#93 Super Bowl Champion and All-Pro Lineman Matt Birk and the Case for Late Specialization in Sports

He didn’t specialize early. In fact, he didn’t play until late in his childhood and scouts were not lining up to sign him for college football. Still, Matt Birk forged a great career and became one of the best Lineman in the NFL. Do you really need to focus on one sport early in your
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#92 A Fireside Chat on the Future of Coaching with Mark Bennett, Stuart Armstrong, Juan Gonzales Mendia, and John O’Sullivan

Become a fly on the wall and listen in as the experts behind the Future Coaching Conference plan out the sessions, discuss what it means to be a great coach, differentiate between resilience, grit, and mental toughness, and much more. Stuart Armstrong hosts from his car while driving the M6, and John, Mark, and Juan
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#91 A Conversation with World Cup and Olympic Sports Psychologist Bill Beswick

It is important the people coaching our children have all the qualities and skills necessary to develop success beyond the game. Who “coaches” our children’s coaches? This week, we continue with this theme of coach development to discuss how vital it is to have someone “coaching the coaches”. Bill Beswick is widely considered one of
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#90 How a Coaching Mentor Can Change Your Life with Alan Keane, England u18 Basketball Head Coach

We often talk on this podcast about theory and research, but this week we are talking about application. We have mentioned many times about the importance of getting a coaching mentor or at least a group of coaches to bounce ideas off of, get advice from, and help us raise our game. What does that feel
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#89 A Commitment to Changing the Culture of Coaching with Lynn Berling-Manuel, CEO of United Soccer Coaches

To make real change we need those in a position of influence to support and advance the cause. United Soccer Coaches is the largest coaching membership organization in the world and they have recently committed to changing the coaching culture. Listen to this conversation with Lynn Berling-Manuel. Enjoy the Show! Show Notes 5:15 The single
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#88 How to start a coaching mentorship group in your community with Ryan Krzykowski, Founder of Community for Coaches

What group has the most influential position and platform to impact the lives of our children? Coaches. What are we doing to ensure that group is prepared to coach with purpose and change lives for the better? This week’s guest has an answer for that. Enjoy the Show Show Notes 1:45 Ryan’s own journey 8:00
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#87 Becoming a Coaching Wizard with Russel Earnshaw and John Fletcher of The Magic Academy

Instead of coaching athletes for today’s outcomes, why not coach them in a way that prepares them to succeed in future seasons too? Teach them what they need to evolve as the game does too.  Join Russel Earnshaw and John Fletcher of the Magic Academy to hear more. Enjoy the Show Show Notes 4:15 When
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#86 Building faster, stronger athletes at every age with Olympic and World Champion strength coach Mike Boyle

Does weight lifting stunt growth? At what age should my kid start lifting? Mike Boyle is one of the pioneers in strength training and has worked at all ages and stages of sports. He answers these questions and more in this week’s episode. Enjoy the Show! Show Notes 7:00 One of the original strength coaches
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#85 How to Transform the Culture of Your Youth Sports Program with Nate Baldwin, Appleton Parks and Recreation Sports Coordinator

Across the board, youth sports participation rates are dropping and coach retention is extremely low, yet Appleton recreation is seeing an average of 60% increase in participation across its four biggest sports and coach retention is 90%. What are they doing differently? Enjoy the Show! Show Notes 1:00 Nate’s backstory 12:30 If we are in
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#84 How to Build Great Habits and Break Bad Ones with Internationally Known Author and Blogger James Clear

Have you ever tried to break a bad habit or create a good one and struggled to get the results to stick? James Clear has solved the problem and shares some of the science behind habits in this podcast and his new book. Listen in now.   Enjoy the Show Show Notes 8:40 How James
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#83 Children Become the Messages They Hear the Most with Dr. Jim Taylor, Sports Psychologist and author of Raising Young Athletes

What do you say to your athlete in the car ride to and from the game? What is the message during games, especially in those tense moments of high pressure? What we say to our children, becomes their inner voice. Listen in for Dr. Jim Taylor’s advice on creating successful youth athletes. Enjoy the Show!
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#82 The Barcelona Way: Unlocking the DNA of a Winning Culture with author Damian Hughes

Great cultures abound as examples of sporting success. The key is to build your own, using the success clues left by others as your guide. In this episode, Damien Hughes outlines the clues left by Barcelona and other great sports cultures so we can begin to develop a culture of success with our teams. Enjoy
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#81 Lessons from Kris Van Der Haegen, Mark Upton, and Mark Bennett that have made me a Better Coach

Sports are as much a learning journey as for us as it is for the athletes we coach. We MUST be willing to learn from those around us and evolve for the sake of those we lead. In this episode, John shares the three greatest lessons he has learned over the last 80 shows. Enjoy
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#80 Eating Disorders, and How Coaches Can Help Athletes have a Healthy Relationship with Food, Exercise and Their Bodies with National Champion Cyclist and Sports Psychologist Dr. Kate Bennett

As Coach Reed says, what you say echoes as their inner voice. What are we saying and doing that can be the voice driving athletes to make dangerous decisions regarding nutrition and their bodies? What can we do to recognize and prevent these issues before it’s too late? Tune in to this difficult and important
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#79 The Power of Influence: A Fireside Chat with John and Jerry about how coaches, parents and teammates can impact their teams in a positive way

What is influence, why is it never neutral, and how can we be more intentional about positively influencing our athletes? Join the Fireside Chat with Jerry and John now to find out more! Enjoy the Show! Show Notes 11:30 Joy should be the first core value of sports 15:15 What is influence 26:00 The influence
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#78 Pause before you post – why athletes must be intentional on social media, with 2x All-American and USA Basketball Assistant Coach Scott Fitch

