#160 Inside the Mind of a World Cup Referee with Esse Baharmast

This week on the Way of Champions Podcast we welcome Esfandiar “Esse” Baharmast, a former referee, player, coach and current instructor who has been involved in more than a dozen World Cup tournaments and Olympic Games, and was named the 2020 winner of U.S. Soccer’s prestigious Werner Fricker Builder Award. We dive into how great referees
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#159 How to support your athletes during COVID-19 w/ John O’Sullivan and James Leath

John O’Sullivan and James Leath get together and do a free webinar about how to support your kids and your athletes during these uncertain times. First, John shares practical advice about what you should do to help kids cope with what is going on, including defining success, being careful not to rupture any relationships, and do whatever you can to
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I Already Miss Watching My Kids Play

It’s Tuesday, March 17, at 3pm. It has been a week since I got to watch my kids play soccer, at their final practice before the state of Oregon cancelled all group gatherings and sporting events. It has been 10 days since I watched their last games. And like all of you reading, I have
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#158 Quin Snyder: NBA Head Coach, philosopher, and Master of the Relationship Game

This week on the Way of Champions Podcast we welcome NBA Head Coach of the Utah Jazz, Quin Snyder. We discuss Coach Quin’s journey of going from a player to a coach and how coaching overseas overseas helped him create his coaching philosophy. Coach Snyder is not like a lot of coaches, in that he
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#157 How to be a Great Coach with Martin Rooney, author and NFL, MMA and Special Forces Trainer

This week on the Way of Champions Podcast we welcome Martin Rooney, author and trainer for the NFL, MMA, Special Forces Trainer…and high school kids! Martin doesn’t just talk the talk, but he is in the trenches daily training people to perform at their peak level. There is so much goodness in this episode! Martin has been educating coaches
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#156 “Don’t End Up a Flat Squirrel” with sport psychologist Dr. Tiff Jones

This week on the Way of Champions Podcast we welcome Dr. Tiffany (Tiff) Jones, a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) who is on the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) Sport Psychology Registry.  With over 15 years of consulting experience, Dr. Tiff is the Founder of X-Factor Performance Consulting, specializing in mental skills training for athletes,
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How to Coach Your Own Child: An Excerpt from Every Moment Matters

This week, John will be reading a chapter from his new book Every Moment Matters on “How to Coach Your Own Child.” It is estimated that over 80% of coaches at one time or another coach their own child, yet this unique dynamic is never discussed in coaching education classes, and rarely mentioned by Park and
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Raising Strong, Resilient Girls through Positive Psychology with author and coach Lani Silversides

This week on the Way of Champions Podcast we welcome, Lani Silversides. Lani is a former Division I athlete, current high school mathematics teacher, high school varsity and youth coach, sport psychology enthusiast, avid photographer and mother of two. We dive into transitioning from high school to college sports, the importance of understanding sport psychology as a
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#153 How to Help Athletes Transition Out of Sports with former NFL player Phil Costa

This week we welcome Phil Costa, former NFL Player for the Dallas Cowboys. We dive into a question every athlete must eventually face when they come to the end of their plying career: “What now?” Phil shares his experience trying to remake himself after football is over, we discuss how sports prepares athletes for life,
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Another Great Coach Bites the Dust. How Sad!

Yesterday was a tough day. It was a tough day because I had a conversation with another coaching friend who had lost his job. He was not fired for doing anything illegal. He was not fired for anything inappropriate. He was not fired for bullying or demeaning behavior. He was complimented for his integrity and
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#152 The Future Coach: Incorporating psychology into every session with EPL and Olympic Sport Psychologist Tom Bates

This week we welcome back to the podcast Sport Psychologist Tom Bates. Tom has over 15 years working with youth and senior domestic international athletes, coaches, managers and teams helping them to perform under pressure and be at their best when it matters the most. We discuss implementing sport psychology into daily practice, how to
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#151 Kevin Kirk: Olympic and Professional Golf Coach and 2019 PGA Teacher of the Year

In 2019, Kevin Kirk was voted PGA Coach of the Year. Kevin Kirk is one of the top golf coaches in the world. He is a deep thinker, culture creator, and ll-around great guy. We talk bout how to incorporate mental training to golfers, talking with parents, preparing for the national stage as an athlete…you do
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Bonus Episode: “In Search of Greatness” with Film Director Gabe Polsky

If you have not yet watched In Search of Greatness, you will want to after this incredible discussion with the movie’s director Gabe Polsky. We dive deep into his time with some of the greatest athletes of our time, including Wayne Gretzky, Pelé, & Jerry Rice. The film also features Muhammad Ali, Einstein, David Bowie,
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#150 How to Develop Thinking Players with 10x NCAA Champ and Lacrosse Legend Gary Gait

How do you get buy-in from athletes? Why is it important to not try and fit players into a system? How can being a creative thinker make you a better coach? Join us as we answer these questions and much more of Gary Gait, considered by many as the greatest lacrosse player of all-time. iTunes 
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#149 US Soccer Legend Landon Donovan and Carrie Taylor: Breaking New Ground in Professional Soccer with SD Loyal

iTunes  –  Spotify  –  Stitcher Join us as we welcome Landon Donovan and Carrie Taylor to the Way of Champions Podcast this week. Landon Donovan is an American soccer legend. He is the all-time leading scorer for the US national team, a 6x Major League Soccer Champion, and played professionally in MLS, the English Premier
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#148 NFL All Pro, Broadway star, and author of “There is No Plan B for Your A Game”

iTunes  –  Spotify  –  Stitcher From the football field, to the stage, to becoming a best-selling, author Bo Eason joins us on the Way of Champions Podcast to discuss peaking in youth sports, competing against difficult opponents, and the mentality it takes to be the best in the world. Highlights from the Podcast: Bo shares
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#147 Dr. Bob Weil, Sports Podiatrist, on Building a Foundation of Athletic Excellence

iTunes  –  Spotify  –  Stitcher If the shoe fits, performance improves! That is the message our guest this week is so passionate about sharing. Dr. Bob Weil is a sports Podiatrist & host of “The Sports Doctor”, bbsradio.com/thesportsdoctor, a live weekly hour show featuring guests from all aspects of sports medicine, fitness & Wellness. Highlights
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Are Sports Fundamentally Good?

