WOC #20 Jim Thompson, Founder of the Positive Coaching Alliance, on How Connection Precedes Commitment in Leadership
Monday, 31 July 2017
What if there was a single component you could add to your coaching that would get total commitment from your players, create better relationships with your parents, and possibly help you win more games? Jim Thompson shares this component and more in the newest Way of Champions Podcast. He also discusses the knowledge, strategies, and
- Published in Coaching, Leadership, Podcast
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WOC #19 Sam Walker, Best Selling Author of The Captain Class, The counterintuitive leadership qualities of the men and women who led the greatest teams of all time.
Sunday, 23 July 2017
What do the Collingwood Magpies, the New Zealand All Blacks, Barcelona Football Club and the New York Yankees have in common? They’re all members of author Sam Walker’s list of the 16 greatest sports teams ever. It’s not the talent, the coach, or the strategy that made these teams great – it was the Captain.
- Published in Leadership, Podcast
WOC #15 Julie Foudy, Two-Time World Cup Champion and ESPN Analyst, on Choosing to Matter
Sunday, 25 June 2017
Julie Foudy is a two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist. She played for the United States women’s national soccer team from 1987–2004. Foudy finished her international career with 271 caps and served as the team’s captain from 2000–2004 as well as the co-captain from 1991–2000. In 1997, she was the first
- Published in Leadership, Podcast
WOC #11 Jon Gordon, Best Selling Author and Leadership Expert, on The Power of Positivity
Monday, 29 May 2017
Jon Gordon’s best-selling books and talks have inspired readers and audiences around the world. His principles have been put to the test by numerous Fortune 500 companies, professional and college sports teams, school districts, hospitals, and non-profits. He is the author of 17 books including 5 best-sellers: The Energy Bus, The Carpenter, Training Camp, You
- Published in Leadership, Podcast
WOC #10 Angela Hucles, 2x Olympic Gold Medalist Talks About Leaving Space for Introverts to Lead
Sunday, 21 May 2017
Founder and CEO of Empowerment Through Sport Leadership, Angela Hucles is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist for US Soccer, two-time World Cup Bronze Medalist, former professional soccer player of the Boston Breakers and the US Soccer Foundation’s 2009 Humanitarian of the Year. After her retirement from professional soccer, Angela was a sports broadcaster and analyst for
- Published in Leadership, Podcast
What is Your Club’s D.N.A.?
Sunday, 24 January 2016
(This weeks blog is written by Todd Beane, Founder of TOVO International. Todd is the co-founder of Cruyff Football and Senior Advisor to the Cruyff Institute, and has consulted for FC Barcelona, Ajax Amsterdam, Chivas Guadalajara, Melbourne City FC, Mamelodi Sundowns, Austrian Football Federation) “We pretty much let the coaches decide what to do with
- Published in Leadership, Team Culture
The Tipping Point in Youth Sports
Tuesday, 11 November 2014
“What happens to us parents and coaches,” I often get asked, “that turns us from sensible, relaxed people to stressed out adults roaming up and down sports sidelines and screaming at every play?” It is a question I ponder a lot, especially as I often get to watch my young children’s games played side by
- Published in Leadership, Problems in Youth Sports, Talent Development
Youth Sports Coaching: Not a Job, but a Calling!
Wednesday, 15 October 2014
So they call you Coach, huh? Have you ever stopped to consider what that means? You have taken on one of the most beautiful, powerful, and influential positions a person can ever have. Some people may call it a job, and others a profession, but in reality, being a great coach is not that at
- Published in Coaching, Leadership
Are Great Coaches Becoming an Endangered Species?
Thursday, 11 September 2014
When you are in the coaching profession, one of the things you learn early on is not to take things too personally. Your biggest fans when you win may become your biggest critics when you lose. Your players may love you one moment, and grumble the next, and it is important to maintain perspective and
- Published in Coaching, Leadership, Problems in Youth Sports
Changing the Game in Youth Sports
Saturday, 21 June 2014
On April 26, 2014 I had the honor of presenting a talk at TEDx Bend Oregon entitled “Changing the Game in Youth Sports.” The power of the TED platform, and its international recognition as a brand that brings “ideas worth sharing” to the forefront of conversation, was such an incredible platform to be able to
- Published in Leadership, Problems in Youth Sports, TED talks
The Armpit of American Youth Sports: “Friday Night Tykes”
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
The armpit is the part of the body that is dark, stinky, and unattractive. Everyone has one, but no one wants to see it or acknowledge it, and would rather cover it up and move on. The armpit of American youth sports is the culture of win-at-all-costs, uneducated, over the top coaches and parents who
- Published in Coaching, Football, Injuries, Leadership, Problems in Youth Sports
To Cheat or Not to Cheat…Is that Even a Question?
Tuesday, 07 January 2014
“Young players play with a great deal of fairness and sportsmanship. Once they learn how important the game is to adults, they will learn how to cheat.” – Dr. Ron Quinn, Professor of Sports Ethics at Xavier University. My friend Ann Dewitt is a family therapist and parenting expert, as well as the host of
- Published in Coaching, Leadership, Problems in Youth Sports, Sports Parenting
The Most Thought Provoking Sports Books of 2013
Monday, 16 December 2013
Now that I get to make my living as a writer and a speaker, I have many perks. Perhaps my favorite is that I get to write off all of my book purchases as a business expense, research for past and future writing! In 2013, I read a ton of great books, but here are
- Published in Book reviews, Coaching, Leadership, Sports Parenting
Coaches, a Little Common Sense Please!
Tuesday, 29 October 2013
“My 8 year old had 6 days of soccer last week!” “My 11 year old’s coach said he could not play on any other soccer teams except his. No futsal with his friends, no indoor, nothing but this team.” “My 13 year old was told that if he did not commit to play Fall baseball,
- Published in Coaching, Leadership
Is Losing Stressing You Out? Try This New Mindset to Fix it!
Saturday, 19 October 2013
As a young coach, I was convinced that there were only two possible outcomes to a game, winning or losing. Of course, losing was to be avoided at all costs, even if that meant not playing weaker players, benching underperformers, criticizing referees, you name it. Then I started to study people whom I would call
- Published in Coaching, Leadership
Why We Rage: The Science Behind Crazy Parents and Over the Top Coaches
Friday, 13 September 2013
Have you ever noticed when you go to your child’s soccer game that you react one way to bad calls, aggressive fouls, or intense situations in your game, but have little or no reaction to similar situations in the game prior to yours, where you have no emotional stake? Do you can sit there with
- Published in Coaching, Leadership, Sports Parenting
“You Might Need New Friends!” Part II of Three Things Great Coaches and Leaders Do
Monday, 05 August 2013
In Part II of our 3 part series, I relate a simple business adage to sports. In business, it is said that if you take the five people who are your primary business advisers, add up what they make and divide by 5, that is probably what you are making. Coaching and leadership are similar.
- Published in Coaching, Leadership, Sports Parenting, State
Three Things All Great Coaches and Leaders Do…And You Can Too! Part I
Monday, 29 July 2013
As a coach who has spent nearly two decades studying and learning about leadership, I know that my thinking has evolved immensely on this subject. For those of you who are looking for a few new ideas, or better yet, you are a new coach trying to accelerate the learning curve, for the next three
- Published in Coaching, Leadership, Sports Parenting, State