson talks Wrestling, Process over Outcome, and Embracing Failure

–

Pete Jacobson has been a varsity wrestling coach for 15 years. Coaching is a passion and a labor of love for him. It’s essentially been his “other” full time job for the last decade and half. Now with the many years of experience under his belt; dozens and dozens of books on coaching theory, sports psychology, performance nutrition, team building and motivation read and on his bookshelf; thousands of dollars worth of clinics, seminars and classes attended and PLENTY of trial and error, he is able to answer a lot more of these questions, so he has started a blog and resources called Win Smarter.

Website: winsmarter.com

Website with free WYC offer: winsmarter.com/wyc/

Twitter: @PJacobsonEmont

–

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

 ‘The best aren’t born that way. They work harder and practice more to master their craft.’ – Jon Gordon

Cringe Moment

  • Pete and his head coach butted heads a lot during Pete’s early years- Pete was like a typical young man who thinks they know it all

Teaching Skills

  • Incorporate fun competitions as much as possible
  • Group based competitions helps create great culture, and keep mixing up the groups

Self-confidence and peak mental performance

  • Pete recently observed 2 NFL coaches’ reactions to their kickers missing game-winning field goals in overtime of a game. One coach said ‘he is a professional and has to make that kick.’ The other coach said ‘he made a bunch of kicks that even put us in the position to win the game. He’ll make a bunch more for us and we love him.’ Which coach would instill more confidence in his kicker going forward?
  • 3 pillars Pete’s teams focus on:

1 – Focus on process over outcome

2 – Embrace failure as a necessary step towards success

3 – For the kids to embrace #s 1 and 2 – you need to embrace these as their coach

Free E-book on mental toughness

Caz McCaslin’s Coaching Tips

  • Developing a player’s mental capacity
  • Winning requires: Resiliency, concentration, and a willingness to embrace the grind

Championship Culture

  • Defining core values: TAAO

Teamwork

Attitude

Accountability

One More

  • Before the season begins they do 2 things:

1 – Off-site team building ropes course

2 – Team community service project

  • In season:
    • Buddy week – Pair up kids that don’t know each other that well (ideally they have the same lunch) – then at end of week they have a contest to see who knows their buddy best
    • Coach Appreciation dinner – They assign groups and each group comes up with a skit to ‘make fun’ of the coaches. Make sure you define what is appropriate. 🙂

Favorite coaching book/quote

Win Smarter

Parting Advice

  • You know a lot but you could learn much more. Go talk to as many other experienced coaches as you can.

– 

Today’s Sponsors

Established in 1995, Upward Sports is the world’s largest Christian youth sports provider. Approximately 100,000 leaders and coaches deliver Upward Sports programming to half a million young athletes around the country.

Upward Sports promotes the discovery of Jesus through sports, by providing a fun, encouraging environment in which young athletes can learn technical skills and a love of the game. We use sports like basketball, volleyball, soccer and flag football to help young athletes develop mentally, athletically, spiritually, and socially. We are about the whole athlete—that’s our 360 Progression.

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

February 20, 2017

WYC 107 – Championship Culture Part 3 – Ted Quinn talks Knowing your Why and Nations of Coaches

–

Ted Quinn is the director of coaches programs at the Nations of Coaches. Prior to that Ted had spent  seventeen seasons on the sidelines. A coaching career that saw him serve at Wakonda High School(SD), Mount Marty College(SD), Graceland Univerisity(IA) and Nyack College(NY). In addition to his coaching career, Quinn has also served as an Executive Board Member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches(NABC) Ministry Team and an Advisory Board Member of Nations of Coaches. He and his wife Jackie have been married for eighteen years and are the proud parents of ten-year-old daughter Jenna and seven-year-old son Kellen.

Website: nationsofcoaches.com

Twitter: @NationofCoaches

Facebook: /nationsofcoaches

–

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

 ‘It’s better to have flown than to have landed’ – John Wooden

Nations of Coaches

  • Serve men’s college basketball
  • Mission is to serve, equip, and connect to support coaches

Character Coaches

  • The biggest jump from losing to winning is improving the culture within your locker room and around your program.

Caz’s Coaching Halftime

  • Coach towards victory instead of just trying to win

Building a team with great culture

  • The first step – is as a coach to ask yourself why you are doing this
  • Then – prioritize building relationships with your players. Get to know them before getting to know their game.

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

  • Ted values the relationships with his players. He even had the opportunity to be the minister who led the ceremony for one of his player’s marriages.
  • A player you invest in becomes a son or daughter to you.

Best borrowed/stolen idea

  • Tony Bennett at Virginia – The simplicity of their defense is their key. They just have a few rules and they don’t bend on those rules.

Favorite coaching book/quote

SEC Legacy Breakfast

  • Host speaker – Brice Drew – Head Coach at Vanderbilt
  • Wed, March 8th at 7 a.m. in downtown Nashville – A few tickets still available
  • Website: nationsofcoaches.com

Parting Advice

  • Get to know your players at a heart level before you worry about getting to know their game
  • Know your why

– 

Today’s Sponsors

Established in 1995, Upward Sports is the world’s largest Christian youth sports provider. Approximately 100,000 leaders and coaches deliver Upward Sports programming to half a million young athletes around the country.

Upward Sports promotes the discovery of Jesus through sports, by providing a fun, encouraging environment in which young athletes can learn technical skills and a love of the game. We use sports like basketball, volleyball, soccer and flag football to help young athletes develop mentally, athletically, spiritually, and socially. We are about the whole athlete—that’s our 360 Progression.

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

February 13, 2017

WYC 106 – Championship Culture Part 2 – Scott Hearon talks Leaving a Legacy and 4 at the Door

–

Scott Hearon believes athletics can be the most effective forum for growing people, and has coached and mentored in many different arenas hoping to make a difference. Scott feels a call on his life to help men make sense of who they are and why they are made so that they can lead lives of deep influence, purpose, connection, and freedom. Scott is the executive director at The Nashville Coaching Coalition, whose mission is to connect, support, and equip athletic coaches in their work to build excellent programs that transform the lives of their players and empower them to perform to their greatest potential.

Websites: NashvilleCoachingCoalition.com; TheCoachForum.com

Twitter: @TheCoachForum

Facebook: /TheCoachForum

–

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

 ‘If you want to make slow change, coach behavior. If you want to make sustainable change, help change their paradigm.’ – Stephen Covey, paraphrased

Early Influence

  • Scott during high school read the story about Joe Erhmann’s team in Season of Life and looked around and didn’t really see the type of mentors from the coaches he had in his life

‘To be a man, you have to see a man’

  • Boys and girls need to see role models. The best thing we can to demonstrate this to the players we coach is to work on our relationships with each other as a coaching staff.
  • The most dangerous coach is one who is not confident with who they are and are trying to prove themselves
  • From Joe Hermann’s book Inside-Out Coaching, the goal is to be a transformational coach instead of being a transactional coach. You can’t try to fulfill your insecurities by using kids to accomplish your goals.

Building a team with great culture

  • The first step is defining your core values and what you are all about
  • This begins with the relationships and communication within the coaching staff
  • Then have each coach write a mission statement about what this coaching staff’s priorities are going to be
  • Then relay this philosophy to your parents so they are on board with your approach

Caz’s Coaching Halftime

  • Develop the whole athlete, on and off the field
  • Coaches are the #1 position of influence on today’s youth

Building Self-confidence

  • 2 biggest things kids need: To belong and to matter
  • When kids understand their role and know they are valued regardless of their performance on the field, they become free to play all-out without fear. ‘Play Free’
  • The Thrive Center for Human Development

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

  • A really gifted athlete on a team Scott was working with was struggling with controlling his emotions. Their team’s coaching staff spent time with all the seniors before the season, and hearing this young man’s struggles personally with how hard his life had been opened things up with their relationship to connect with him personally.

The One that got away

  • Scott was on a coaching staff and during a game sensed that they needed to call a timeout and encourage their team. But he was new to the staff and didn’t say anything, which he regrets.

Best borrowed/stolen idea

  • Apologize as often as you need to
  • 4 at the door – 4 things to do every time you talk to your athletes:

1 – Look them eye to eye

2 – Shake their hand

3 – Call them by their name

4 – Share one thing of personal value to them

Favorite coaching book/quote

  • Quote: ‘If you want to make slow change, coach behavior. If you want to make sustainable change, help change their paradigm.’ – Stephen Covey, paraphrased

The Coach Forum

  • NashvilleCoachingCoalition.com
  • The Coach Forum – TedX-type talks one day coaching forum in July: Twitter: @TheCoachForum
  • Coaching with Heart – Weekend retreat April 7-9 – Teaching coaches how to coach with heart

Parting Advice

  • What kind of legacy do you want to leave?

– 

Today’s Sponsors

Established in 1995, Upward Sports is the world’s largest Christian youth sports provider. Approximately 100,000 leaders and coaches deliver Upward Sports programming to half a million young athletes around the country.

Upward Sports promotes the discovery of Jesus through sports, by providing a fun, encouraging environment in which young athletes can learn technical skills and a love of the game. We use sports like basketball, volleyball, soccer and flag football to help young athletes develop mentally, athletically, spiritually, and socially. We are about the whole athlete—that’s our 360 Progression.

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

February 6, 2017

WYC 105 – Championship Culture Part 1 – Matt Lisle talks Core Covenants and The Hitting Vault

–

Coach Lisle currently works with numerous MLB, professional and college players and is a former collegiate hitting coach.

Lisle’s knowledge is deeply rooted in all aspects of the game, but his passion and knowledge for hitting has proven to be a game changer for all the hitters he works with. Many know of Coach Lisle through his large social media following where his followers get encouragement, instruction, tips and insights on the game. His positive coaching approach has been a great motivator for players, parents and his peers. Coach Lisle has instilled his philosophy of teaching and sharing in the creation of The Hitting Vault, where their goal is to help every baseball and softball hitter unlock their power.

Websites: TheHittingVault.com & coachlisle.com

Twitter: @CoachLisle

Facebook: /coachlisle

–

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘Good is the enemy of great’

Coaching your own kids

  • Matt coached his son along with his Dad as the assistant. His dad is very laid back while Matt is very technical, so Matt enjoyed watching how hard the kids played for his dad because of how much he enjoyed them and kept things fun.

Cringe Moment

  • Matt began coaching at a very early age (23 years old as head coach), so initially he was trying too hard to be ‘cool’ and be friends with the coach. Then he swung to the opposite extreme and became too shut-off. Eventually he found the balance of caring for the kids while not trying to impress them.

Teaching Skills

  • The challenge is to take complicated actions and teach them in words they understand with as few words as possible. Feel it instead of think it.
  • Every kid should have a bat/ball so they are following along with you. Matt also uses a 120″ screen and shows what the pros look like so they can see more examples of what great looks like.
  • Good analogy – Cars –  Your body is the engine of the car, it’s where the power comes from, your bat is the steering wheel.

Self-confidence and peak mental performance

  • The parents and coaches influence confidence more than the kids themselves.
  • Allow the players to fail and let know it does not affect how you feel about them. When they make mistakes, instill trust in them. Give them permission to fail and encourage aggressive play and mistakes are OK.

Championship Culture – Core values

  • Core covenants – This is what we’re all about
  • 2 rules on this team:

1 – Don’t be late

2 – Don’t let your teammates down

  • Captain’s meetings every Friday morning to train their captains

Rewards

  • Don’t reward average
  • Get excited and celebrate exceptional effort and performance

Best Teambuilder

  • Team Olympics – Team handball can be a great game

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

  • Treat each athlete like one of your own kids and try to instill love and guidance in their lives

The One that got away

  • Matt’s team in 2012 coached a great team. They were undefeated going into the last game of the season, and the coach of the other team in the last game was Matt’s dad. They lost 2-1. Matt had not started his best pitcher because they had pretty easily beat this team earlier in the year.

Best borrowed/stolen idea

Favorite coaching book/quote

  • Quote: ‘Good is the enemy of great’

The Hitting Vault

Parting Advice

  • Love your athletes the way you love your children

– 

Today’s Sponsors

Established in 1995, Upward Sports is the world’s largest Christian youth sports provider. Approximately 100,000 leaders and coaches deliver Upward Sports programming to half a million young athletes around the country.

Upward Sports promotes the discovery of Jesus through sports, by providing a fun, encouraging environment in which young athletes can learn technical skills and a love of the game. We use sports like basketball, volleyball, soccer and flag football to help young athletes develop mentally, athletically, spiritually, and socially. We are about the whole athlete—that’s our 360 Progression.

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

January 26, 2017

WYC 104 – Youth Coaching – Allistair McCaw talks 7 Keys to Being a Great Coach

Allistair McCaw is a Sports Performance Coach, Speaker, Author, Coach to Olympians & World Champions, Passionate about improving athletes, coaches & teams. Allistair is from South Africa. His family was very athletic, his mom tried out for the Olympics in the 400 meters. He grew up playing a multiple of sports, he wanted to play professional tennis, but due to financial pressures he switched at age 14 from tennis to running. He was a junior national champion, and went on to become a duathlon competitor. He has since switched to running marathons and just completed his 28th marathon.

Website & Book: themccawmethod.com

Twitter: @AllistairMcCaw

Facebook: /mccawmethod

–

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘World-class athletes are better able to handle repetition better than the next person.’

The marathon/racing culture

  • It’s a unique environment where everyone is cheering for each other

Book: 7 Keys to Being a Great Coach

  • Allistair’s dream was to write this book to help share what he has learned
  • Link to book: themccawmethod.com

Key 1 – Standards

  • It all starts with your standards – Rules for your life. Standards is a much more palatable word than rules
  • 3 important standards for coaching:
  • 1 – Standards for yourself
  • 2 – Standards for your workplace/coaches
  • 3 – Standards for your athletes

Key 2 – Your Methodology/Philosophy

  • What do you believe in? How do you believe in achieving this?

Key 3 – Great coaches adapt

  • To the unexpected. They are calm, controlled.
  • Adapt to the generation you are working with: Listen better. Discipline. Communicate in their style: they want short bursts of information (they are the Twitter-generation.)

Key 4 – Have great energy

  • It all starts with you. You have to exude passion. People should look forward to seeing you.

Key 5 – Interpersonal skills

  • Respected. Likability. We are in the people business who play sports.

Key 6 – The fundamentals

  • Great coaches have teams that are great at fundamentals.
  • Daniel Coyle in The Talent Code:  ‘Mastering the mundane.’
  • World-class athletes are better able to handle repetition better than the next person.

Key 7 – Invest in yourself

The One that got away

  • 2002 World Duathlon competitions in Atlanta – Came in 2nd. Lost by 40 seconds. Gave it his everything so it wasn’t a failure. But still had a disappointed feeling.
  • Allistair’s advice to young people – don’t have any regrets

Best borrowed/stolen idea

  • Michael Boyle – Training exercises and how he relates with people

Favorite coaching book/quote

– 

Today’s Sponsors

I Youth Football helps coaches, organizations, or parents teach football skills to kids ages 3-11.  Not only does I Youth Football guarantee your players increase their skills, they will give you individualized pricing based on your situation. So if you are a coach or want your local organization to run I Youth Football in your area, visit them at www.iyouthfootball.com and reach out. It’s simple to set up, and a nice way to earn a little side money while helping kids learn the game of football. To get $100 off the program be sure to use this coupon code: winning

screen-shot-2016-09-07-at-12-45-35-pm

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

January 17, 2017

WYC 103 – Youth Baseball & Softball – Marshall Lehr talks playing to win vs. playing not to lose

Marshall Lehr is a baseball and softball coach in Texas. He is the father of 4 and has coached many of their teams growing up. He is a passionate believer in the power of sports, and specifically baseball and softball. He is also a great student of the game, having recently gone through John O’Sullivan’s Coaching Mastery course.

Website & Blog: marshalllehr.com

Twitter: @MarshallLehr

Facebook: /marshall.lehr

–

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place’ – George Bernard Shaw

Coaching your own kids

  • Make decisions based on results more than potential (it is easy to see the potential in your own kids, but the results need to be the criteria used)

Cringe Moment

  • Marshall had two moms complaining to the ref and instead of diffusing the situation he got in an argument with them.
  • Diffuse situations with the phrase ‘I can see why you think that’

Teaching Skills

  • ‘The ability to learn faster than your opponent may be your only true competitive advantage’
  • Make everything competitive to raise the energy level – You can buy one of those little scoreboard flip charts
  • Game – Pull out a stop watch and see how quick the girls can get fly ball into cutoff

Championship Culture 

  • A healthy learning environment is one where kids are playing free and aren’t afraid to make mistakes
  • Keep one error one error.
  • Book: Top Dog – Penalty kicks:
    • Kicking not to lose: 63%
    • Kicking to win: 93%

Rewards

  • They had toy WWE belt they gave to best defensive player – and would use Discount Double-check motion during games to lighten the mood and excite each other
  • First out after an error is huge – so after games they would recognize who made the play to get the first out after an error

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

  • Marshall sends notes in the mail to his kids – there is a service where you can print pictures off Facebook in a card format.
  • Reinforce with kids their importance is not dependent on their sports performance

The One that got away

  • Marshall got a 2nd & 3rd chance – He had a kid struggling with pitching and took himself out of the game. The first time he let the kid leave the game. 6 months later the kid wanted to take himself out, Marshall asked the kid to get him 1 out. The kid still struggled. Then 6 months later he asked the kid to get him 1 out and he worked out of a bases-loaded no outs situation without giving up any runs.

Best borrowed/stolen idea

  • The decision is part of the skill – learned from Mark Upton
  • Compete and measure it!