I recently came across a great quote from the poet TS Elliot, who says “Nothing pleases people more than to go on thinking what they have always thought, and at the same time imagine that they are thinking something new and daring: it combines the advantage of security with the delight of adventure.” The quote
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#146 Dr. Jay Martin, All-Time Winningest Men’s Collegiate Soccer Coach

iTunes  –  Spotify  –  Stitcher Dr. Jay Martin, Head Men’s Soccer Coach for Ohio Wesleyan for the past 42 years is the winningest coach in college men’s soccer history. We talk with Coach Martin about the importance of making practice fun, how kids have changed in the past 43 years of coaching, and how to
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#145 ”Inside the Mind of an Elite Athlete with Annie Vernon, Olympic Silver Medalist and World Champion Rower”

Thank you to everyone who has purchased my new book, “Every Moment Matters: How the World’s Best Coaches Inspire Their Athletes and Build Championship Teams.” Order 10 or more books for your staff, received 25% off per book. For bulk orders, email john@changingthegameproject.com or visit changingthegameproject.com/everymomentmatters  more information.  What is it like to be be
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Why Do I Coach? An Excerpt from EVERY MOMENT MATTERS

People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe. —Simon Sinek We spend the vast majority of our time in traditional coaching education learning the tools to run a great practice and coach in the competition. Intuitively, this seems to make sense. Yet
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#144 How Do Athletes Define Fun? Amanda Visek PhD shares ideas for Coaches and Parents

This week on the Way of Champions Podcast, we welcome back Amanda Visek, a certified mental performance coach and associate professor at George Washington University. Dr. Visek has contributed to some of the most incredible research out there on youth sports. During our chat, we discuss why fun is looked upon so poorly in youth
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Our 2019 Books of the Year

“The only thing that will prevent you from getting better is thinking that you know it all.” That was the advice Fergus Connelly gave us on our podcast this year, and it is a great concept to think about as 2019 draws to a close. So how do you get better? Well, reading books and
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#143 Establishing a mental framework for success with Sport Psychologist Dan Abrahams

iTunes  –  Spotify  –  Stitcher Dan Abrahams is a sport psychologist who works alongside individuals, teams, coaches and organizations globally. He is known for his passion to de-mystify sport psychology and for creating simple to use performance techniques. Dan is a returning guest to the show (see episode #003) and it was again an incredible
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#142 What Coaches Can Learn from Video Game Designers with UEFA A Licensed Coach Amy Price

FA National Women’s Coach Developer, Amy Price shares her unique approach to player development as she shares how coaches can use the principles of video game design to engage in their development, setting challenges, designing tasks and encouraging problem-solving. Highlights from the Discussion: How to gain trust of a new team Assessing what a team
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#141 Catch Them Being Good: A replay of our interview with the late, great World Cup and Olympic Champion Tony DiCicco

iTunes  –  Spotify  –  Stitcher Tony DiCicco was the former Head Coach of the US Women’s National and Olympic Soccer Teams, as well as the US U20 Women’s National Team.  He coached the US National Team to their famous victory in the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup Championship, the largest women’s sporting event in history. Unfortunately, Tony
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#140 How to Design a Great Practice and Prepare your Athletes for Competition with Skill Acquisition Expert Ian Renshaw

iTunes  –  Spotify  –  Stitcher “Can you turn the skill into a game?” That is the challenge from this week on the Way of Champions Podcast. Join us as we talk with Dr. Ian Renshaw, Senior Lecturer at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. We discuss the fundamental ideas behind teaching children, how we as coaches
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#139 How to Teach your Athletes to Move Safely and Efficiently with Running Rewired author Jay Dicharry

iTunes  –  Spotify  –  Stitcher This week on the Way of Champions Podcast, John talks with Jay Dicharry, one of America’s leading physical therapists and a board-certified Sports Clinical Specialist. The conversation explores many great topics, including how we shouldn’t be teaching running to young children, why cutting volume short but keeping intensity high is
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#138 Is Sport Essentially Good, or is That Wishful Thinking? A Conversation with Sports Sociologist Jay Coakley 

iTunes  –  Spotify  –  Stitcher This week on the Way of Champions Podcast, John talks with Sport Sociologist Jay Coakley, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. The conversation is full of great topics, including why we should punish our kids with conditioning, the three models of youth sports, and
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#137 (Replay) Jenny Levy, Two-Time National Lacrosse Champion and Coach of the Year, on why it’s not the winning, it’s the atmosphere that matters most

This is a replay of episode 023. It is so good, we wanted to share it again! What if one of the best basketball coaches in the world told you that doing what you think is best for the culture and the program is more important than winning an NCAA title? Would you be willing
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