One post. One moment of poor judgment frozen in time on social media. That is all it takes to alter your future trajectory as a youth athlete. In this episode Scott Fitch shares stories of athletes who should have “paused before they posted” and much more. Enjoy the Show!  Show Notes 1:15 Scott’s development journey
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#77 Mindfulness, Peak Performance, and “Playing in the Space Between” with Dr. Amy Saltzman

What would it look like if all your athletes were able to acknowledge, resolve, and let go of emotions and feelings during games? If they could choose the right behaviors, even in moments of high pressure because they were able to understand and forgive their own feelings and thoughts and not get stuck in negative
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#76 Mark Bennett Returns! The Founder of PDS Coaching on Using the Rule of 3 for Coaching Excellence and Ways to Make Your Athletes More Accountable

This is a first for WOC! Coaching Expert Mark Bennett returns to expound on his Rule of 3 and teach us how to develop independent, self-aware, and accountable athletes at all levels of the game. Queue this one up and listen on your way to work today! Enjoy the Show! Other Interviews with Mark Mark’s
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#75 How to Incorporate Long Term Athlete Development into your practices with internationally known experts Joe Eisenmann, Tony Moreno and Rick Howard

People talk about “old school” when it comes to coaching and athlete performance. The problem is most of us have the wrong perspective. “Old school” is not strength and conditioning in a vacuum with no functional movement. “Old School” is not running laps until you puke. “Old School”, as defined by Joe, Tony, and Rick,
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WOC #74 Anthony Latronica, US U17 Men’s National Team and US Men’s Paralympic Assistant Coach, on the Importance of Developing Players at Every Age and Stage

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to coach the likes of Christian Pulisic when he was a youngster? Have you thought about how life-changing it would be to coach War Heroes on the U.S. National Paralympic Team? Don’t miss this episode where Anthony shares the stories of his coaching legacy. Enjoy the
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#73 Jerry Lynch and John O’Sullivan discuss how we use the R.I.V.E.R. effect to Connect with our Athletes, and you can too

Some coaches may win a few games or even a championship using bullying tactics without creating any kind of connection or caring environment with the players. If they’d followed the R.I.V.E.R. effect could they have won more? Could they have impacted lives beyond the game? John and Jerry discuss the acronym RIVER and its vital
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#72 Mark Wilson, former Manchester United, Middlesborough, and FC Dallas Player, on great coaches, superstar teammates, and how falling back in love with the game saved his career

What was Sir Alex Ferguson like as a person when the cameras weren’t on him? What was it like to be a part of one of the world’s most famous youth academies and win a Treble of Championships with one of the most storied and powerful sports brands? Listen to this episode with former Manchester
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WOC #71 Kirk Anderson, Former US Tennis Association Coaching Director, on how to put the needs of Players First in Youth Sports

There is a sport out there that has grown 17% every year for the last 6 years. In addition, 54% of participants say it helps them connect with their friends, 67% of parents get to play it with their children, and 71% of parents say it has had a positive influence. Those statistics sound fantastic.
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#70 How to Minimize Injury and Maximize Performance of Young Athletes with author Dr. Tommy John

“We are too busy looking for the silver bullet–the single finger to put in the dam regarding the injury epidemics happening in youth sports today–that we are missing the fact the dam is overflowing.“ Join Dr. Tommy John in this eye-opening, and frightening discussion about the youth sports injury epidemic and his mission to stop
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#69 Why more Physical Education and recess are the keys to better students in schools, with Paul Zientarski, TED Speaker and 40-year veteran Physical Education teacher

What if there was a simple solution to getting better academic performance, reducing discipline problems, and greater engagement of our children at school? There is a simple solution, and instead of adding more of it, we’ve been eliminating it from schools altogether! Paul Zientarski shares how he has transformed school districts by simply adding more
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#68 How to take US Soccer to the next level with Coaching Director for US Youth Soccer, Sam Snow.

What will it take for US Soccer to become a World Soccer Power?  How can we continue to grow the game at the youth levels while helping to improve at the highest too? This episode, we sit down with Sam Snow to talk about his role with US Youth Soccer and the plan for getting
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WOC #67 Coaching Child Soldiers, Empowering Young Girls, and Changing the World Through Sport with Nick Gates, Founder of Coaches Across Continents

What if youth sports had a much greater purpose than winning, fitness, socialization, or development? What if sports could break down barriers, change societal obstructions, create opportunities for the better, and even save lives? In this dually heart-warming and heart-breaking episode Nick Gates, Founder of Coaches Across Continents, shares how his company has been serving
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WOC #66 How to Grow and Improve Your Sport with US Lacrosse Technical Director for Athlete Development TJ Buchanan

The majority of youth sports are suffering from catastrophic attrition rates and we are scrambling to keep kids in the game. US Lacrosse is growing. What is their secret? Listen to the full podcast to hear about how they do it.   Enjoy the show!   Show Notes 7:45 The “Pracademic” of youth sports 12:15
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WOC #65 The Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance with Alex Hutchinson, former elite runner and author of the bestselling book Endure

How much of our human performance limits is physical and how much is “in our heads”? According to Alex Hutchinson, the human brain is the next frontier in breaking barriers in performance. We know more about the brain in the last 50 years than we did in the last 500 years combined. Is he right
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WOC #64 “I’m just a kid playing a game”: Overcoming adversity, managing disappointment, and building an athlete warrior ethos with USA Volleyball Player Cassidy Lichtman

Imagine playing your entire career with unimaginable pain or working your hardest for four years to fall one spot short of making a lifelong dream come true. Now imagine the kind of warrior ethos required to say “my pain will not control my life and my disappointments will not define me”. This is the amazing
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