Favorite coaching book/quote

  • Quote/Book: ‘We went out looking for exceptional kids and what we found is exceptional conditions’ – Benjamin Bloom in Developing Talent in Young People. Be the coach to develop exceptional athletes and people.
  • Book: Mindset by Carol Dweck

Parting Advice

  • You can’t teach everyone the same way
  • Have a preseason meeting with your parents to set expectations. ‘The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place’ – George Bernard Shaw

– 

Today’s Sponsors

I Youth Football helps coaches, organizations, or parents teach football skills to kids ages 3-11.  Not only does I Youth Football guarantee your players increase their skills, they will give you individualized pricing based on your situation. So if you are a coach or want your local organization to run I Youth Football in your area, visit them at www.iyouthfootball.com and reach out. It’s simple to set up, and a nice way to earn a little side money while helping kids learn the game of football. To get $100 off the program be sure to use this coupon code: winning

screen-shot-2016-09-07-at-12-45-35-pm

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

January 6, 2017

WYC 102 – Youth Coaching – Steven Cournoyer talks inspiring teams, players, and parents from the inside out

Steve Cournoyer has coached 38 different teams, from AAU basketball to 3rd grade kids, primarily in baseball and basketball. He has authored an excellent resource called The Inspired Coach – A guide to inspiring teams, players, and parents from the inside out. He has served our country in the military for over 10 years and worked as a medic in the operating room.

Website & Book: theinspiredcoach1.com

Twitter: @InspiredCoach1

Facebook: /theinspiredcoach

–

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘If you change the way you look at things, what you look at changes’ – Mahatma Gandhi

Coaching your own kids

Assistant coaches

  • It all starts with communication
  • The goal is to develop the kids and help them fall in love with the sport.
  • Steve has a rule that the coaches don’t coach their own kids, they share those duties so that no one has the stress of trying to coach their own child

Parents

  • You must set the expectations with the parents
  • A parent meeting is a no-brainer
  • Make sure you’ve let the parents know your background, especially if you’re a volunteer coach
  • Set expectations for playing time – is it all equal?
  • Coach the parents on how to cheer – if they give conflicting messages it is very confusing to the kid. ‘Cheer to inspire instead of cheering to instruct’

Players

  • Ask the players ‘Why are you here?’
  • Discuss their philosophy and the philosophy the team is going to have
  • Create some glue to pull them together:
    • A team name (that is different than your given team name)
    • A team song
    • A team cheer (Boston Celtics’ championship team used ‘Umbootu’)

Self-confidence – Unleashing fearless players

  • Coach doesn’t talk about winning with his players. He does talk about it with his coaches, but not with the players. A kid should never feel like it was their fault the team lost a game.
  • Teach the kids: ‘Always be surprised when you miss a shot (or strike out, or miss a tackle.)’ “Fail miserably, but learn from it, then be surprised when it happens again”
  • Don’t use conditioning as a punishment. ‘The harder you work in practice, the funner the games are.’ You want the players to believe that their conditioning has a distinct purpose and challenge them to bring their best to it.

Best team builders

  • For basketball – takes 5 players on one side of the gym and 5 on the other, then puts 17 basketballs in the middle, and asks them to pass the balls and get all the balls going. It’s great because they fail miserably at first and laugh about the struggle, but usually by the end of the year they start to get it

The One that got away

  • Listen to your assistant coaches and give them specific assignments during games so you can all catch different things going on

Best borrowed/stolen idea

  • ‘If you’re teaching 12 year-olds, and you treat them like 16 year-olds, they will play like 14 year-olds.’

Favorite coaching book/quote

The Inspired Coach book

Parting Advice

  • If you find ways to go out of your way to help your players fall in love with the game, you are going to be able to teach that game with greater precision.

– 

Today’s Sponsors

I Youth Football helps coaches, organizations, or parents teach football skills to kids ages 3-11.  Not only does I Youth Football guarantee your players increase their skills, they will give you individualized pricing based on your situation. So if you are a coach or want your local organization to run I Youth Football in your area, visit them at www.iyouthfootball.com and reach out. It’s simple to set up, and a nice way to earn a little side money while helping kids learn the game of football. To get $100 off the program be sure to use this coupon code: winning

screen-shot-2016-09-07-at-12-45-35-pm

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

December 15, 2016

WYC 101 – Championship Basketball – Kevin Furtado talks Benchmarks, Action Steps, & The Legends Clinic

Kevin was recently hired on at a charter school in Georgia called Lake Oconee Academy. He has been coaching basketball for over 26 years. Kevin grew up in San Jose California and played football, basketball, and baseball growing up. Kevin shares with us how he is creating the culture at Lake Oconee specifically with Benchmarks and Action Steps, as well as how he founded the Legends Clinic coaching conference.

Twitter: @kevinfurtado

Video of Legends Clinic Conference: loatv.org

–

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Building a New Culture

  1. Built to last
  2. Teach life skills & develop great people
  3. Core values: FIST: Family, Integrity, Serve others, Toughness
  4. Demanding culture
  5. Good never is

5 year Action Plan

See Kevin’s 5 year detailed plan here: Lake Oconee Academy Girls Basketball Action Plan

Year 1 Benchmarks

  1. Every level of our program will know our core values (from elementary school feeder programs through high school)
  2. Win 10-12 games
  3. Establish relentless work ethic

Action Steps

  1. Our players will be taught our core values at every practice and team meeting
  2. We will emphasize total team play in our system with tough team defense and unselfish passing offense.
  3. Every player will be held accountable for their effort at every practice. They use objective chart to track. Tracks: Attendance, Hustle, attitude, who took a charge, etc.
  4. We will perform 4-5 community events every season
  5. We will build our team room in high standards
  6. We will establish our little-dribblers program (kids perform ball-handling program at halftime of games). Great way to bring in more parents to your game too.

Great book reference: Jon Gordon’s The Hardhat

–

Legends Clinic

Free download of entire clinic: loatv.org

  • Coach Durden – Teaching accountability – He has one rule in his practices: No walking

Parting Advice

  • It’s all about making the kid’s have the best experience possible and growing the kids

– 

Today’s Sponsors

I Youth Football helps coaches, organizations, or parents teach football skills to kids ages 3-11.  Not only does I Youth Football guarantee your players increase their skills, they will give you individualized pricing based on your situation. So if you are a coach or want your local organization to run I Youth Football in your area, visit them at www.iyouthfootball.com and reach out. It’s simple to set up, and a nice way to earn a little side money while helping kids learn the game of football. To get $100 off the program be sure to use this coupon code: winning

screen-shot-2016-09-07-at-12-45-35-pm

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

December 8, 2016

WYC 100 – Personality Science – James Leath & Will Drumright discuss Hot Topics in Sport Psychology from the AASP

The Association for Applied Sport Psychology National meeting was a few weeks ago – so for Episode 100 we invited 2 of our favorite sport psychology guys who attended to share with us some lessons learned.

James Leath has been a WYC guest previously in episodes 61, 50 and 31.  James’ first interview on the show, WYC Episode 31, was a huge hit and is the #1 downloaded episode all-time on the show.

Will Drumright is a sport psychology coach who has worked with Dr. Rob Bell, providing mental skills and performance psychology training to coaches, athletes, and teams.  Will focuses on the high school and middle school athletes.  Will is also a professional Ultimate Frisbee player and coaches the local high school Ultimate Frisbee team.

Both guys now work for IMG Academy, one of the world’s premier training schools for athletes in many different sports.

Sign up for James’ weekly Coach Notes: James Leath weekly Coach Note

Twitter: @jamesleath; @wcdrummy15

 

–

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Energy Building

  • Rock-Paper-Scissors-Cheerleader – Great activity to start meetings/practices

How has sport psych work evolved over the past year?

  • Looking at the individual not just the athlete
  • A move from strategy and X’s and O’s to focus on developing people
  • Be-Know-Do
  • Personality science vs brain science

More emerging trends

  • Are you teaching your kids about failure? Don’t rob them of what it feels like to not be good enough. A carefree childhood sets up your kids to not know how to deal with failure, a bad coach, or a bad boss.

How about youth coaches?

– 

Today’s Sponsors

I Youth Football helps coaches, organizations, or parents teach football skills to kids ages 3-11.  Not only does I Youth Football guarantee your players increase their skills, they will give you individualized pricing based on your situation. So if you are a coach or want your local organization to run I Youth Football in your area, visit them at www.iyouthfootball.com and reach out. It’s simple to set up, and a nice way to earn a little side money while helping kids learn the game of football. To get $100 off the program be sure to use this coupon code: winning

screen-shot-2016-09-07-at-12-45-35-pm

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

November 30, 2016

WYC 099 – International Tennis Coach – Adam Blicher talks Goal-setting & Mental Toughness

Adam Blicher is an International Award Winning Tennis Coach specialized in Applied Sport Psychology with a Ma. in Sport Psychology from the University of Southern Denmark. During the last 5 years he has travelled to 20+ countries for tennis tournaments ranging from Tennis Europe & ITF Tournaments to Nordic- & European individual & team championships.

Adam uses the demands & stress of Competitive Tennis to help players become strong, resilient people that are able to problem solve in high pressure situations while showing great character. He cares about the results of the players that he works with, but he by any means cares more about who the players are becoming as a persons, as a result of their Tennis journey. Everyday, every competition represents another opportunity for players to grow as a person. Growth in self-control, respect for others, persistence & trustworthiness. No matter how far a player ends up going in the rankings, tennis can be used to strengthen ones character & it is his quest to show the players he works with how & support them in the process.

Website: adamblicher.com

Podcast: The Adam Blicher Show – The Traveling Tennis Coach Podcast

Twitter: @Adamblicher

Facebook: /Adamblichercoaching

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘Begin with the end in mind’ – Stephen Covey

My Cringe & A-Ha Moments

  • I talked too much and made players who were dependent instead of teaching them problem-solving and letting them start figuring things out themselves.

Why what I’m doing is different, maybe even controversial

The old well meaning advice from Coaches & Parents saying to players: think positive, play freely, don’t be nervous & just go out there & have fun are all the direct opposite of how I approach the mental aspect of tennis. The natural state of man is not to be worry-less. The key is not to suppress the stress or worry, but rather to acknowledge it and work on enjoying the process of problem-solving and overcoming obstacles.

The 4 Pillars

  1. Technical
  2. Tactical
  3. Physical
  4. Mental

Adam: ‘You should spend equal time developing each area. You usually are more naturally gifted in 1 or 2 of the areas, but you have to practice all four. Coaches, Parents & Players often say that the mental part of tennis is the most important Performance Parameter of the four main pillars. Some even stretch it & say that the Mental Aspect of tennis accounts for 80 percent of performance within Tennis. I think that is absolutely baloney. You can be the mentally toughest player but if you keep shanking your forehand it really doesn’t matter. The reason why I do believe that we tend to think that the Mental Aspect is the most important is because we usually use a lot less time practicing it than the other three performance parameters. It is my quest to demystify the most common myths that are limiting Tennis Players & to provide Coaches, Parents & Players with an easy to follow & understand way of starting to practice their mental strength.’

Goal setting

  • Adam starts with having players answer where they want to be in 5 to 10 years in the sport. He then has them picture the party celebrating reaching this goal. He walks through having them picture what will be said by their parents at a toast at the party. Then picture what others will say – their friends, their officials, their teammates. Did they treat others well? Did they grind through tough times? If they had to travel a lot, did they call back home? Then he has them write the speech down, and they have the ability to change anything they don’t like about what is said about them. Adam then uses this written speech as their coach to hold them accountable to reach their goals. This way it’s not Adam instilling his values, but rather holding them to their own standards.

The mental aspect of tennis:

– Tennis is NOT 80 % mental

How Wawrinka had a panic attack & won the US Open

  • Wawrinka threw up before his match and did not want to play. But what is important is not how you feel but rather what you do.

Rafael Nadal struggles with self-confidence – so will you!

  • The act of self-confidence comes before the feeling. You have to act the part. Adam often creates alter-egos – i.e. Christopher Confident. Then Adam will ask his players – OK, what will Christopher Confident do when in this situation?

The One that got away

  • Adam stated that his pre-match talks used to be too long and give too many instructions. Now he will give 1 or maybe 2 cues at most before a match. And now he asks them after the match to evaluate themselves from 1 to 10 on how they thought they did, and then what would it take to be 1 higher in the next match.

Best borrowed/stolen idea

  • Adam worked with a coach who had an incredible eye for detail on what players need to do to improve.

Favorite coaching book/quote

The Traveling Tennis Coach Podcast

Podcast: The Adam Blicher Show – The Traveling Tennis Coach Podcast

  • Talks to experts within the world of tennis with a track record of producing high-performing players

Christmas Calendar

  • Adam is releasing a calendar in December that has a plan to help work on mental toughness – check it out at adamblicher.com coming December 1st

Parting Advice

  • Start writing down your thoughts and experiences on paper

– 

Today’s Sponsors

I Youth Football helps coaches, organizations, or parents teach football skills to kids ages 3-11.  Not only does I Youth Football guarantee your players increase their skills, they will give you individualized pricing based on your situation. So if you are a coach or want your local organization to run I Youth Football in your area, visit them at www.iyouthfootball.com and reach out. It’s simple to set up, and a nice way to earn a little side money while helping kids learn the game of football. To get $100 off the program be sure to use this coupon code: winning

screen-shot-2016-09-07-at-12-45-35-pm

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

November 17, 2016

WYC 098 – Multi-Sport Athletes – Daniel ‘The Honeybadger’ Hayes talks Goal-Setting & Positive Visualization

Daniel Hayes is a top ranked middleweight boxing prospect and Trinidad & Tobago’s boxing ambassador.
Growing up Daniel played a wide variety of sports ranging from Soccer, Basketball, Football, Track and Field, Baseball and Swimming. At just 8 years old he started playing basketball and continued playing throughout college. At 16 he was already a certified lifeguard and a highly recruited athlete in multiple sports. In his senior year of high school he was recruited to play basketball for several NCAA Division 1 and 2 schools.
Hayes however decided to attend Thompson Rivers University where he and his childhood best friend were offered athletic scholarships.
Currently on his World Championship journey, Hayes fights out of the world famous Wild Card Boxing Club, home to superstar world champions Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto.
Instagram: @ThisIsDHayes
Twitter: @ThisIsDHayes
Facebook: @ThisIsDHayes

 

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘It’s usually what we’re hesitant or fearful of doing that leads to our biggest strides and growth’

‘The Honey Badger’ – the important difference between hard work and talent

  • Honey badgers are fierce, scrappy animals- that is the type of athlete you should aspire to be

Motivation, self discipline and nutrition

  • Water is huge!

Impactful coach

  • Daniel had a high school basketball coach who benched him because of his attitude – it really changed Daniel’s approach to team sports

Training and skill development – Keeping it fun

  • Setting goals is fun. There is a positive dopamine effect when you cross something off a list. Track progression and check off milestones along the way.
  • Coach K on the 2008 Redeem Team – Reminded his team that in 20 years they are going to look back and deeply miss those competitive situations, so thrive on it in the present.

Developing Self-confidence

  • Visualization is huge
  • Self-mantra and inner monologue – ‘I am going to make this shot’

Developing culture

  • Constant accountability to one another
  • Setting team goals – and rewarding positive team-first behavior
  • High-fives, huddling as a team before a free-throw, anything that pulls the team together during the game should be a priority

Connecting with and impacting kids

  • The Selway Family Foundation – Underprivileged youth scholarships
  • Mentoring – Daniel loves helping younger athletes avoid some of the mistakes he made when growing up

The One that got away

  • Daniel got fouled at the end of a basketball game, and his head was full of negative images and thoughts: ‘If I miss this…’ – and he went on to miss both free throws. He learned the power of positive visualization and staying present and in the moment.

Best borrowed or stolen idea

  • ‘I don’t know if you’re going to win this fight, but I know you’re going to come out of it a better fighter just because of the experience you have gained’ – This was huge for Daniel because it took the pressure off winning and allowed him to just enjoy the competition and do his best.

Favorite coaching or leadership quote/book

  • Ray Lewis Ted talk – Persevering through pain
  • Book: Rafa by Rafael Nadal – talks about how he had faulty mental processing before he beat Roger Federer and how he overcame it

Daniel Hayes

Parting Advice

  • ‘It’s usually what we’re hesitant or fearful of doing that leads to our biggest strides and growth’

–

Today’s Sponsors

I Youth Football helps coaches, organizations, or parents teach football skills to kids ages 3-11.  Not only does I Youth Football guarantee your players increase their skills, they will give you individualized pricing based on your situation. So if you are a coach or want your local organization to run I Youth Football in your area, visit them at www.iyouthfootball.com and reach out. It’s simple to set up, and a nice way to earn a little side money while helping kids learn the game of football. To get $100 off the program be sure to use this coupon code: winning

screen-shot-2016-09-07-at-12-45-35-pm

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

November 10, 2016

WYC 097 – High School Football – Randy Jackson talks Culture Defeats Strategy

Coach Randy Jackson calls on his 26 years of coaching experience and research to share his ideas on how important culture and leadership are to a successful program, and what he has done to develop that successful culture in his own program.

Twitter: @CoachJacksonTPW

Facebook: Randy Jackson

Book/website: coachrandyjackson.com

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘All kids need 5 adults in their lives that care about their success- As a coach – be one of those!’

My Cringe & A-Ha Moments

  • Being too intense and impatient with some of the kids
  • ‘Early on I was coaching because I love the game. I still love the game but now focus more on loving the kids.’
  • ‘If you want to be more you have to become more’ – Coach has lost 30 pounds in the last year, as he focused more on taking better care of himself, and improving his mind. Turn off the radio and TV and read books and listen to podcasts.

