#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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#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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#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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#124 “It’s difficult to be a great teammate if you are still focused on yourself” with Dr. Peter Scales, author of Mental and Emotional Training for Tennis

 “It’s difficult to be a great teammate if you are still focused on yourself,” says Dr. Peter Scales, author of Mental and Emotional Training for Tennis. For more than 45 years, Dr. Peter Scales has been a developmental psychologist, researcher, author, and speaker, internationally recognized as one of the world’s foremost authorities on the
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#123 Coaches of the Future Need to be Evidence Based Coaches with Dr. Ron Quinn

 Coaches of the future need to be evidence based coaches, according to Dr. Ronald Quinn, our recent guest on the Way of Champions Podcast. Join us as we discuss many topics, including why he chose to focus on youth sports and not coaching professionals, teaching “positions” versus “positioning”, and the importance of having a
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#122 The Importance of Free Play in the Development of a Young Athlete with Ted Kroeten, founder of Joy of the People

 What does free play have to do with performance? Why does deliberate practice often fail to help a child reach their full potential? Let’s find out! Join John and Ted Kroeten, founder of Joy of the People, as they discuss why free play before structure is the best way to help young athletes reach
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#121 5 Olympic Medals and a Lifetime of Lessons: An Interview with UK Sport’s Dame Katherine Grainger

 How can an Olympic Silver Medal be the greatest and worst moment of your life? This week on the Way of Champions Podcast, we welcome 5x Olympian and current Chair of UK Sport: Dame Katherine Grainger. Dame Katherine is British rower and with five Olympic medals and is Great Britain’s most decorated female Olympian.
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#120 Football Starts at Home, with Tom Byer

Tom Byer is a former professional soccer player originally from New York but who is now based in Tokyo, Japan as one of the most decorated and admired grassroots soccer coaches in the Asian region. HIs official title is Tom is the Technical Consultant for the Ministry of Education School Football Campus Program”.  He was
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#119 Using Play to Enhance Player and Team Development with Richard Cheetham

Richard Cheetham MBE is Senior Fellow in Sports Coaching. He recently been awarded the 2018 UK Coaching Coach Developer of the year. Cheetham has worked at the University of Winchester since 2005, following three years spent teaching and coaching in New Zealand. He has a reputation at national and international level in coach education and development
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How to Learn Like a Jungle Tiger with Trevor Ragan from TrainUgly.com

Meet Trevor Ragan, the guest on this week’s Way of Champions Podcast. Trevor is the founder of Train Ugly, and the host of a fantastic podcast called The Learner Lab [link]. This one goes a little over an hour, but we promise it is worth the time! Grab a notebook and a pen, and maybe some coffee or
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Bonus Episode: John and Jerry Discuss the 4th Annual Way of Champions Conference

In this bonus episode, John and Jerry discuss the Way of Champions Conference in Denver, CO on August 2-4. Visit https://changingthegameproject.com/wocconference for more information! WOCERALYBIRD for $100 off (good until June 15, 2019) Discounts for students from 1/2 off Group discount, 1/2 off with 5 or more coaches Highlights from the Podcast: Why Jerry is learning
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Turning Confrontation into Communication, not Conflict” with Rob Miller from Proactive Coaching

Rob is a motivational speaker for “Proactive Coaching“. Along with Bruce Brown, Rob uses his speaking skills and “coaching” knowledge to promote the “Proactive Coaching” mission of helping coaches positively impact their athlete’s lives. His experience gives him an amazing view at the status of modern day coaching and parenting. Highlights from the Podcast: Teaching
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#116 Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World with David Epstein, NYT bestselling author of Range and The Sports Gene

David Epstein is the author of Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, and of the New York Times bestseller The Sports Gene. He has master’s degrees in environmental science and journalism and has worked as an investigative reporter for ProPublica and a senior writer for Sports Illustrated. He lives in Washington, DC. Highlights
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