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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#136 Steve Kerr, 8x NBA Champion player and coach, on developing your culture and being a great coach

We have a treat for you this week!!! This week on the Way of Champions Podcast, John and Jerry have a discussion with 8x NBA Champion player and coach, Steve Kerr. What makes a great coach? How do you build a championship culture? Why should a coach ask their team, “How can I be better for
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#135 Chris Ritter of Ritter Sports Performance talks strength training, building culture, and the multi-sport athlete

iTunes  –  Spotify  –  Stitcher This week on the Way of Champions Podcast, John talks with Chris Ritter of Ritter Sports Performance. The conversation is full of great topics, including how to effectively motivate young athletes, bully coaching, and how a coach evolves over time. Chris Ritter has been coaching and inspiring others for over
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Do Sports Actually Teach Character?

Head to any sports field this afternoon, and you will hear whistles blaring and coaches urging on their players to work harder and compete more. You will see exhausted athletes with their hands on their knees being implored to do one more set, or a coach shout “do it again” when a rep is not
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#134 – Eastern Philosophy Meets Western Athlete Performance: A Discussion with Chungliang Al Huang

iTunes  –  Spotify  –  Stitcher This week on the Way of Champions Podcast, John and Jerry talk with Al Huang about how Eastern philosophy meets Western psychology and how it relates to athlete performance. All shares stories about going to work with professional coaches and sports teams, bringing this this message of athleticism and movement and
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The Highlight Episode: John and James break down the most interesting topics raised in recent interviews

iTunes  –  Spotify  –  Stitcher In this week’s episode we are changing it up a little bit. John and James go back a few episodes and discuss some of the major points from each interview. Some of the topics they dive into include what drives kids out of sports, if shaming bd sideline behavior is
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#132 Professional Soccer Player Chris Wondolowski on building a Warrior Culture and becoming the all time leading scorer in MLS history

iTunes  –  Spotify  –  Stitcher This week on the Way of Champions Podcast, John and Jerry talk with San Jose Earthquakes’ Chris Wondolowski on building a warrior culture and becoming the all time leading scorer in MLS history. It is a great episode you are not going to want to miss! Highlights from the Discussion: Jerry
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#131 Terry Steiner, Team USA Women’s Wrestling Head Coach “You could be the last person with a chance to reach that kid!”

iTunes  –  Spotify  –  Stitcher “What is the difference between an artist and a coach? At the end of the day, an artist can throw their work away, but a coach cannot.” You do not want to miss this interview with Women’s National Wrestling Team Head Coach Terry Steiner. We discuss the difference between coaching
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#130 What are your coaching “non-negotiables?” A discussion with Sport Consultant JP Nerbun

iTunes  –  Spotify  –  Stitcher This week’s podcast guest is J.P. Nerbun, mentor, writer, coach, and sports consultant. We dive into the difference between transformational coaching and transactional coaching, why labeling an athlete as “uncoachable” is more of a reflection on the coach than the athlete, and why every coach should be intentional about their “non-negotiables.” JP has
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#129 Win the Day with sport psychologist and Way of Champions founder Dr. Jerry Lynch

Tunes  –  Spotify  –  Stitcher How does picking values make us better coaches? What are ways coaches can increase influence? How do we find life balance as a coach? All this and so much more as we welcome back sports psychologist Dr. Jerry Lynch fresh from the 4th annual Way of Champions conference. Jerry has
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#128 Can We Stop the Officials Shortage by Shaming Parents and Coaches? A Conversation with Referee Brian Barlow

iTunes  –  Spotify  –  Stitcher This week’s podcast guest is Brian Barlow, Oklahoma father and soccer referee Brian Barlow. On his facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/youreoffside/, Barlow calls out parents who are caught on tape displaying poor sportsmanship and offers $100 to people who submit the videos to bring attention to the pervasive problem of parents acting badly
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#127 Mark Pulisic, Father of USMNT Star Christian Pulisic, on Coaching and Raising Highly Motivated Athletes

This weekend, US men’s national team star Christian Pulisic began his EPL career with Chelsea after his $73 million transfer from Borussia Dortmund to London. In today’s podcast, we speak with his father Mark, a former collegiate and professional player and coach, about a variety of topics, including what it was like to raise Christian,
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#126 “The Only Thing That Will Prevent You From Getting Better is Thinking That You Know it All” 59 High-Performance Lessons from the Best of the Best with Fergus Connolly

Click here for apple Podcast Link In this week’s podcast we welcome Dr. Fergus Connolly, one of the world’s foremost human performance thought leaders and influencers. Dr. Connolly has applied performance science with leading sports, military, and business teams. He is the only coach to have full times roles in every major sport, including soccer (Liverpool, Bolton
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#125 Champions Act Like Champions Before they Become Champions: How to Find Your Hidden Talent with Author and Coach Travis Daugherty

In this week’s podcast we welcome Travis Daugherty, a coach, teacher, speaker, and author of Hidden Talent: Uncovering What Really Makes a Champion a Champion.We discuss how sports should bring families together, the importance of knowing your “why” as a coach, and why it is crucial to know the difference between talent and ability. Other Highlights from the
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