Teaching Skills

  • ‘All kids need 5 adults in their lives that care about their success- As a coach – be one of those!’
  • Needs need affirmation and positive feedback
  • Teach fundamentals every day, but you have to find ways to fascinate your kids while doing it – make everything competitive
  • Pete Caroll video – Hawk tackling – How rugby tackling is safer and more effective. Company called Atavus – they certify coaches to be rugby tackling specialists.

Culture

  • Core Values – Coach worked with Brian Cain who challenged them to make their core values more prominent – Check out Brian Cain’s podcast: Link
    • 7 core values the kids came up with: Energy & Tempo, Compete, Tough, Family, Appreciation, Discipline, Finish & Payday
    • Each day of the week has a theme that is one of the core values
    • Players had to earn the stickers on their helmets by memorizing the core values
  • Yearly 4-Quarter process
    • Each quarter each player has one  word that is their focus
    • Quarter 1 – Offseason
    • Quarter 2 – Bootcamp
    • Quarter 3 – Spring football – ‘You versus yesterday’
    • Quarter 4 – Summer – Kaizen – ‘Continual improvement’
  • His book on culture: Culture Defeats Strategy – Full of stories and ideas on their core covenants and how they build culture

Best borrowed/stolen idea

  • Tom Hermann – ‘Finish’ – When they watch practice film – They have a coach hold up a flag so they know when the whistle blew – then they evaluate offensive linemen whether they had 2 hands on a defender or were chasing a defender. If not – it is graded as a loaf.

Favorite coaching book/quote

Parting Advice

  • Stay in a growth mindset – You have to keep learning
  • It’s about the relationships not the plays
  • If you don’t get the culture right nothing else matters
  • Fascinate the kids and build them up
  • Make everything competitive

– 

Today’s Sponsors

I Youth Football helps coaches, organizations, or parents teach football skills to kids ages 3-11.  Not only does I Youth Football guarantee your players increase their skills, they will give you individualized pricing based on your situation. So if you are a coach or want your local organization to run I Youth Football in your area, visit them at www.iyouthfootball.com and reach out. It’s simple to set up, and a nice way to earn a little side money while helping kids learn the game of football. To get $100 off the program be sure to use this coupon code: winning

screen-shot-2016-09-07-at-12-45-35-pm

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

November 1, 2016

WYC 096 – Free Online Coaching Courses – Kirk Anderson talks Coaching Education at the USTA

Kirk Anderson has been the director of coaching eduction for the USTA for 20 years. He has worked with the USTA and some of the top thought-leaders in the country to create free online courses that can apply to any sports, check them out at CoachYouthTennis.com. In 2003, Anderson received the International Tennis Hall of Fame Educational Merit Award, and he was named Person of the Year by Racquet Sports Industry magazine in 2006 and the Professional Tennis Registry Professional of the Year in 2012.

Website: CoachYouthTennis.com

 

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘Be the change you wish to see in the world’ – Gandhi

1st Set – Intro/Coaching

Coaching your own kids

  • Kirk really wanted his kids to love sports and didn’t push for them to just play the sports he liked
  • Kirk’s son loved racing and when he was 10 years old tanked a match so he could get home to watch the Indy 500. Interesting how different the perspective/priorities of a 10 year-old are.

Cringe moment

  • 4 things kids don’t like about tennis lessons (or any sport):

1 – Standing in line

2 – Shadowing

3 – Being yelled at from across the net

4 – Picking up balls

  • Error detection and correction should not be our focus. Catch them doing things right vs. always pointing out mistakes.

2nd Set – Teaching skills & Mental Peak Performance

CoachYouthTennis.com – 5 years ago the USTA was struggling with getting young kids to want to come out and play. One observation was that tennis was being taught on a full-size court, racket, and balls that are the same ones adults use.

Created 6 free interactive online courses:

1 – Organizing and Supervising youth play

2 – The characteristics of children age 10 and under

3 – Communicating with children age 10 and under

4 – The rules and guidelines

5 – Tennis skill development

6 – Team and group management

Self-confidence

  • The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey
    • Performance=Potential minus Interference – Think about how many voices are yelling at the kids during games – coaches, teammates, parents- Even if it is well-intentioned, it is interference.
  • 4 types of athletes:

1 – Highly motivated, high skill

2 – Highly motivated, low skill

3 – Low motivated, high skill

4 – Low motivated, low skill

3rd Set – Developing a winning culture & connecting with kids

Culture

  • Cross-Country coach: No excuses, everyone is accountable, everyone looking for ways to make everyone else better. And the coach jumped in and worked harder than everyone on the team. A lot of tough love but a lot of laughter as well.

Connecting with kids

  • Kirk has had many kids come back and thank him after success in life, kids that he didn’t even realize he had impacted

4th Set – 2-minute drill

Should winning be one of the goals for a youth sports coach, and if so at what age?

  • More important than making winning a goal, create goals around things you can control

The one that got away

  • Kirk coached a girl who came to him and said that the other player was cheating, Kirk said ‘I don’t care, focus on…’. Kirk realizes now that saying he didn’t care was the wrong message to the girl – he did care.

Best borrowed/stolen idea

  • Dave Gleason – He has 4 rules:

1 – Listen to the coach

2 – Give your best effort

3 – Support your teammates

4 – Have fun

Favorite coaching or leadership quote/book

  • Quote: ‘Be the change you wish to see in the world’ – Gandhi
  • Book: It’s your ship – by D. Michael Abrashoff

Parting advice

Get away from error detection and move towards improvement and acknowledgement

Next

Books, coaching toolbox, presentations

 

Today’s Sponsors

I Youth Football helps coaches, organizations, or parents teach football skills to kids ages 3-11.  Not only does I Youth Football guarantee your players increase their skills, they will give you individualized pricing based on your situation. So if you are a coach or want your local organization to run I Youth Football in your area, visit them at www.iyouthfootball.com and reach out. It’s simple to set up, and a nice way to earn a little side money while helping kids learn the game of football. To get $100 off the program be sure to use this coupon code: winning

screen-shot-2016-09-07-at-12-45-35-pm

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

October 20, 2016

WYC 095 – From Spanish Teacher to MMA Fighter – Charlie ‘The Spaniard’ Brenneman

In 2007, Charlie Brenneman left the comfort of his hometown and full-time job as a Spanish teacher to pursue a career in mixed martial arts.

What started out as a dream soon turned into reality. Charlie fought at every level of the industry, including an 11-fight UFC career. After upsetting #6 ranked Rick Story in 2011, his life changed as he skyrocketed into the world rankings and went head-to-head with the best fighters in the world, such as UFC Champion Johny Hendricks and current top-ranked light heavyweight Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.

The key ingredient in his climb to the top – HARD WORK.

Website: charlie-brenneman.com

Twitter: @SpaniardMMA

Facebook: /SpaniardMMA

 

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit’

What types of goals did you set when you set out on this course to fight in the MMA?

  • The goal is not the be-all-end-all. It’s the experience, knowledge, the process that you gained in the pursuit of the goal. Process vs. outcome

Your book is titled ‘Driven’ – what does it mean to be driven?

  • Charlie spent a whole bunch of time on the road driving around to be around the best trainers. So the title ‘Driven’ is a double-meaning of being driven and motivated while at the same time spending a bunch of time on the road driving to his training.

Self-confidence

  • Preparation = Self-confidence
  • Preparation trumps self-doubt

Mistake-recovery-routines

  • Don’t pretend something bad didn’t happen. But set a timeframe to allow yourself to feel sorry for yourself, then move on. This timeframe could be 3 seconds, it could be 7 days (in the case of Charlie after a tough MMA loss.)

‘Get serious about having fun’

  • It’s all about perspective – don’t lose perspective that playing sports should be fun

‘A fighter’s mindset’ Podcast:

  • ‘How you do one thing is how you do everything’ – Mike Tyson quoting Cus D’Amato
  • In everything Charlie does, he prepares for it as he would a fight: with discipline, with self-confidence, extreme preparation, resilience, perseverance

What is the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you?

His Dad: Humility: ‘Don’t go around telling others how good you are, let them tell you’

Favorite success or leadership quote? Favorite success or leadership book?

  • Quote: ‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit’
  • Book: Extreme Ownership – Navy Seal author Jocko Willink

Parting Advice

  • ‘Be the change you want to see’

Charlie-Brenneman.com

  • Podcasts, book, blog, daily reading videos, and much more!

Website: charlie-brenneman.com

Twitter: @SpaniardMMA

Facebook: /SpaniardMMA

 

Today’s Sponsors

I Youth Football helps coaches, organizations, or parents teach football skills to kids ages 3-11.  Not only does I Youth Football guarantee your players increase their skills, they will give you individualized pricing based on your situation. So if you are a coach or want your local organization to run I Youth Football in your area, visit them at www.iyouthfootball.com and reach out. It’s simple to set up, and a nice way to earn a little side money while helping kids learn the game of football. To get $100 off the program be sure to use this coupon code: winning

screen-shot-2016-09-07-at-12-45-35-pm

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

October 12, 2016

WYC 094 – State Championship Basketball – Nate Sanderson talks Mistake Recovery & Mental Toughness

Nate Sanderson is the head girls basketball coach of Springville High School in Iowa. He has been coaching girls basketball for 15+ years and has turned around programs that were struggling and most recently was state runner-up in 2015 and state champions in 2016. He also is a speaker with Break Through Basketball.

Twitter: @SpringvilleGBB

Facebook: /SpringvilleGBB

Youtube: youtube.com/user/springvillegirlsbb

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.’ – Galatians

My Cringe & A-Ha Moments

  • 3 things they do better now then they used to:
    1. They are much more intentional about building relationships on and off the floor
    2. They work hard to create a culture of appreciation, where they recognize the strengths and contributions of every player on the team
    3. Utilizing Brian McCormack’s Game-based skill development. Creating games in practices that simulate game-like scenarios

Teaching Skills

  • 5 on 5 dribbling skills with pressure
  • 4 corner passing game. They stair step the level of defense, starting with less defenders then work their way up adding more defenders.

Culture & Mental Toughness

  • Nate’s team created a culture where they immediately gave high-fives to any player who made a mistake. The power of touch and positive encouragement was emphasized. They created an environment where they weren’t allowed to say ‘my bad.’ They make it a race to see who can be first to give a high five to someone who has made a mistake. Link to 3 minute video showing his team doing this in the state championship game: Youtube Link

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

  • Nate had a girl who was a rising senior and hadn’t played that much. A new girl moved in in the summer, and instead of viewing her as the competition and isolating her, she embraced the role of mentoring the newer player. Unbelievable example of selflessness.

The One that got away

  • In the previous year championship game, the game was tied with 10 seconds left. They had not practiced this situation, so there was a little confusion about how to defend it.

Best borrowed/stolen idea

Favorite coaching book/quote

  • Quote: ‘The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.’ – Galatians
  • Quote: ‘Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care’

Break Through Basketball

Parting Advice

  • You are not coaching for kids to play varsity or college basketball. You are coaching for them to have a great experience this year playing the game.

– 

Today’s Sponsors

I Youth Football helps coaches, organizations, or parents teach football skills to kids ages 3-11.  Not only does I Youth Football guarantee your players increase their skills, they will give you individualized pricing based on your situation. So if you are a coach or want your local organization to run I Youth Football in your area, visit them at www.iyouthfootball.com and reach out. It’s simple to set up, and a nice way to earn a little side money while helping kids learn the game of football. To get $100 off the program be sure to use this coupon code: winning

screen-shot-2016-09-07-at-12-45-35-pm

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

October 4, 2016

WYC 093 – Strongman Competitions to Youth Lacrosse and College Rowing – Will Ruth talks Connecting the Dots

Will Ruth is the JV Coach for the Bellingham Warriors HS Club Lacrosse team and the strength coach for the Western Men’s Club Rowing team. He is an NCSA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) as well as USA-Weightlifting Level 1 Sports Performance Coach and US-Lacrosse Level 2. In 2015, he became a Rowperfect UK author with his step-by-step manual for strength training for rowing, Rowing Stronger. He also is a Strongman competitor.

Website: strengthcoachwill.com

Ebook: Rowing Stronger

Facebook: /strengthcoachwill

Twitter: @willruth335

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘Create the highest possible operating standards, develop the character of your players, and develop the culture of your team, and as the title of Walsh’s book says ‘The score takes care of itself” – James Kerr in Legacy

Connecting the Dots

My Cringe Moments

  • Learning boundaries with athletes – Understand and listen first
  • Devolved leadership, from James Kerr’s Legacy – since Will is coaching kids that are not that much younger than he is – he works hard to give them ownership

Teaching Skills

  • Whole-part system – Break a complex skill down into smaller parts you can focus on
  • Incorporate important skills into every drill – for lacrosse ground balls: include ground balls in shooting drills and every other drill you do
  • Be mindful of your Criticism to Positive ratio – Shoot for at least 5
  • Tharp/Galllimore study of John Wooden in practice: PDF

Mental Toughness/Achieving Peak Performance

  • Focus on effort rather than outcome. You want them to play aggressive and learn from mistakes, not be afraid to make them
  • Will coached a kid who was moved to varsity as a freshmen and it stressed him out, so they moved him back to JV – so Will’s job was to get him back to loving lacrosse and not being stressed by it. One way Will did this was using a physical routine – of actually brushing off his shoulders after a mistake (mental reset routine)
  • Use the bench as a teaching tool not a punishment

Culture – Discipline/Rewards/Teambuilding

  • It starts with developing leaders and captains
  • Try to not overcoach during games – have your leaders figure it out. It’s not a video game – don’t try to control every action.

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

  • Will tries to bring up each kid to a higher level

The One that got away

  • Will lives the philosophy of looking forwards not backwards

Best borrowed/stolen idea

  • Devolved leadership from James Kerr in Legacy
  • Thirds system of practice planning – 1st 3rd is stick skills, 2nd 3rd is small-sided games, 3rd 3rd is more full games

Favorite coaching book/quote

  • Quote: ‘Create the highest possible operating standards, develop the character of your players, and develop the culture of your team, and as the title of Walsh’s book says ‘The score takes care of itself” – James Kerr in Legacy
  • Lacrosse podcast: insidelacrosse.com/tag/Podcasts

Strength Coach Will

Parting Advice

  • Make sure it’s still fun. Remember what it was like to play at that age, and what did you like doing in practices?

– 

Today’s Sponsors

I Youth Football helps coaches, organizations, or parents teach football skills to kids ages 3-11.  Not only does I Youth Football guarantee your players increase their skills, they will give you individualized pricing based on your situation. So if you are a coach or want your local organization to run I Youth Football in your area, visit them at www.iyouthfootball.com and reach out. It’s simple to set up, and a nice way to earn a little side money while helping kids learn the game of football. To get $100 off the program be sure to use this coupon code: winning

screen-shot-2016-09-07-at-12-45-35-pm

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

September 27, 2016

WYC 092 – Winning Championships through Superior Culture – Maureen Monte talks reaching Destination Unstoppable

Maureen Monte builds winning teams by harnessing the untapped talent in the locker room or the conference room and aligning it with success. Her approach has been honed with over ten years of experience in large companies, tech startups, and sports teams – from San Francisco to Singapore. She believes there are three universal truths about teams:

  1. All teams struggle
  2. There is untapped talent on every team
  3. Most teams haven’t defined what success looks like

She has authored a book Destination Unstoppable – about helping a hockey team win the state championship. It is more than a sports success story. It is a team success story – and the world runs on teams.

Website: www.maurennmonte.com

Facebook: Link

Twitter: @maureenemonte

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

”We win games because we have great team chemistry” – Mark Dantonio, Michigan State football coach

Building Winning Teams

  • Maureen has worked with IBM on building successful teams. She has studied the Clifton Strengthfinder to understand how each individual is gifted and can contribute to the team’s success.

How did the opportunity to work with the Cranbrook Varsity Hockey Team come about?

  • It was a talented team but struggling
  • She started at the top to see if the coach was part of the problem. He was not.
  • First step – Define success – Start with the what. Then define the how. Brotherhood, discipline, focus, unselfishness were all areas they identified as lacking. Then she had the players turn to each other and tell them ‘I refuse to let you fail.’
  • Next step – Evaluate the players’ strengths. 18 out of 25 had competition in their top 5 strengths.
  • The key was helping team tap their untapped talent on the team.
  • The coach made heroes in every role. The 3rd string goalie had the strength of harmony. The coach gave him the job of helping resolve conflict between the top 2 goalies.
  • Another back-up player had the strength of being analytical. His new role was to look at the other teams and analyze what was going on. He now added value.

2 keys to turn this team around

  • The coach bought in
  • The kids had a desperate desire to win, so they were willing to try something new

Using the Clifton Strengthfinders tool in a sports environment

  • The boys loved learning what others on the team were thinking
  • In a perfect world – start with the coaches, then the captains, then the whole team
  • The strength finder looks for patterns of excellence. It is 34 different strengths that involves how you think to solve problems, how you execute tasks, how you relate to others, and how you influence. It takes 35 minutes and costs $15 per person to identify your top 5.

Connection between success in business and success in sports

  • Defining success is key
  • Mark Dantonio, Michigan State football coach: ‘We win games because we have great team chemistry’

Biggest surprises about this experience

  • None of the kids afterwards talked about winning the state championship. That moment had come and gone. Being valued by the teammates and coaches, and the unstoppable mindset they had created is what they valued most.
  • One kid’s biggest strength was he was a learner. So he took on the role of making sure if a kid had a runny nose or cold, he would separate the water bottles so the other kids didn’t get sick as well.

What’s your favorite strengths?

  • Ideation – Thinking of new ways of doing things
  • Individualization – Each individual brings something unique

Favorite leadership book and/or quote?

Destination Unstoppable book

  • maurennmonte.com – Get 20% coupon for book
  • Great story, and great resources on how to build a winning culture

Today’s Sponsors

I Youth Football helps coaches, organizations, or parents teach football skills to kids ages 3-11.  Not only does I Youth Football guarantee your players increase their skills, they will give you individualized pricing based on your situation. So if you are a coach or want your local organization to run I Youth Football in your area, visit them at www.iyouthfootball.com and reach out. It’s simple to set up, and a nice way to earn a little side money while helping kids learn the game of football. To get $100 off the program be sure to use this coupon code: winning

screen-shot-2016-09-07-at-12-45-35-pm

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

September 14, 2016

WYC 091 – Youth Baseball – Paul Niggebrugge talks Empowering Kids and Be Your Best Academy

Paul Niggebrugge was born in Sao Paolo, Brazil and moved to the United States when he was about 6 years old, not knowing a bit of English. He fell in love with the game of baseball, and went on to coach Caravel Academy Baseball Team for 30 years, won 4 State Championships and Qualified for the State Tournament 27 out of 30 years. He is 4th all-time in Delaware with 400 wins and in 2016 was inducted into the Delaware Baseball Hall of Fame.  He is currently a Nationally recognized trusted authority in Batting, Pitching and the Mental Game Coaching – Clinician, Evaluator, Educator and Coach providing instruction or information in over 30 states and 2 countries. And maybe the most impressive stat: Paul has been Married for 36 years and raised 6 happy & healthy children!

Website: www.BeyourBestAcademy.com

Facebook: /Be-Your-Best-Academy

Twitter: @BBABaseballDE

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘Yell and tell is out. Empowering questions are in.’

Coaching your own kids

  • If you are aware of the pitfalls, it can be a great experience
  • Paul once had a coach who overreacted about issues with his own kid, and he decided it was best to not to continue to have him coach

My Cringe Moments

  • ‘I thought I knew it all’ and that my way was the only

Teaching Skills

  • ‘You can be critical without being negative.’ Whatever you feed grows.
  • Less ‘yell and tell’ and more empowering questions and sharing
  • There is not a right and wrong with their mechanics, it’s just where are you right now in the progression
  • 3 key elements every person is looking for:
    • 1 – Adventure – great experiences
    • 2 – Grow – mentally, physically, socially
    • 3 – Contribute and share what they’ve learned
  • Fun games:
    • 1 kid is at home base, 1 at 2nd  – and they race
    • Throwing/catching games – They start up close with a partner, then keep taking 3 giant steps back, once they drop a ball they’re out – but even after they’re out they can keep throwing (so they’re not standing around)

Mental Toughness/Achieving Peak Performance

  • It’s all about empowerment: Focus, Feel, and Feedback (Funergy – Fun positive energy)
  • Kids love the classroom – Get away from the ballfields and ask open ended empowering question: why did we lose, what did you feel, how did you handle pressure
  • PEACE: Performance and Execution After a Critical Error
    • ‘You can’t teach a drowning man to swim while he’s drowning’ –
  • Before every practice and game – they spend 5 to 15 minutes connecting their mind and body – Coach Paul has created some sound waves they listen to with positive affirmations – Link to article about Neuro-training tool

Culture – Discipline/Rewards/Teambuilding

  • No one is above the game.
  • We will not tolerate: SPEND: Sloppiness, Pouting, Excusitis, Non-verbals, or the Disease of Me
  • After our games you should not be able to tell whether we won or lost
  • 3 phrases they use: Game Hugs; Gamechanger; VIP passes(which can get them out of doing something they don’t want to)

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

  • Paul had two different players who you never would have thought would have been able to be good baseball players, but they stuck with it and both ended up having great seasons

The One that got away

  • Paul makes it a practice to immediately evaluate losses, then

Best borrowed/stolen idea

  • From Coach K – Go learn everything you can, but then make it your own. ‘You’re going to write your own story, make sure you use your own pen.’

Favorite coaching book/quote

  • Book: Emergence– by Derek Rydall – Life doesn’t happen to you, it happens through you
  • Quote: ‘Not making a mistake is a big mistake. As long as you don’t repeat the mistake.’

Be Your Best Academy

Parting Advice

  • Yell and tell is out. Empowering questions are in.

Related Episodes

WYC 080 – Youth Baseball – David Klein talks Living a Legends Life

WYC 045 – Youth Baseball – Mark Linden from BaseballPositive.com talks practice planning and the pace that kids learn

– 

Today’s Sponsors

I Youth Football helps coaches, organizations, or parents teach football skills to kids ages 3-11.  Not only does I Youth Football guarantee your players increase their skills, they will give you individualized pricing based on your situation. So if you are a coach or want your local organization to run I Youth Football in your area, visit them at www.iyouthfootball.com and reach out. It’s simple to set up, and a nice way to earn a little side money while helping kids learn the game of football. To get $100 off the program be sure to use this coupon code: winning

screen-shot-2016-09-07-at-12-45-35-pm

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

September 7, 2016

WYC 090 – Overuse Injuries – Drs. Steve Grosserode and Jared Vagy talk Injury Prevention

Dr. Steve Grosserode and Dr. Jared Vagy were collegiate athletes and soccer players. Both suffered injuries that affected their ability to play and led to the pain of lifelong injury. Determined to figure out why injuries happen and how to prevent them lead both to pursue our Doctorates in Physical Therapy from the University of Southern California, the #1 ranked program in the country. It was at USC that they began to understand how to prevent injury. After nine years of study, the singular reason for continued injury became clear; misaligned movement.

Through many years of research and practice, they consolidated there plan into a three step process. The three step system popularized and they began teaching seminars internationally to soccer coaches on how to prevent injury. They soon realized that we needed to spread the word to as many players, coaches and parents as possible. They knew that if they could stop injuries from occurring, they would be able to change the course of a player’s career and life. They now have written ebooks and have an online academy to share what they have learned, much of which we will discuss in this episode.

Website: yourmovementsolutions.com

Link to the ebook from website and a link to the paperback version on Amazon available after Sept 1st:
screen-shot-2016-09-07-at-12-17-10-pm

 

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.’

Injury Prevention Discussion

  1. How do ACL injuries and other non-contact injuries happen and who is most at risk?
  2. How has sports injury prevention changed over the years? What does the current research show?
  3. Why do these injuries continue to occur in youth sports?
  4. What are the best methods to prevent injuries in youth sports?
  5. How do you make an injury prevention program specific for each individual player?
  6. What can parents and players do to stop injuries?
  7. How can coaches help prevent these injuries?

Lessons learned on these topics

  • Learn what to watch for in athletes – A knee diving in, body leaning off to one side
  • A large majority of non-contact injuries can be avoided – it’s by identifying high-risk athletes – there are 5 specific movements that put athletes at the highest-risk
  • Early sports specialization is a big cause of dramatic increase in ACL injuries
  • Videotaping athletes on the field and then analyzing their movements is a really effective method
  • 3 Step process for coaches

1 – Analyze movement

2 – Provide exercises for homework to change movement

3 – Coaches give cues to athletes when they see

  • Static stretching – Don’t do it before practice/game. 10 minutes of Dynamic stretching before the practice/game is good, then static stretching can be done after the practice/game – or even better is to do static stretching throughout the day. Muscle-Activation exercises with bands before you do the dynamic warm-up is the latest and best method – see more at yourmovementsolutions.com
  • Parents – Add an exercise to your kid’s bedtime or morning routines to strengthen their muscles

Favorite coaching book/quote

  • Quote: ‘It’s not ease, but effort; it’s not facility, but difficulty, that makes oneself. There is perhaps nothing in life in which difficulties have not been encountered and overcome before any decided measure of success can be achieved.’
  • Quote: ‘If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.’

Best borrowed/stolen idea

  • Dr. Chris Powers taught how showing is much more effective than telling – so videotaping an athlete when you see a knee diving in, then showing them how it looks when they do it right, is very effective
  • Dr. Clare Frank – shared ‘the body takes the path of least resistance,’ so make sure you are providing them the right way to do things, even if it’s harder

Your Movement Solutions

yourmovementsolutions.com

Loaded with resources:

  • Articles, pictures, videos, tips, ebook (with free sample)
  • Online training academy for coaches

Related Episodes

WYC 030 Performance Training – Amanda Kephart from Akron General Sports Performance talks getting faster, stronger, and more powerful

WYC 085 – Performance Training – Bryan Schwebke talks Building a Strong Base

– 

Today’s Sponsors

I Youth Football helps coaches, organizations, or parents teach football skills to kids ages 3-11.  Not only does I Youth Football guarantee your players increase their skills, they will give you individualized pricing based on your situation. So if you are a coach or want your local organization to run I Youth Football in your area, visit them at www.iyouthfootball.com and reach out. It’s simple to set up, and a nice way to earn a little side money while helping kids learn the game of football. To get $100 off the program be sure to use this coupon code: winningscreen-shot-2016-09-07-at-12-45-35-pm

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

– 

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

September 6, 2016

Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch – Part 10 – Building a Program without Self-Entitlement

When NFL Pro-Bowler Joe Ehrmann lost his little brother Billy to a tragic fight with cancer, his introspection led to the realization that life is all about 2 things:
  1. Relationships
  2. Working for a cause bigger than yourself
Self-entitlement is a direct result of a focus that is opposite of those 2 values. It is no accident that the first and last components of this 10 part series on building championship culture involve creating a team-first and others-first environment. It is where everything starts and ends.
–
Screen Shot 2016-09-06 at 9.26.18 AM

Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch Part 10 – Case Study – Building a Program Without Self-Entitlement

John Doss is the head coach of Brownsburg Lacrosse, which is a program located in a suburb of Indianapolis. John understands the importance of selflessness in building a championship culture. So he set out to look for a way to build this into his culture, both on and off the field. What his team came up with is brilliant. The best way to describe their Mission 2 Assist program is to share their value statement:

What do we value at Brownsburg Lacrosse?

On the field, we all want to score goals, but what we REALLY VALUE are the plays that lead up to those goals. The unselfish pass to an open teammate. The “hockey assist” pass that leads to that pass. A hard fought ground ball possession. Tenacious defense that leads to a big takeaway. A critical save and quick clear that starts a fast break. That’s what we value on the field.

Off the field we value gratitude and servanthood. We appreciate the fact that we get to play a game we love and know that there are those that are not so fortunate. Because of this, we want to help others that cannot play lacrosse or cannot play lacrosse in the same manner that we do.

Why are we telling you this? Well, we found out that there is a national wheelchair lacrosse league and a local group is raising money to start a team here in Indianapolis. We want to merge our values to help them. This is a group of athletes and competitors just like us and all they want to do is compete, just like we do. 

–
How did they accomplish this? They tracked the plays they value, these “assists” that led to goals, over the course of their season. Then they got sponsors to reward those “assists”. John describes how they set this up in WYC Podcast Episode 81, check out all of the details here: Link to show notes and episode
They used the walk-a-thon type forms to fundraise – but used assists instead of goals as the pledge criteria. By the end of the season they raised almost $10k for the Wheelchair Lacrosse Organization.
–

Check out the homepage for The Mission 2 Assist program to see short videos on their program and for a link to a video that describes WLUSA- the Wheelchair Lacrosse Organization: www.bblaxassist.com

Continue Reading

September 2, 2016

Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch – Part 9 – Daddy Ball 101

One of the biggest culture killers in youth sports today is Daddy Ball. Should we just eliminate it? Is there a way to have parents coach their own kids and still have a great team culture?

coach-551562_640Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch Part 9 – The Mom/Dad Coach

I was an assistant lacrosse coach for 4 years, helping coach my son’s teams. Then he reached high school. The program he was going into was down a little bit down in attendance, and there only two assistants helping the head coach, and one of them was often working and not at practice. I approached the head coach and offered my services if he wanted another assistant to help in any area, particularly this was a team of 34 players so many of the kids played on the JV team, so I could help work with those kids when he was working with the varsity. (I hate kids standing around and watching.) Then I saw the look. ‘Oh boy, here’s another daddy-ball coach wanting to get in here and get his son all of the favoritism and playing-time.’ I could see the same look on the assistant coaches. Fortunately they expressed their reservations and after sitting down and discussing the expectations and my agreement to not show any favoritism, they were open to bringing me on board. Now I am going into year 2 in this position, and we have agreed to step up my role on the team and I will serve as the Character Coach.
–
It is possible to coach your own child on a team, and done well can be a wonderful experience, but you need to be aware of the possible negative effects that can creep up. Here are 5 tips that can make it be a positive experience:
  • Talk to your son or daughter about it before you agree to do it. Get their buy-in. Be very clear to your son/daughter that there could be negative comments from other kids and other parents. But also let them know that you are doing this to help every kid on the team and you will not be able to focus on them any more than the other kids.
  • Talk about the elephant in the room to the entire team. Don’t work too hard to treat your own kid as a coach – it’s good to be truthful and authentic in front of the team and treat your own kid from a parenting point of view sometimes.  Don’t be over the top – but kids enjoy and learn from watching you enjoy spending time with your child.
  • It usually works better to have assistant do more of the instructions to your kid. Also utilize your assistants to get an honest assessment of what position/how much your child should be playing. (Sometimes we need help taking off the rose colored glasses!)
  • Turn off the coaching hat. On car ride home – ask your child ‘Anything else you want to ask coach?’ Then go back to being a dad again.
  • The Team Manager can be a conduit to hear concerns/complaints from parents – embrace this! Have a great parent manager who keeps you in the loop of any concerns, and one that has your back and can help squelch 90% of the problems before they ever make their way back to you.
It is important for your child to have a positive sports experience early on – and if that means you need to step up and be coach, step up and do it. Don’t let the fear of the perception of being a daddy-ball coach stop you if you truly are doing it for the right reasons.
–
Check out the rest of this 10 part series on Culture: Go to blog posts
Continue Reading

August 26, 2016

Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch – Part 8 – 2 questions every young athlete needs to be asked

Stephen Covey teaches in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: ‘Seek first to understand, then to be understood.’ To better understand the kids you coach, there are two questions to start with.

The-7-Habits-Of-Highly-Effective-People-Book-Review

Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch Part 8 – Seek First To Understand

As coaches, we often jump to analyze, interpret and fix anything that is going wrong in our program. It is in our nature to continuously improve our program. And it should be. But the procedures and processes can distract us from why we are called to coach. If you have followed me for long or listened to my podcasts, you know my favorite quote is Frederick Douglass’
 ‘It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.’
Another quote, attributed to several different coaches, is
‘Kids don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.’
The only way we really get to know anyone, including kids, is to ask questions about them and hear their stories. 2 simple but important questions to start with are:
1 – What is your favorite thing about playing this sport and for this team?
2 – What is your least favorite thing?

Then you can start diving deeper. Here are a few tips:

  • Make sure you understand each kid’s expectations – are they on the team to just have fun, to put it on their resume, or to become a D1 college athlete?
  • If a kids loses his temper and explodes during a practice or game – go ahead and discipline him appropriately, but ask some deeper questions about his life outside the sport. Often there are stressors with their home life that are impacting them.
  • My friend Kevin Kennedy uses the phrase ‘Isn’t that interesting’ – Don’t be judgmental when coaching – rather, make observations and analyze why things are happening. Ask questions before judging.
  • I recently met the founder of an interesting company called First Team Reps – They have created a tool that provides feedback to coaches based on anonymous surveys of the players. Some of the questions help the coaches communicate better, such as ‘What plays don’t you understand?’ The cool thing is they end their surveys with the question ‘Are there any stressors outside of football in your life right now?’ They have found that since it is anonymous the kids are very honest and many will pour their heart out.
Tim Elmore writes in his Generation iY book: ‘Great teachers build a relationship so strong that it can bear the weight of truth.’ If kids understand that you have their best interest in mind, they will respond to and listen to coaching and constructive criticism. And more importantly, you will be building stronger children.
– 
Next week we’ll look into ways to build a championship culture when coaching a team with your own kid on it.
–
Check out the rest of this 10 part series on Culture: Go to blog posts
Continue Reading

August 25, 2016

WYC 089 – Performance Training – Former NFL wide receiver Corey Bridges talks training athletes – from NFL quarterbacks to Olympic ping pong players

Corey Bridges is a former NFL wide receiver who played for the Bears, Vikings, and Browns. He also had an outstanding football, track and baseball career at Newnan High School and football  and track star at the University of South Carolina, including many All-SEC honors and the SEC 60 meter sprint champion. He has spent the last 10 years training athletes from the youth to the professional level. Corey founded C4 Performance, Personal and Professional Sports Performance Specialist. C4 specializes in the following: Toning & Sculpting; Flexibility/Stability/Mobility; Body Fat Reduction; Stretching; Injury Preventive Program (FMS); Strength and Conditioning; and Speed Training. He was recently featured in a Sports Illustrated article leading up the the Olympics: si.com/vault/2016/03/29/ping-pong-physicality.

Website: nsta.net

Twitter: @CoreyBridges004, @NSTA_ATL

Facebook: /Norcross-Sports-Training-Academy, C4-Performance-trainingfitness

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘If it is to be, it’s up to me’ – Max Bass

Sports Illustrated article – training a ping-pong player for the Olympics

  • Corey trained Timothy Wang, Olympic table tennis player
  • Corey didn’t know much about the sport, so he watched Timothy play and analyzed the movements, then created a workout routine to focus on the critical areas
  • Article: si.com/vault/2016/03/29/ping-pong-physicality

Coaching your own kids

  • Let them play. Keep it fun.

Strength and Conditioning

  • Always think through the purpose of every drill – ask a lot of why’s. Why are we doing this drill? Why are we doing it this way?

Mental Toughness/Achieving Peak Performance

  • Give kids the opportunity to see improvement.
  • Take the emphasis off their individual achievement and turn it around to have them want to run through a wall for the team and for you

Culture 

  • Corey was part of a World Bowl Champion team. This team had great culture because:
    • They alternated starting every other game. Took away jealousy.
    • They sometimes had to play both ways because they were short on players
    • Being in a culture outside of their own (they were in Germany) helped them bond
    • Army term: ‘You gotta know who’s got your 6’

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

  • Corey coached who a kid who made some bad decisions and got kicked off his high school team. Corey was patient and just committed to being a great listener with him. After earning his trust, the young man opened up more and more and Corey now is a mentor who has changed the direction of this young man’s life.

Best borrowed/stolen idea

  • Everybody steals most of their ideas, the key is to make it your own and individualize everything based on the needs of the team/person

Favorite coaching book/quote

  • ‘If it is to be, it’s up to me’ – Max Bass, Corey’s high school coach

Norcross Sports Training Academy

  • Gray Institute – Gift Fellows – Corey did 3 year training program that changed his paradigm. Specifically on biomechanics.
  • Check out more at: nsta.net

Parting Advice

  • Don’t make it about you. Make it about the kids.

–

Related Episodes

WYC 030 Performance Training – Amanda Kephart from Akron General Sports Performance talks getting faster, stronger, and more powerful

WYC 085 – Performance Training – Bryan Schwebke talks Building a Strong Base

–

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

August 16, 2016

WYC 088 – Youth Hockey – Glen Mulcahy talks transformational long term development

Glen Mulcahy is a speaker with a down to earth flair who shares his knowledge from a lifetime of involvement in multi-levels of sport. Glen has a degree in Human Kinetics at the University of British Columbia, is a contributor to One Million Skates and both an instructor and regional evaluation coordinator for BC Hockey. As a Hockey Canada NCCP instructor/mentor of adult coaches for BC Hockey, Glen has now certified over 2000 coaches in the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association since 2009. He brings a 360 degree view of sports that is unique, from that of a youth athlete, to a coach of various sports for 20+ years and also parent of two children playing both recreational and competitive sports.

His lifetime in sports includes honors while playing various team sports including municipal banners as well as provincial titles in Hockey, Football and Rugby.   His belief in focusing on transformational long term developmental vs. transactional short term immediate results orientated coaching you will find both refreshing and inspiring. Glen is passionate about sharing what he has learned to bring the game back to the kids and lead others to do the same.

Websites: paradigmsports.ca; changingthegameproject.com/hire-a-speaker/

Twitter: @IncParadigm

Facebook: /Paradigm-Sports-1653362264912581

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘Who you are as a person is far more important than who you are as a basketball player’ – John Wooden

Coaching your own kids

  • Glen was shocked by how early the parents are pushing for competitive games
  • Youth sports: It’s not about banners and wins, it’s about the kids. Teach them to love the game.
  • UPDATE on Travel Sports Math & # of Touches: USA Hockey has been implementing ‘Cross-Ice’ to create more small area games and increase touches

My Cringe Moments

  • Glen put both of his hands on a kid’s shoulders and was talking to him – the kid was laughing . The kid’s parents were watching and thought he was shaking their child and thought the kid was crying. Glen learned that as a coach you are in a fishbowl so be wise with all of your actions.

Teaching Skills

  • The curse of knowledge – sometimes it’s hard for athletes to remember how to go back and teach the most basic skills.
  • If you have many different skill levels – breaking kids into developmental groups can help all the kids stay challenged. Creative names for the groups helps also: Superman group, Batman group, etc.

Mental Toughness/Achieving Peak Performance

  • P&R – Patience & Repetitions
  • Glen had a kid who couldn’t understand the concept of offsides, even after 3+ years of coaching.  Glen knew the kid played an NHL video game, so Glen asked the kid to turn the Offsides option on while playing the game. The kid did it, and totally understood the concept going forward.
  • Glen saw another coach berate his 13 year-old son for trying a new type of pass, so Glen focuses on encouraging the kids to be aggressive and that mistakes when trying something new are great.

Culture – Discipline/Rewards/Teambuilding

  • 3 standards his teams have:

1 – Don’t be late

2 – No profanity

3 – Respect each other, your parents, your teammates, your officials, your competitors

  • Rewards – After games the kids go around and compliment something the person next to them did well.
  • MVP – Don’t just give MVP rewards to your leading goal scorers, recognize kids doing the dirty work

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

  • Glen coached a kid whose father passed away at the beginning of their season, very tough season but the young man really connected with the team and with Glen.

The One that got away

  • Seek first to understand. Get to know what makes each kid tick. Glen had a problem whose behavior was really disruptive, and after exploding in a game – they talked in the locker room and Glen found out the kids parents were going through a divorce. Glen made the decision to let him back on the bench – but the referee came over and told him he wasn’t allowed to come back to the bench. Glen regrets he didn’t stick to his guns and went against his own gut.

Best borrowed/stolen idea

  • ‘When you steal a drill, the first time you have to give credit, after that it’s yours.’
  • Keep things simple, don’t overcomplicate things.
  • You’re not developing an athlete, you’re developing a person

Best Resources

Favorite coaching book/quote

  • Quote: ‘What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player’ – John Wooden
  • Book: Peak – by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool – About the 10,000 hour rule. Deliberate practice is more important than 10,000 hours.
  • Book: Legacy – by James Kerr – One of best culture and teamwork books.

Paradigm Sports & Changing the Game Project

  • Glen is a speaker with both Paradigm Sports and Changing the Game Project

Parting Advice

  • Focus on the players more than the game. Ask the kids why they play. Ask what they like and dislike about playing.

–

Related Episodes

Episode 42 – John O’Sullivan – Changing the Game Project

Episode 39 – Dr. Michael Phillips – Long Term Athlete and Coach Development

–

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

August 3, 2016

WYC 087 – Youth Basketball and Football – Pelle Nejman talks learning styles and developing culture

Pelle Nejman is a Philadelphia native and graduate from Penn State’s Sports broadcasting school. He is a teacher and coach in Danville, Pennsylvania. He has coached football and currently coaches girls basketball.

 

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

A few days left to sign up: Coaching Mastery – with John O’Sullivan

Screen Shot 2016-07-25 at 11.03.45 PM

Many of you know that I work closely with John O’Sullivan and the Changing the Game Project. John’s is an internationally known writer and speaker, as well as a former professional soccer player and longtime coach. We share a lot of each others content as we work to transform youth sports and make it a better place for coaches to coach, and for players to play.

This week – for the first and only time in 2016 – John is releasing his amazing online video series called “Coaching Mastery.” He first ran this course in the Fall of 2014, and since then coaches from nearly every sport, from over a dozen different continents, have called it one of the most unique and inspirational coaching courses they had ever done. I was lucky enough to be one of the select few coaches John offered it to last year, and the things I learned really blew me away.

See, this course is not your traditional X’s and O’s course. It is all about things such as the psychology of performance and leadership, how to build a winning team culture, and even how to educate your team parents so they don’t drive you up the wall. He has some amazing interviews with some of the world’s leading experts in sport science and psychology, coaching, and leadership. The things you will learn in this course will take yoru coaching, and your teams, to a whole new level.

This course is truly one of a kind.

If you are interested in this type of coaching, John has asked me to invite all of you to his FREE video series, where over the next 2 weeks you will learn many of these things, and hear from some amazing experts. You also get a free eBook copy of his international bestseller Changing The Game: The Parents Guide to Raising Happy, High-Performing Athletes and Giving Youth Sports Back to Our Kids just for registering for the FREE series.  All you have to do to get over an hour of this one of a kind coaching and leadership training, plus a free book, is go here and sign up:

Click here to get started

I know I am looking forward to the 2016 version of Coaching Mastery and I am confident that many of you will get a ton from this free video series. Its all new content, and I can’t wait to get started.

Again, if you want to join, just sign up here.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this course.

(I am an affiliate for this course, so if you decide to sign up – please sign up through one of the links above – Thanks!!)

Quote

‘Things may come to those who wait, but only things left by those who hustle’ – Abraham Lincoln

My Cringe Moments

  • I talked WAY too much

Teaching Skills

  • Different learning styles – Some kids are visual, some audio, some hands on – So use multiple styles to teach
  • Break everything down into small groups. If he has 15 girls, he will break down into 5 stations of 3.
  • When running plays – split the court in 2 and stand in the middle and have 2 groups running a bunch of reps

Mental Toughness/Achieving Peak Performance

  • It starts with you being calm as a coach. If tension is building in a game- call a timeout and tell a joke and be relaxed.

Culture – Discipline/Rewards/Teambuilding

  • It all starts with establishing standards.
  • Post-game meetings: It’s best to praise and acknowledge accomplishments.
  • HUGE IDEA – Tell some of the other teachers at the school about an accomplishment that a kid on your team did – it’s really big for a kid to have another adult acknowledging them

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

  • Talk about the elephant in the room. After starting a season 0-7, Pelle started their next practice on a white board with the words ‘Why do we suck?’ – Girls got a kick out of it and had fun brainstorming about how to get better

The One that got away

  • After a terrible call by the refs at the end of the game – Pelle skipped the handshake line and chased down the refs in the parking lot – big regret

Best borrowed/stolen idea

  • Mini-games and it’s all about the # of touches

Favorite coaching book/quote

  • Quote: ‘Talent is a gift, but character is a choice’ – John Maxwell
  • Quote: ‘Things may come to those who wait, but only things left by those who hustle’ – Abraham Lincoln
  • Quote: ‘Develop a cause beyond yourself, try to make the world a better place because you were here’ – Joe Hermann

Parting Advice

  • Develop a culture that you believe in with your team – and stick to it

–

Related Episodes

Episode 22 – Kevin Furtado – Girls basketball coach

 

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

July 26, 2016

WYC 086 – Championship Culture – Live from the Way of Champions Transformational Coaching Conference

Interview with 3 J'sWOC screenshot
–
Today’s episode is a bit different from the norm, instead of interviewing a great coach, this week’s episode is a compilation of the interviews I did while at the conference. There are a few sound bites with me sharing a lesson I learned, and definitely don’t miss the 18 minute interview with the leaders – I call them the 3 J’s – Dr. Jerry Lynch, John O’Sullivan, and James Leath. So hopefully this is a great way for you to be able to absorb a little of the great content even if you weren’t able to make it out to Colorado. Also – just FYI – they are planning to do 2 or 3 more of these conferences around the country next year, so stay tuned at changingthegameproject.com or wayofchampions.com.

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Coaching Mastery – with John O’Sullivan

Screen Shot 2016-07-25 at 11.03.45 PM

Many of you know that I work closely with John O’Sullivan and the Changing the Game Project. John’s is an internationally known writer and speaker, as well as a former professional soccer player and longtime coach. We share a lot of each others content as we work to transform youth sports and make it a better place for coaches to coach, and for players to play.

This week – for the first and only time in 2016 – John is releasing his amazing online video series called “Coaching Mastery.” He first ran this course in the Fall of 2014, and since then coaches from nearly every sport, from over a dozen different continents, have called it one of the most unique and inspirational coaching courses they had ever done. I was lucky enough to be one of the select few coaches John offered it to last year, and the things I learned really blew me away.

See, this course is not your traditional X’s and O’s course. It is all about things such as the psychology of performance and leadership, how to build a winning team culture, and even how to educate your team parents so they don’t drive you up the wall. He has some amazing interviews with some of the world’s leading experts in sport science and psychology, coaching, and leadership. The things you will learn in this course will take yoru coaching, and your teams, to a whole new level.

This course is truly one of a kind.

If you are interested in this type of coaching, John has asked me to invite all of you to his FREE video series, where over the next 2 weeks you will learn many of these things, and hear from some amazing experts. You also get a free eBook copy of his international bestseller Changing The Game: The Parents Guide to Raising Happy, High-Performing Athletes and Giving Youth Sports Back to Our Kids just for registering for the FREE series.  All you have to do to get over an hour of this one of a kind coaching and leadership training, plus a free book, is go here and sign up:

Click here to get started

I know I am looking forward to the 2016 version of Coaching Mastery and I am confident that many of you will get a ton from this free video series. Its all new content, and I can’t wait to get started.

Again, if you want to join, just sign up here.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this course.

(I am an affiliate for this course, so if you decide to sign up – please sign up through one of the links above – Thanks!!)

–

Interviews & Sound Bites from WOC Conference

  • Craig – Description of how to create self-affirmation 3×5 card
  • Craig – Description of fun Rock,Paper,Scissors,Cheerleader Energy Builder
  • 18 minute interview of Dr. Lynch, John O’Sullivan, and James Leath: Self-affirmation; Building Energy levels at the beginning of practice; Building championship culture in our families; Taking ONE action; Simplifying your playbook; the importance of relationships: Video Link
  • Craig – 11 attributes of culture: Dr. Jerry Lynch uses the acronym STRONG FACTS to list the steps to build championship culture.
    • Selflessness
    • Trust
    • Respect
    • Oneness
    • Never Quit
    • Gratefulness
    • Fearlessness
    • Awareness
    • Confidence
    • Thoughtfulness
    • Sacrifice
    • I summarize the last ‘S’ in the acronym, Sacrifice, from atop the Flatirons at Chataugua
      • ‘The pathway to greatness is through suffering’
  • Interview with Maureen Monte: Author of Destination Unstoppable – Team success; Focus on the human system of success
  • Interview with Alicia Steinhilber – From Nashville FC Youth Soccer – Discusses the Iceland Thunder Clap and the New Zealand All Blacks ‘Haka’; Playing with the heart; Eye contact with your audience/team
  • Interview with Athletic Director and 2 basketball coaches from the host school Shining Mountain Waldorf School – Mike Hawkes, Tim Crouthers, Chris Bremner – The power of positivity; Learning to teach vs. spitting out information; Building confidence, especially in females; Eye Contact and being in a circle to start practices
  • Interview with Kevin Peters – Be a storyteller
  • Interview with Josh Severns – From Nashville FC Youth Soccer – Building culture is a process not an event. Trust takes time to build. It start with being a good example; Meditation and breathing.
  • Interview with Kevin Kirk – Golf Performance Center at the Woodlands – The power and influence a coach has
  • Interview with Tony Libert – Parents and coaches – Release the game to the kids; ‘Coaches are a flashlight not a search light’
  • Nate Sanderson, girls High School basketball at Springville High School and Breakthroughbasketball.com coach, shared a powerful 4 minute video from his team’s state championship game last year – the amazing thing to watch in the video is observe what the teammates do for each other after any mistake. Nate’s quote: ‘We needed to interrupt the negative thought process in the midst of games, so we implemented what you see in the video.’
  • There are more than a dozen other great videos taken from the conference, check them all out here: WYC Facebook page

–

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

July 15, 2016

Special Insight on Culture – Live from the Way of Champions Transformational Coaching Conference

Interview with 3 J'sWOC screenshot
We’re taking a break in our 10 part series on culture this week to allow you to be able to peak inside the brains of some of the leading experts on creating championship culture.
–
I was blessed to be 1 of the 68 coaches who attended this conference, and since I know many of you would have loved to be there, I wanted to share a few powerful lessons I walked away with.  Also – just FYI – they are planning to do 2 or 3 more of these conferences around the country next year, so stay tuned at changingthegameproject.comor wayofchampions.com.
–
I could write many pages of notes on the lessons I learned, but I know many of you are like me, where you learn more through audio and video, so here are the most powerful videos that capture the essence of the conference:
  • 18 minute interview of Dr. Lynch, John O’Sullivan, and James Leath. Broken into 2 parts:
  • Nate Sanderson, girls High School basketball at Springville High School and Breakthroughbasketball.com coach, shared a powerful 4 minute video from his team’s state championship game last year – the amazing thing to watch in the video is observe what the teammates do for each other after any mistake. Nate’s quote: ‘We needed to interrupt the negative thought process in the midst of games,so we implemented what you see in the video.’
  • Dr. Jerry Lynch uses the acronym STRONG FACTS to list the steps to build championship culture.
    • Selflessness
    • Trust
    • Respect
    • Oneness
    • Never Quit
    • Gratefulness
    • Fearlessness
    • Awareness
    • Confidence
    • Thoughtfulness
    • Suffering
    • I summarize the last ‘S’ in the acronym, Suffering, from atop the Flatirons at Chataugua, in this 1 minute video:
      • Video Link
      • ‘The pathway to greatness is through suffering’
  • There are more than a dozen other great videos taken from the conference, check them all out here: WYC Facebook page
Also, for you audio learners, next week’s WYC podcast will be a compilation of the audio I recorded at the conference, so look forward to that. WYC Podcasts
Next week we’ll dive back into our 10 part series on culture and look at recognition and rewards.
  1. Team first – Link to post
  2. Team Cornerstones – Link to post
  3. Positive Environment – Which dog are you feeding? – Link to post
  4. Recognition & Rewards
  5. Captains
  6. Parents
  7. Building Trust
  8. Seek First to Understand
  9. Coaching your own kid
  10. Perspective & Giving Back
Continue Reading

July 15, 2016

WYC 085 – Performance Training – Bryan Schwebke talks Building a Strong Base

Dr. Bryan Schwebke is the founder of Paramount Performance as well as a performance physical therapist, coach and consultant. Bryan has worked with some of the world’s best athletes as well as many college and youth athletes. He is dedicated to providing athletes and their parents with the guidance, education and tools to safely and efficiently reach their goals.

Website: paramountperformancept.com

Facebook: /ParamountPerformancePT

Twitter: @ParamountPfrmPT & @BryanSchwebke

Youtube: Paramount Performance

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘On the day of victory, no fatigue is felt’

Topics/Questions

  • What is the biggest problem you notice with the athletes you see on a daily basis?
    • Their base isn’t strong enough to support what they are trying to do
  • What do you think is causing this problem?
    • Throwing kids into strenuous environments too early – specifically travel teams
  • What happens if you don’t have a strong base ?
    • Performance is decreased and recovery time from injury is increased
  • How can you fix or build a strong base? How do you know if you don’t have a strong base?
    • You probably don’t. Have them evaluated by a physical therapist and create a gameplay. This could start around 5th grade.
  • What is the Athlete Centered Model and what is your Performance Team?
    • Instead of having 4 or 5 different people coming up with a gameplan for an athlete (physical therapist, nutritionist, skills coach, personal trainer) – have all of them work together to come up with a joint gameplan
  • What are the biggest restrictions to coaches and parents not being able to give their kids a good base.
    • Lack of education and understanding where to invest your time and money as a parent
  • Multi-sport athletes have advantages

Self-confidence & Peak mental performance

  • Visualization can be key to recovering from injury
  • It does NOT mean you are weak if you need to practice and work on the mental side of the game
  • Visualization – free throw shooters who had 60% average
    • Practiced 500 shots per day – improved to 70%
    • Visualized their shot for 20 minutes per day – improved to 83%
    • Practiced 500 shots per day and visualized 20 minutes per day – improved to 85%
  • Website: paramountperformancept.com

Functional warm-ups

  • Make sure it’s applicable to the sport you are playing
  • Needs to activate the muscles
  • A couple good examples:
    • Alan Stein’s basketball warm-up – Link
    • Amanda Kephart’s warm-up description – Link

Outside of practice:

1 – Forget your ego – You probably aren’t an expert in performance training – learn from others

2 – Promote multiple sports

3 – Promote education for parents and athletes on why it’s important

4 – There’s more to being a coach than just practicing – bring in other experts – nutritionists, personal trainers, sports psychologist

Favorite quote

  • Quote: ‘On the day of victory, no fatigue is felt’

Paramount Performance

–

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

July 7, 2016

WYC 084 – Youth Basketball – Ryan Hohman talks Starting your own Youth Sports Program from scratch

Ryan Hohman has lived in the Pennsbury School District for 29 years and has been working with children since he was ten years old when his mother ran an in home daycare out of his home in the Thornridge section of Levittown. He attended West Chester University and graduated with a degree in education, and after two years of teaching in the city of Philadelphia, Ryan returned to Pennsbury where he has served as a Language Arts teacher and head basketball coach at William Penn Middle School for the past 10 years. Coach Hohman has established a reputation as a dedicated and passionate teacher both in the classroom and on the court. He has established Lady Falcons Elite Hoops to offer the level of basketball instruction that the girls of his beloved community deserve. Coach Hohman lives in the North Park section of Levittown with his wife Brooke and their two daughters Joley and Nola.

Facebook: /LFEHoops

Website: ladyfalconselitehoops.org

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘It’s about we, not about me‘

If you can’t find the youth sports program you want…start your own!

  • Ryan was frustrated with the lack of attention the leaders of the youth basketball program were giving to the girls side of the program
  • They did a bunch of research on how to start a non-profit, did a Gofundme, and launched program with 250+ girls in the 1st year and going into year 3 they will have 450+ girls!

Coaching your own kids

  • ‘You told me to pass more’ – Ryan was very stubborn when his dad coached him, and one time after scoring 27 points, his dad told him to pass more, so for the next couple games Ryan overreacted and took it to the opposite spectrum
  • Ryan goes with the ‘I love to watch you play’ after coaching his daughters
  • Ryan wants ‘Try-hards’ – kids that give it their all

My Cringe Moments

  • Most of all of Ryan’s cringe moments are sarcastic things he said to refs
  • The second thing was he used to take the results of all the games way too personally

Teaching Skills

  • You have to establish what the core fundamentals are that the level of kids you are coaching need
  • Make skill work fun and turn it into a game
  • With smaller kids it often starts with their feet!
  • Good game: Defensive slide duck-duck-goose: So you play the normal game but have to do defensive slide when running around the circle.
  • Another good game: Jump stop Mr. Fox

Mental Toughness/Achieving Peak Performance

  • Biggest thing a coach can do to help his kids: SMILE. Remind them that this is fun
  • Jay Bilas’ book Toughness talks about ‘Next Play’ – you can’t worry about previous plays, bad calls, etc. – you need to focus on the Next Play
  • All you can control is yourself and preparation, so don’t worry about things outside of your control

Culture – Discipline/Rewards/Teambuilding

  • Anytime they refer to people involved in the program they talk about the LFE Family. They constantly hashtag #LFEFamily
  • Establishing mentors within the program – Have the older girls connect with the younger girls
  • The standard is that everyone is going to work hard

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

  • Ryan coached a team that had a really tough situation with a girl who had a serious eating disorder – the team rallied around helping this girl out and it actually brought the team together

The One that got away

  • They have one team that spooks his girls – the best thing he has found is just to be prepared.

Best borrowed/stolen idea

  • Rick Pitino – ‘As I go through practice, I try to make corrections in 7 seconds or less.’ There needs to be a rhythm and pace to your practice. For youth- maybe this needs to be 20 seconds.
  • Tharp Gallimore study of John Wooden’s practice: What a Coach can Teach a Teacher

Favorite coaching book/quote

–

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

June 24, 2016

Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch – Part 2: Who are we?

Who are we? Establishing Program & Team Cornerstones
–
10 years ago one of my good friends Byron shared something life-changing in our adult Sunday school class. He shared a family crest he had developed with his family. It was pretty simple artistically speaking, but eternally powerful. His family had brainstormed and created 4 or 5 values that represented ‘Who we are.’ This provided the foundation for making decisions in the future – they just bounced them against their cornerstones. My family has adopted this same philosophy. We have an annual session where we brainstorm about who we are. I’ve attached the latest rendition of what we came up with. We keep it fun and sometimes even silly, so please understand the ‘Dog-botherers’ comment is an inside family joke and we love animals. 🙂
–
Screen Shot 2016-06-24 at 1.57.32 PM
–
Now we all know that if you try to focus on 10 or 20 things you will focus on nothing. So we then decide as a group on 4 or 5 of these values that will be our cornerstones.
–
Screen Shot 2016-06-24 at 1.56.36 PM
–
The more I talk to great coaches, the more I see this same type of process happening in great programs and teams. It starts with the coaches establishing the cornerstones of the program. But equally important is getting the buy-in from the team, so doing this type of brainstorming session with your team captains every year will establish your identity as a team. Here are some of the great ways I’ve seen this implemented:
  • Andres Montana – Learned from Bruce Brown at Proactive Coaching – Gather the coaches and 3 captains in preseason and define your Core Covenants – who are you going to be that season. Brainstorm by throwing words up on a board, then narrow it down to 2 or 3 that are going to define your team. Then you can order the livestrong-type bracelets that have those words on it. Check out Proactive Coaching’s guide to creating Core Covanants: First Steps to Building Successful Teams
  • Ken Stuursma’s program core covenants – from Raising a modern day knight:
    1. Accept responsibility
    2. Lead courageously
    3. Reject passivity
    4. Expect a greater reward
  • Chris Stricker’s program core covenants: CALI – Commitment, Accountability, Love, Integrity
  • Drew Maddux has Manhood Mondays – every Monday during the season they have different coaches and players create a shield with 4 parts to share with the team
    1. Tell a childhood story that defined them
    2. Tell a recent story that defines them
    3. How does the public view them
    4. Who their private self is
  • Rob Elwood’s team have 2 cornerstones:
    1. Gratitude – We thank our parents, the referees, our coaches, our teammates
    2. Be organized, everything has a place
  • John O’Sullivan – Great teams don’t have rules – great teams have standards.  Rules are meant to be broken – standards are expectations that the team agrees upon and holds each other accountable to.
In his book Inside-out Coaching Joe Ehrmann shares the goal: ‘Be a transformational coach rather than a transactional coach.’ It starts with your cornerstones.
Continue Reading

June 20, 2016

WYC 083 – Youth Baseball – Troy Silva talks 9 Innings of Hitting

Troy Silva is the author of the #1 bestselling book on Amazon & iTunes for coaching baseball – 9 Innings of Hitting. Troy spends his days coaching baseball at Rijo Athletics in the Seattle area. Troy has spent his life playing and coaching baseball, including being drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 1997 and playing 6 years of professional baseball. Troy is married and has 3 beautiful children.

Book: 9 Innings of Hitting

Twitter: @TroyPSilva

Facebook: /Rijo-Athletics-Baseball-Softball-49661522946

Websites: rijoathletics.com ; rijobaseball.tv

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘Hitters have to be smart enough to have a  good approach and dumb enough to get in there and hit.’

Pretty swings vs. developing consistent swings in players

  • Swing instruction is different than hitting instruction – you need someone to develop the concept of hitting. It starts with the swing, but that’s just the first step in the process of hitting.

Each individual has different needs

  • Early on while Troy was coaching – he realized that kids weren’t necessarily getting better, they were just looking better. He was trying to teach them all one way to swing, instead of working with each individual’s strengths.

Mental Toughness

  • There is a huge difference between expecting to hit the ball vs. trying to hit the ball
  • Mental approach actually has a physical effect on batspeed

Mental approach – how do you not overthink when at the plate?

  • ‘Hitters have to be smart enough to have a  good approach and dumb enough to get in there and hit.’
  • ‘Free hitters up to be athletic and just get in there and compete’
  • Quiet the mind – it’s ok to be thinking about 1 thing while at bat – just don’t start complicating it by thinking of 5 or 10 different things you need to do

Teaching progression

  • A great start is just to have kids watch their favorite big-leaguer and copy what they are seeing.
  • Start with mechanics. Then it comes down to the individual and what they need to become a productive hitter. Great progression chart in the book 9 Innings of Hitting

Should we teach the ‘oppo first’ approach when setting up our batting practices?

  • You should learn power first and how to swing hard BEFORE learning how to hit to the opposite field

HIT – Honor, Integrity, Truth

  • As a Christian, Troy uses baseball to be a light in a dark world.
  • As a coach your job is to be a mentor and positive influence in these young peoples’ lives.

The One that got away

  • Being drafted as a pitcher was really tough for Troy

Best borrowed/stolen idea

  • Ed Sheft – Mental toughness – You have to know you are better than your competitor

Favorite coaching/leadership quote/book

  • Personal experience is the best teacher

Rijo Athletics and 9 Innings of Hitting

–

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

June 8, 2016

WYC 082 – Youth Football – Greg Robinson talks offseason skill development & iYouthFootball

Greg Robinson has spent 6 years developing a non-contact system to train athletes ages 3 to 11 to catch, throw, and kick footballs. In 2015 he helped launch iYouthFootball to do just that. iYouthFootball is a system that can be brought to any town and can be taught by anyone regardless of their level of football experience. In this episode we discuss this system as well as other secrets to teaching kids skills.

Twitter: @iYouthFootball

Facebook: /iyouthfootball

Website: iyouthfootball.com

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

iYouthFootball

  • Complete training curriculums for coaches, orgs, and parents to teach fb skills on the field to kids ages 3-11.
  • Great chance to improve skills for a position you don’t get to play on with your team (i.e. a big/tall kid who wants to play quarterback but because of his size always gets put on the line)
  • They offer complete training packages and territory ownership to coaches, parents, and/or organizations
  • Website: iyouthfootball.com

Teaching Skills

  • Set the expectations up front. With the parents and the kids – This is what we are going to be learning, and these are the expectations of how you need to act so that we can achieve these goals.
  • Age-appropriate – Make sure you are making your drills age appropriate – this includes the size of the ball you are using.

Impacting Kids

  • The ultimate satisfaction as a coach is seeing the lightbulb go off when teaching a kid how to improve a skill

Best borrowed/stolen idea

  • Greg’s high school football coach is in the Pennsylvania hall of fame – and he was a disciplinarian, who kept things simple and would only run a few plays but they would practice them over and over again until they perfected them. The details are important. RUN LESS PLAYS!

–

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

May 31, 2016

WYC 081 – Building Culture – John Doss talks building a program with awesome culture

John just finished his first year as the the Brownsburg Lacrosse High School Head Coach after 2 years as the 7th/8th grade coach.  John played collegiate lacrosse as a goalie at San Jose State University. He was named a West Coast Lacrosse League (WCLL) All-Star 3 times.  Coach Doss also played 3 years of post-collegiate lacrosse with San Francisco Lacrosse Club and still remains active as a player with DOGS Lacrosse in Indianapolis.

John previously joined us in WYC Episode 52, but I asked him to join us again to share the awesome ways he has built an incredible culture into his program.

Twitter: @laxcoachdoss

Websites: brownsburglacrosse.com; indyelitelacrosse.com

 

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Starting a High School program

  • Communication
    • High school kids don’t check email much – so you might have to text or use a social media group
    • Own it – if the kids aren’t understanding something, that’s on me, not them
  • Everything starts with trust – ‘Build a relationship so strong that it bears the weight of honesty’

Mission 2 Assist

  • How do you have kids value assists as much as goals?
  • John used system described by Willie Cromack in WYC Episode 63:
    • John worked with 3 of the team captains to let them take ownership of it
    • They partnered with an adaptive sports wheelchair lacrosse program
    • They used the walk-a-thon type forms to fundraise – but used assists as the pledge criteria
    • By the end of the season they have raised almost $10k for that organization
    • Link to Go Play Better: GoPlayBetter.com

Culture and pre-game routine

  • They have helmet stickers with 3 chain links. In their pre game they link arms and talk about how strong a chain is and how they are there to play for the person on their right and left
  • The second part of their pre-game routine they share with each other what they are grateful for
  • The final thing they do is visualize, as specifically as possible, the success they are going to have in the game

Post-game talks & the 24 Hour Rule

  • John has converted the 24 hour rule that he uses with parents (parents don’t talk to me about issues for at least 24 hours after a game)- he now uses that same rule to not point out issues to his players immediately after the game. They usually aren’t in the mindset to listen or learn, so he saves it for the next practice.

Communicating with players – the ‘0 for 2’ Rule

  • When communicating instructions from the sideline – be careful not to go 0 for 2 – meaning your communication had a negative tone, and had no instructional value. Yelling ‘play harder’ or ‘catch the ball’ are examples of 0 for 2 communication.

Free Play Saturdays

  • This summer John is telling parents they can drop off their kids from 4 to 6 every Saturday and there will be pick-up games. Their will be 2 or 3 coaches there to make sure everyone is staying safe, but other than they the coaches are staying out of the way and letting the kids figure out teams, resolve arguments, pretty much do everything themselves. This is great not only for developing their skills, but it also teaches them conflict resolution and many other great life skills.

Parting Advice

  • John asked one of his kids: ‘If I told you that if you practiced wall-ball for 25 minutes 3 times per week that I would guarantee you start and play 100% of the time next season, would you do it?’ – The kid answered ‘Yes’, then John asked him ‘Then why aren’t you doing that now?’ John uses this challenge to let kids know that things in life aren’t guaranteed, but if you prepare with the mindset that you are going to outwork your competition, most of the time you are going to have great success

–

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

May 19, 2016

WYC 080 – Youth Baseball – David Klein talks Living a Legends Life

David Klein is the founder and Camp Director of the Menlo Park Legends Youth Summer camps – a premier collegiate summer baseball team and youth baseball camps in California. The Legends youth summer camp has nearly doubled in size every summer and the camp boasts over a 90% camper return rate. David and his staff have thousands of kids through the Legends camp program in 6 years and have been featured in a number of local blogs and newspapers. They also feature a youth academy and an exciting new podcast!

Twitter: @MenloDave

Facebook: /MenloParkLegends

Website/Podcast:menloparklegends.com

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘If you work hard and focus on the little things – good things will happen’

My Cringe & ‘Ah-Ha’ Moments

  • Early on he always taught kids to swing down on the baseball
  • Early on David did not spend very much time on the mental side of the game

Teaching Skills

  • Make a game and competition out of everything in practice
  • Be vocal, high-energy – and connect with the kids!

Mental Toughness/Achieving Peak Performance

  • Visualize your successes before they happen
  • Breathing- Breathing in oxygen into your lungs reduces cortisol levels/stress hormones
  • Have the kids develop a personal power statement – and have them create few words that represent that and write them somewhere (inside of their hats) to anchor on
  • Track Quality-at-bats instead of batting average

Culture – Discipline/Rewards/Teambuilding

  • Positive reinforcement works better than negative disciplines
  • For your rules – establish them at the beginning of the season, not in the middle
  • David emphasizes ‘looking the part’ – looking well dressed and being organized as a team
  • Praise progress instead of purely praising results
  • Post-game talk: Spend a few minutes debriefing – what worked well today, what can we work on in practice, acknowledge kids helping the team and progressing. Don’t get too high or too low!

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

  • ‘If you work hard and focus on the little things – good things will happen’ – David took over a team that was 0-4 and he told them he believed in them and if they work hard good things will happen – they went on to win the league championship

The One that Got Away

  • David coached a team that was in a championship game and the umpires made the worst call he had ever seen – and his team went nuts – to the point the umpires called the game in the 8th inning. David learned that as the coach – you have to be in control no matter what- and you cannot let your players or coaches get out of control

Best stolen idea

  • From his Dad – ‘You can please all of  the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time.’
  • Qualityatbats.com – from Steve Springer

Podcast

  • Link: A Legends Life Podcast
  • Applying lessons from the diamond into a legendary life off the field – includes interviews with many former big-leaguers

–

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

May 12, 2016

WYC 079 – Mental Performance – Lindsey Wilson talks breaking out of slumps and coaching girls

As the Co-Founder and Product/Program guru for Positive Performance, Lindsey works with athletes and coaches to unlock player and team potential through mental performance training. As an athlete, Lindsey had the privilege to play on many successful teams and collect an impressive playing resume along the way. As a mental training coach, Lindsey has developed mental performance training tools and techniques for universities, teams, and organizations across the globe.

Twitter: @lindseywilson13

Facebook: /positiveperformance

Website/blog: positiveperformancetraining.com

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘Change happens slowly and then all at once’

Visualization

  • Make it realistic (i.e.- I will never be able to dunk) – but make it a little out of reach
  • Your mind will naturally think of both positive and negative thoughts – be prepared for this & acknowledge the negative though non-judgementally
  •  BRAVR exercise – 5 minute pre-practice visualization routine – download it for free: positiveperform.clickfunnels.com/5min-a

Confidence in Girls vs. Boys

  • Girls develop the ability to read faces much earlier than boys – so because of that they are often looking for positive affirmation much more than boys. The danger of this is the girls might stop taking risks.
  • Typically girls have a much stronger need to create harmony within the team. Hunter-gatherer theory: As men were out hunting by themselves, the women were back raising children with the other women – so the need to get along was very important.
  • Socially – as men move up the corporate ladder, they are more liked. The opposite is true for women, as they move up and are more successful, they typically are less liked.

How to get out of a slump

  • Sometimes we actually like the extra attention
  • Momentum – It’s easier to keep going the direction we are going – so even if it’s a negative direction, we keep going. You have to break that negative path. Self-Talk is a great way to do it. We think 50,000 words per day- and the majority of it is negative (that’s a survival technique.)
  • ‘To be successful you have to lie to yourself a little bit. If you are not failing a lot – you are not pushing yourself hard enough, so realistically most of your time should be spent pushing yourself through those failures. But that’s mentally hard to get excited about, so you have to lie to yourself a little bit.’
  • Great post: positiveperformancetraining.com/slump/

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

  • Lindsey shares a story of a 10 year-old girl who had lost confidence and hope, and was crying during games. Lindsey worked with the girl and her parents to re-establish a guiding light and hope to break out of that mindset. The girl is 14 now and is doing great.

The One that Got Away

  • Not playing at the end of the championship game her freshman year and they lost by 1

Favorite coaching book/quote

Positive Performance Training

–

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

May 3, 2016

WYC 078 – College Scholarships – Nicolae Popescu talks college recruiting

Nicolae Popescu has built WeGotPlayers for those athletes who dream, hustle and work hard to play at the next level. For those players, who always had the desire to train, learn, take risks and fail graciously. The kind of players who have character, values, work ethic and a sharp mindset that will push them to do whatever it takes to succeed.

WeGotPlayers is designed to inspire and empower players to reach their highest potential in sports and life. With so much information out there, it’s so hard to know where to start, what to do and who to trust. They are here to help you unleash your talent so it won’t get lost in the shadows of empty hopes. Navigating through the college recruiting process himself and thanks to all the wonderful and helpful coaches and teachers he worked with, Nicolae has been fortunate to earn a full athletic scholarship at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT.

Today, he’s a proud husband, father, entrepreneur and coach who always tries to positively influence and help guide players on and off the field achieve their sports dreams. This is what fulfills him and gives him the power, energy and strength to keep on inspiring others achieve their dreams. Nicolae’s story is just one example of how playing sports changed his life.

Twitter: @1NicolaePopescu

Facebook: /wegotplayers

Website/blog: wegotplayers.com

 

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘Learn from your mistakes. Have the power and the strength within yourself. Lift yourself back up. Try again. And again.’

3-step plan for athlete to prepare for recruiting process

  1. Evaluate –
    • Has your athlete completed all academic requirements? Start looking at this in 9th grade.
    • Be realistic athletically
  2. Identify
    • Identify some criteria you will be evaluating when looking at schools: geographic location, academic requirements, do they offer the major you want to study, coaching staff and playing philosophy
  3. Connect
    • The kids need to email the college coaches themselves

We Got Players

  • Website/blog: wegotplayers.com
  • A very low-cost tool to help educate parents and coaches on the recruiting process and help create a Linkedin-type resume to share with colleges

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

  • Nicolae shared a story of a sophomore in high school who just verbally committed to a Division 2 school. You can’t wait until your senior year to start this process! And most importantly – choose a school based on its academics, not athletics!

Teaching Skills

  • Communication is key – you have to be crystal clear explaining to the kids what you want them to do. Using language they understand.

The One that got away

  • From his junior college days – Nicolae had a free kick that he wishes he had played differently in a game that could have moved them on to the finals. Lessons learned: ‘Learn from your mistakes. Have the power and the strength within yourself. Lift yourself back up. Try again. And try again.’

Best borrowed/stolen idea

  • It doesn’t matter what level you are coaching at – always remember who you coach. It’s not about you being a great coach, it’s about you knowing and developing young men and women.

Other recruiting services

Parting Advice

  • Enjoy the journey. Educate yourself and learn. Use lots of positive feedback, especially at younger ages. Keep it fun.

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

April 22, 2016

Achieving Peak Mental Performance – Factor #2: We are what we repeatedly do

The Growth Mindset – 7 Key Factors to Achieve Peak Mental Performance​​​​​​​
Factor #2 – We are what we repeatedly do
 –
‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.’ – Pete Carroll in Win Forever
The best way to minimize performance anxiety is practice: For every minute of a presentation, you need 1 hour of preparation – the same is true in sports. One of the best things you can do to prepare your athletes for high-pressure situations is to create practices that build up the confidence of players so when these types of situations occur in games they are experienced and know exactly what they are going to do. So how do you create practices like this? Here are some great guidelines:
  • Lots of small-sided games. Kids need lots of touches, and you get more touches with the ball if you are 3 on 3 vs. 5 on 5 or 11 on 11.
  • Freeplay is huge. No parents or coaches. Try having a silent Saturday – coaches and parents aren’t allowed to say ANYTHING.
  • Task design – from Stuart Armstrong of The Talent Equation and Reed Maltbie from CoachReed.com.
    • Don’t jump in too early – many people get uncomfortable when they see someone struggling and not being able to get there quite yet- so they either jump in and solve it for them, or they move on. But this never allows the learning to happen. The moment when they are close to figuring it out is actually the sweet spot. So the players shouldn’t think everything is easy and fun – it should be a little frustrating and uncomfortable.
    • Implicit Learning – False praise and spoon-feeding kids actually creates a fixed mindset in them. Create the task, then say very little – and observe their attempt to solve the problem, and observe what choices they make, then allow them through a questioning approach subsequent to the activity to feed back to you what they are experiencing, then allow them to solve problems.
    • Give them a challenge, and see if one of the players can figure it out on their own. If one does – let him/her show the team. If not, give them a hint and let them keep trying.
    • Design your practices like a video game designer: Create ‘levels’ that are within their reach, but it’s a big stretch that might feel just out of their reach. So when they figure something out – ask them ‘are you ready for level 2 now?’
Knowing that you are outworking your competition is a huge confidence-builder – I love the quote in a recent article about Kobe Bryant’s work ethic:
 –
“It’s not so much to do with the competition of the players and all this other stuff,” he said, “because I figured out at an early age, even if I showed them what it is that I do, they wouldn’t do it, just because it’s so boring and so much repetition that it takes a long time to do.”
Continue Reading

April 21, 2016

WYC 077 – Way of Champions Transformational Coaching – John O’Sullivan talks leadership

John pic Screen Shot 2015-04-21 at 12.38.07 PM

Screen Shot 2016-04-20 at 3.54.43 PM

John is the founder of the Changing the Game Project – whose mission is to is to ensure that we return youth sports to our children, and put the ‘play’ back in ‘play ball.’  They want to provide the most influential adults in our children’s lives – their parents and coaches – with the information and resources they need to make sports a healthy, positive, and rewarding experience for their children, and their whole family.

John started the Changing the Game Project in 2012 after two decades as a soccer player and coach on the youth, high school, college and professional level.  He is the author of the #1 bestselling books Changing the Game: The Parents Guide to Raising Happy, High Performing Athletes, and Giving Youth Sports Back to our Kids and Is it Wise to Specialize? John is also a regular contributor for SoccerWire.com, and his writing has been featured in many publications including The Huffington Post and Soccer America. John is an internationally known speaker for coaches, parents and youth sports organizations, and has spoken for TEDx, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, IMG Academy, and at numerous other events throughout the US, Canada and Europe.  He resides in beautiful Bend, OR, with his wife, Dr Lauren O’Sullivan, and two wonderful children and aspiring young athletes: Maggie Shea, age 10, and Tiernan, age 8.

Twitter: @CTGProjectHQ

Facebook: /SportsParentingResourceCenter

Website/blog: changingthegameproject.com

Way of Champions Conference link: changingthegameproject.com/wocconference

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Way of Champions – Transformational Coaching Conference

Dr. Jerry Lynch is the founder of Way of Champions, and has been part of 35 national and world championship teams, from the Golden State Warriors to UNC Women’s Soccer. He is the author of 12 books on leadership, championship culture, and coaching/parenting to win in sport and life.

At the Way of Champions Coaching Conference, you will spend a weekend being inspired by Jerry, John, and dozens of other transformational leaders.

Early-bird pricing if you sign up before May 1st – Click here to see more details about the conference

Leadership  – Great blog posts on Changing the Game Project

  • Bullying – Know the difference between being rude, being mean, and bullying – link to article
  • Captains – You have to train them! Also – just because a kid is a quiet introvert doesn’t mean they can’t be a captain – learn how to utilize their quieter leadership style to help lead the team.
  • How Adults take the joy out of sports – and how we can fix it – link to article

–

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 10.16.08 AM

Continue Reading

February 25, 2016

WYC 071 – Elite Hoops Basketball – Lee Miller talks Living by Numbers

 

Lee Miller is the National Director and Skill Development Trainer for Elite Hoops Basketball. 2015 marks Lee Miller’s 12th year as Director of Elite Hoops. Previously, Miller has Co-directed the University of Georgia’s basketball camps, worked at Duke University basketball camps and assisted with Jack Haley’s NBA Complete Player Camp in California. In 2004, he was amongst the best upcoming NBA talent while working at the 27th annual Pete Newell’s Big Man Camp in Las Vegas. Since 2009, Miller has trained over 1100 players, 83 of which have gone on to play at the Division I level. One of which was the 2011 AJC High School Player of the Year and current UVA Cavalier Malcolm Brogdon. Miller also worked extensively for 4 years with 2014 Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year, Isaiah Wilkins.

Website: elitehoopsbasketball.com

Facebook: /EliteHoops

Twitter: @LeeMillerElite; @EliteHoops

Listen Now:

Listen in ITunes: Itunes link

Listen in Stitcher: Stitcher link

Quote

  • ‘Success is the direct result of self satisfaction in knowing you did your very best’ – John Wooden

Coaching your own kids

  • Lee believes in letting the kids express interest before ‘forcing’ them into sports
  • With regards to travel sports: ‘What is too much?’ – Lee’s answer – if he or she has an off day, and they don’t want to go out and shoot in the driveway, then they are probably playing too many organized sports.

My Cringe & ‘Ah-Ha’ Moments

  • Early on -‘I started teaching players what I was taught’ and did not take the time to study whether it was really the best way to teach

Teaching Skills

  • Set up the expectation that the players need to bring the excitement and passion for the game, and as a coach you will be teaching them the skills they need to achieve success
  • Spend 75-80% of your practice time on fundamentals – not X’s and O’s. Great question to ask yourself at the younger ages: ‘How many times per game do we score from one of our offensive sets?’ – If it’s rare -then quit spending so much time on it and focus instead on teaching the kids fundamentals.

Building confidence

  • Living by numbers – They have created 15 core drills that can be measured numerically. The focus is on improvement.

Culture – Discipline/Rewards/Teambuilding

  • Lee is a big believer in energy in the gym. This starts on Day 1.
  • The three T’s:
    • Talk
    • Touch
    • Tap
  • Every player is either a proton or an electron – they are either bringing positive energy or negative energy

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

  • Lee coached a kid who was on the bubble as to making his middle school – but he committed and stuck with it and worked hard – and went on his make his freshmen team

Memorable Game

  • When Lee was coaching in high school – he had a loaded team that lost in the Elite 8 of the state championships – one lesson learned was that they should have gotten some of their younger players more experience earlier in the season

Best Stolen Idea

  • Go to other teams/coaches’ practices! At every level.
  • Watch the way different coaches motivate different players in different ways.

Best Book

Elite Hoops Basketball

  • Website: elitehoopsbasketball.com
  • Focus on fundamentals:
    • Skill development 90 minute sessions
    • Shooting club – Players get off 300-500 shots in 90 minutes
    • 3-on-3 leagues

Parting Advice

  • ‘Success is the direct result of self satisfaction in knowing you did your very best’ – John Wooden

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Continue Reading

February 22, 2016

It’s Not About You – Being a great gameday coach Part 7 of 8

90+% of all problems in youth sports could be eliminated if coaches(and parents) could remember, and act on, this one point:
‘It’s not about you. Or your win/loss record.’
Development>Winning
Fundamentals>Schemes
Individuals>’The program’
Yes, that’s right, I said it: Individuals>’The program.’ Coaches often misuse this concept. Team sports are awesome and powerful opportunities to learn about sacrifice, playing for someone other than yourself, and the whole ‘play for the name on the front of the jersey not the name on the back’ concept. But remember that is all from the player’s perspective. This is where coaches can lose perspective and confuse this. The best way to picture this is to ask this question:
‘If I could sacrifice the self-confidence and wellbeing of one of the players on my team so that the team could win a championship, would I do it?’
I think most would answer with an emphatic ‘No!’ Yet so many of the decisions around playing time, rewards/recognition, and who coaches focus their attention on is doing just this – tearing down the self-confidence of the children they coach. I’m not an advocate for equal playing time or ‘everybody gets a trophy’ – kids who work harder in the offseason absolutely deserve to play more than kids who don’t. But from a coach’s perspective – all decisions and actions need to factor in ALL the players on the team. It can be small things – Coach Drew Maddux, multi-time state champion at CPA in Nashville, TN – makes sure he talks to each player on his team and calls each one by name at every practice. And he doesn’t do cuts, so this can be 30+ kids at practice.
John Wooden often referred to his college coach at Purdue, Piggy Lambert, who when asked whether he had a successful season said:
‘Ask me in 20 years and we’ll see how successful these boys are. Then I’ll be able to tell you if I succeeded as a coach.’ 
Listen, I’m as competitive as the next guy, probably more so, but when I coach it’s not about me. My friend Alan Stein shared with his #1 rule to remember when coaching:
‘Always, always, always – do what is in the best interest of the player’
Continue Reading

February 17, 2016

WYC 070 – Youth Baseball – Rod Huff talks building championship teams

 

Rod Huff is a successful business executive with 30 years experience in the operations and administration area. He began his baseball coaching experience as an assistant coach when his son, Austin, was five years old. His first head coaching experience began in 1995 when his company, Sparrow Records, sponsored his 7- and 8-year-old coach-pitch team. That year, as a first-year coach, his team, nicknamed the Birds, went 15-2. That season ushered in somewhat of a dynasty in his Brentwood, Tennessee, community, where he is known as one of the winningest coaches ever in the local league. His nine-year record as a head coach includes five league championships and four runner-up titles. Huff took his operational and administrative executive abilities to the ball field and came up with a winning formula of organization, feedback, and motivation, which had parents and players alike asking to be drafted by him every year. He shared this system in his book, titled Coaching Made Easier: How to Successfully Manage Your Youth Baseball Team—A Step-by-Step Guide to a Rewarding Season.

Book Website: Coaches Choice

 

Listen Now:

Listen in ITunes: Itunes link

Listen in Stitcher: Stitcher link

Quote

‘The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital’ – Joe Paterno

Coaching your own kids

  • Rod gave a game-ball at the end of each game to a player, and he always would wait until every other kid had earned one before he would give one to his son. One year when the time came to give his son his game ball, his son had a terrible game, so Rod and the assistant coach had to ‘manufacture’ a creative way to reward him for something he did in the game. Lesson learned: should you save your son for last – or try harder to just treat him as every kid and give it to him when he deserves it?

My Cringe & ‘Ah-Ha’ Moments

  • Communication about playing time – If a player is not playing/starting because of their attitude in practice – be sure to communicate the reason to them.

Teaching Skills

  • If you are struggling with something in games – make a fun game out of it to practice. And repeat it, maybe for the entire practice, until the kids are comfortable and know what they are supposed to do.
  • Use stats to set your lineups. This is a good way to motivate improvement, and also it takes subjectivity out of it.

Building confidence

  • Humor can often be used to ‘lighten the mood’ if kids are taking a game too seriously
  • Be observant – some kids get real uptight if their Dad is there

Culture – Discipline/Rewards/Teambuilding

  • You have to lead by example
  • Draft kids:
    • With older brothers (seriously)
    • Age is huge, this is important if you can draft an older player vs. a younger one
    • The talented troublemaker is never worth it

Memorable Game

  • Coach Huff had a game against their rival where his players were struggling hitting, and when they came into the dugouts, he told his players to keep quiet – because their bats were asleep and he didn’t want to wake them up. This relaxed his team and they turned it around after that.

Best Stolen Idea

  • Tim Corbin – Vanderbilt coach: Empty your bench in inning changes – Anyone on the bench, between innings, go out and throw/stretch to stay involved. Also does a huddle with his team at they come off the field from defense, including everyone on the bench.

Parting Advice

  • Take it seriously, but have fun

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Continue Reading

February 12, 2016

Drop the mic- Pre-game,Halftime,Post-game Talks – Being a great gameday coach Part 6 of 8

We’ve all seen movies with powerful emotional pre-game, halftime, or post-game speeches given by the coach that inspired their team to play over their head and beat a Goliath-type opponent. So it’s easy to think this is what we should emulate to get our team fired up. Is this what the best coaches do? In my experience and observations, it is not. In fact, having done some of this early in my coaching days, it accomplishes just the opposite- it tightens the players up. Dave Cisar from Winning Youth Football discusses this in his book, stating:
‘I don’t go for much of the rah-rah stuff, and most of the very successful coaches I studied didn’t either’ 
Alan Stein from the Hardwood Hustle podcast had a recent episode where he discussed the 3 things to focus on in any pre-game, halftime, or post-game talk:
  1. Be concise, no fluff
  2. Be intentional and purposeful with your words
  3. Be honest
Check out this podcast episode, really good info:
A practical application that works well:
Pre-game/Halftime:
  • State your 2 or 3 goals for the game
  • Remind specific players/groups of a particular focus for having success in that game. ‘Offensive line remember to communicate as this coach loves to move around his defensive linemen to try to confuse you’
  • Have the players fist-bump their teammates and tell each other they believe in them and are playing for them, not themselves
Post-game:
  • Be extremely brief. Remember post-game is typically not a good time to teach. Kids minds are tired and they usually know what they did wrong or right. And usually when you go back and watch film you’re not as bad as you think in a loss, and you’re not as good as you think in a win.  Use gamefilm to truly analyze your performance and then make improvements in the next practice.
  • Let 1 or 2 teammates recognize each other and acknowledge someone who they saw give extraordinary effort or teamwork
  • Then… drop the mic. Let the kids go be kids.
I’ve heard differing opinions on whether to review how you did accomplishing your goals during your post-game talk. I do not. I do this at the start of my next practice. It is a great way to set the tone for your practice after you have had a chance to review the game on film. Then you can begin the practice by celebrating successes and talking about how you are going to fix shortcomings.
Continue Reading

February 5, 2016

Are you ready for this? – Being a great gameday coach Part 5 of 8

When I think back on my first few years coaching I realize that gamedays were not enjoyable, they were stressful. Why was this? The main reason was that I did not do a good job of doing as the boy scouts do:

‘Be Prepared’

This lack of preparation led to unease of what I would do if unexpected scenarios arose. And more importantly – it took away from my enjoyment of the game and my ability to help the players enjoy the game. Gameday is the time for players to enjoy the fruits of their labor, to showcase everything they have been working hard on in practice. By not adequately preparing, I was robbing the kids of my full engagement and enjoyment of the day.

Here are a few tips on things to prepare in advance of gameday to allow you to feel relaxed because you are ready for pretty much any scenario:

  • What is we’re up by a bunch – who do I want to get some extra playing time to? What if we’re down by a bunch – same question.
  • What is our plan if our base 1 or 2 plays are not working?
  • What if the referees make several costly big calls against you (they will!)?
  • You need a back-up plan for every player on the team- what if we lose our starting point guard or quarterback? You need to act calmly and prepared for every scenario – your team will respond in accordance with how you respond.
  • What if one of my coaches or I get sick or have an emergency? Who will take on that coach’s responsibilities?
  • Have backup equipment (i.e. mouthpieces, jerseys, etc.)
  • Bring a copy of league rules. And know them.

Don’t be the coach who is scrambling to figure out his starting line-up 5 minutes before the game. Be prepared. Then when scenarios occur that are beyond what you prepared for – THEY WILL- just relax, smile, and calmly make adjustments to your plan. Prepare to enjoy gameday.

Continue Reading

February 4, 2016

WYC 069 – Wrestling with Character – Robert Murphy talks developmental stages in the Passion First Academy

 

 Screen Shot 2016-02-04 at 9.54.15 AM

Robert Murphy works in sales by day, and has started a booming wrestling program by night.  Robert was a collegiate champion in wrestling, and has combined his knowledge with his passion to help kids to form Wrestling With Character – a program that provides young athletes the opportunity to grow as individuals by experiencing life lessons through the martial art of wrestling in conjunction with their Six Pillars of Character Curriculum.

Website: wrestlingwithcharacter.com

Facebook: /wrestlingwithcharacter

Twitter: @wwc365

Listen Now:

Listen in ITunes: Itunes link

Listen in Stitcher: Stitcher link

Quote

”Wrestling at young ages without training is like human cock-fighting. It’s child abuse.’ – Robert Murphy

Coaching your own kids

  • It’s really hard as a parent to watch your child struggle, cry, and have difficulties – but we have to allow them to go through this so they can grow.

My Cringe & ‘Ah-Ha’ Moments

  • It’s not about me – ‘I’ve got to focus on developing the kids, not on satisfying my ego’

Developmental stages

  • Reference to previous guest episode Melody Shuman: link
  • ‘Wrestling at young ages without training is like human cock-fighting. It’s child abuse.’ This leads to huge turnover and burnout.
  • Need to change the environment of having kids go to a few practices then throwing them into tournaments

HUGE IDEA:

  • Passion First wrestling academy – based on developmental stages. Kids graduate from levels by testing out of levels. Instead of belt colors (like in Karate), they have shirt colors. When they are ready to master a skill, they test on it, and move on to the next level after passing the test.
  • Each individual’s experience matters. The kids ‘in the middle’ in many sports are the ones who get left behind.

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

  • Robert coached a kid who reminded him of himself in high school – a bit of a loose cannon. He didn’t try to change him overnight – just supported him and believed in him.
  • Don’t try to compare athletes – ‘I want Joe to be the best Joe’

Culture – Discipline/Rewards/Teambuilding

  • 6 Pillars of Character:
    • Respect
    • Attitude
    • Passion
    • Integrity
    • Discipline
    • Honesty
  • Steel Sharpens Steel – We all need each other to make each other better

Best Stolen Idea

  • Coach Mike Denney – Taught Robert the importance of character and creating a family environment. He lived it too – re recruited Robert out of high school, and Robert chose to go to his rival – and yet every time he saw him he always came over and shook his hand and said hi.

Recommended Resources

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Continue Reading

January 29, 2016

The best playbook ever – Being a great gameday coach Part 4 of 8

The search for the perfect playbook for their team consumes many coaches’ focus and energy. The irony is, the great coaches I have observed consistently have playbooks than can be boiled down in 2 simple ways:
1 – They have 2 or 3 base plays and a few variations off of these
​2 – They don’t change much throughout the season
Do you know what the best playbook is for your team? It’s probably the one you have right now, but probably should have less plays. Keep it simple. One of the best football minds I know is Joe Daniel, he shared this with me:
‘Simplify so kids build confidence-confident kids play fast-fast kids win games.’
During every season most likely there will be a game, or a stretch of games, where it feels like your playbook is not working. Here are a few Do’s and Dont’s to consider when evaluating how to fix it:
​
– Do this: Spend time perfecting your base plays in practice the next week.  Re-visit the fundamentals of what makes the base plays work and analyze any shortcomings.  Lots of reps vs. air with attention to the ‘little things’ that make your system work
– Do this: Seek input from an expert. Show video of a couple plays to your local high school coach and ask for his advice.
– Don’t do this: Panic/over-react. Think your system is flawed, scrap the whole thing, and implement a whole new system.
– Don’t do this: Think you need more plays to ‘trick’ the other team.  Often if things aren’t working you have too many plays.  And sometimes the other team is just really good.
Keeping things simple and sticking with a consistent plan allows you to focus on what the great coaches focus on: teaching kids to be great at fundamentals and to play games freely without overthinking complicated systems.
Next week we’ll look into gameday scenarios to be prepared for.
Continue Reading

January 27, 2016

WYC 068 – Player Development – Stuart Armstrong talks The Talent Equation

 

Stuart does player development for England Rugby by day and shares stuff with the world about talent development by night. Stuart worked in coaching golf for 10 years and invented a game called Try Golf, and over the past 4-5 years has been involved in developing talent pathways with many athletes, including Olympic athletes and the players at England Rugby.

Website: thetalentequation.co.uk

Facebook: /thetalentequation.co.uk

Twitter: @stu_arm

Listen Now:

Listen in ITunes: Itunes link

Listen in Stitcher: Stitcher link

Quote

‘Task Design is critical – because many people get uncomfortable when they see someone struggling and not being able to get there quite yet- so they either jump in and solve it for them, or they move on. But this never allows the learning to happen. The moment when they are close to figuring it out is actually the sweet spot.’ – Stuart Armstrong

Coaching your own kids

  • Stuart coaches his own 8 year-old son in field hockey. He also plays ‘house hockey’ with his 4 year-old daughter and son

My Cringe & ‘Ah-Ha’ Moments

  • Use video to have someone record you while you’re coaching – then watch it back and make improvements on what you don’t like
  • Most gameday frustrations are really just showing your own shortcomings as to what you are teaching (or not teaching) during practice

Talent development

  • Task Design is critical – because many people get uncomfortable when they see someone struggling and not being able to get there quite yet- so they either jump in and solve it for them, or they move on. But this never allows the learning to happen. The moment when they are close to figuring it out is actually the sweet spot. So the players shouldn’t think everything is easy and fun – it should be a little frustrating and uncomfortable.
  • Design your practices like a video game designer:
    • Create ‘levels’ that are within their reach, but it’s a big stretch that might feel just out of their reach. So when they figure something out – ask them ‘are you ready for level 2 now?’
    • Use terms like ‘power-up’ and ‘freeze’ to mix up games during practice. One team can ‘freeze’ the other team for 5 seconds
  • Mark Upton and Al Smith – My Fastest Mile – Thought leaders on Task Design
  • Is your coaching on TARGET?:
    • Task Design
    • Autonomy
    • Repeatability – Repetition without repetition
    • Grouping
    • Engagement
    • Time
  • Implicit Learning – False praise and spoon-feeding kids actually creates a fixed mindset in them.  Create the task, then say very little – and observe their attempt to solve the problem, and observe what choices they make, then allow them through a questioning approach subsequent to the activity to feed back to you what they are experiencing, then allow them to solve problems. Link: Tharp-Gallimore paper on verbal cues

Self-Confidence and teaching kids to achieve peak performance

  • How do you know if learning is taking place? – Teaching Games for Understanding founder Rob Thorpe: ‘It’s great now that kids are playing games instead of doing drills, the problem is if all they are doing is playing games- it’s not a great deal better.’ You have to be doing games in a certain way to create positive learning experiences.  One element of this – is to create games that create pressure, or scenarios that have cognitive stress that replicate the competitive environment. One of the ways to do this – is ritual humiliation: i.e. if you lose this competition the winning team will get to choose the song the losing team has to sing.

Culture – Discipline/Rewards/Teambuilding

  • Amanda Visek’s research on 81 Fun Maps – top of the list is team dynamics.
  • First priority for team dynamics is to get them aligned to a set of behaviors. Establish:
    • Unacceptables – We do not accept this behavior
    • Acceptables – This is what we are looking for
    • Exceptionals – This is what we are striving for
  • The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lensioni

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

  • Stuart coached a young man who he challenged to really start to think through the game and challenge himself.

Sports specialization

  • Although generally specializing at a young age is not good -there are some young athletes whose have  the ‘rage to master.’ i.e. – Rory McIlroy was obsessed with golf and to have forced him to play other sports probably didn’t make sense for him.

Concussions

  • Rugby players he coaches have a graduated return to play – that is 21 days!

Parting Advice

  • Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – be creative, try out some new games. Move away from ‘cone-pawn’ – we don’t want to see fields full of cones and kids following cones.

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Continue Reading

April 23, 2015

WYC 042 – Changing the Game – John O’Sullivan talks Sports Specialization vs Early Engagers

 Screen Shot 2015-04-21 at 12.38.07 PM

What does it take to be a winning youth coach? Listen in as John O’Sullivan shares stories and discusses his journey to becoming a successful youth sports coach.

John is the founder of the Changing the Game Project – whose mission is to is to ensure that we return youth sports to our children, and put the ‘play’ back in ‘play ball.’  They want to provide the most influential adults in our children’s lives – their parents and coaches – with the information and resources they need to make sports a healthy, positive, and rewarding experience for their children, and their whole family.

John started the Changing the Game Project in 2012 after two decades as a soccer player and coach on the youth, high school, college and professional level.  He is the author of the #1 bestselling books Changing the Game: The Parents Guide to Raising Happy, High Performing Athletes, and Giving Youth Sports Back to our Kids and Is it Wise to Specialize? John is also a regular contributor for SoccerWire.com, and his writing has been featured in many publications including The Huffington Post and Soccer America. John is an internationally known speaker for coaches, parents and youth sports organizations, and has spoken for TEDx, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, IMG Academy, and at numerous other events throughout the US, Canada and Europe.  He resides in beautiful Bend, OR, with his wife, Dr Lauren O’Sullivan, and two wonderful children and aspiring young athletes: Maggie Shea, age 9, and Tiernan, age 7.

Twitter: @coachjohnnyo

Facebook: /SportsParentingResourceCenter

Website/blog: changingthegameproject.com

Listen Now:

Listen in ITunes: Itunes link

Listen in Stitcher: Stitcher link

 

Coaching/Leadership Quote

 

‘When you are coaching sports – you don’t coach a sport, you coach a child’ – Dr. Martin Toms

 

Coaching Your Own Kids

  • Coaching your own kid is a tough challenge because you are discipling their friends and can off-the-field ramifications

My Cringe & ‘Ah-Ha’ Moments

  • There is so much to learn as a new coach – early on John didn’t realize how powerful his actions and words are as a coach – they will stick with these young people for their lifetime
  • A-ha moment: John coached a young man in high school – and after college he called John to thank him for the lessons he had taught.  This was eye-opening on the seriousness of the responsibility of coaching young people.
  • You’re going to make mistakes- and that’s OK – but use this as an opportunity to be humble and apologize – this is a great example to the kids.

Teaching Children & Keeping it Fun

  • Dr. Martin Toms’: ‘When you are coaching sports – you don’t coach a sport, you coach a child’
  • Don’t professionalize youth sports – focus on developing the kids, not for the win today.  Long-term goals instead of short-term.  What do kids need from a youth sports coach? – Enjoyment, ownership, and to be intrinsically motivated.

Winning

  • It very much depends on what/who you are coaching – if you are coaching a prospective olympic gymnast, who’s physical activity peaks at 14-15 – you have to start earlier
  • But for all of us coaching kids ages 6-12- the focus has to be development over winning – so don’t not play a kid just because it’s a close game

HUGE IDEA #1

  • Study done by Amanda Visek from George Washington University – asked kids: ‘why do you play sports?’ – 9 out of 10 answered because it is fun.  Then she asked them to define what fun is: they came up with 81 different characteristics of what fun is – and ‘winning’ was down at #48 on the list.  Link to article: Fun not winning
  • Coaching high-level youth soccer – Coach O’Sullivan started every player 1/3 of the games – this gives you the opportunity later in the season/game you can go with who is ‘hot’ because they are all having opportunities to shine

Specialization in Youth Sports

HUGE IDEA #2

  • Unless you are coaching female olympic gymnastics, figure-skating, diving – the rest of athletes don’t hit their peak until their 20’s
  • Kids who specialize early:
    • 70-90% more likely to get hurt
    • Far more likely to burn out
    • Far more likely to develop psychological issues
    • Don’t develop all-around sports athleticism
  • There is a huge difference between specialization and early-engagers:
    • Specialization is adult-driven, organized environment, focused on long-term goals
    • Engagement is child-driven, play-centered, focused on enjoyment of the game
      • There is tons of free-play
      • They fall in love with the game
      • They have the space to fail, the freedom to be creative without an adult looking over their shoulder telling them what they are doing wrong
    • What if your 7-year-old says he only wants to play 1 sport? – You are the adult and you need to guide them to branch out and try different things.

Mental Peak Performance

  • Every kid is different.
  • Preparing a kid doesn’t start the night before a tryout
  • The important thing is to encourage kids to work hard, and learn from situations, good and bad.  Don’t make excuses, don’t blame coaches – just learn teaching moments.

Discipline

  • Great teams don’t have rules – great teams have standards.  Rules are meant to be broken – standards are expectations that the team agrees upon and holds each other accountable to.

The One that got away

  • John shares that the games he looks back upon with the most regret are ones where the opponents just produced such a toxic environment of negativity

Best Stolen idea

  • Jerry Yeagley from Indiana Univ – Jerry could make whoever he is talking to feel like the most important person in the room

Changing the Game Project

  • Teaching parents how to help kids become the most competitive athletes they can be
  • Teaching coaches to develop positive significance in your players’ lives
  • Online coaching and parent education, books, blog
  • Currently developing 7-week online course for coaches with world experts in each area

Parting Advice

  • You don’t coach a sport, you coach a child
  • Coaching is a calling – respect that.  ‘I am not going to be disloyal to a sport that has given me a life’

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

Continue Reading
Visit Us On TwitterVisit Us On Facebook