#295 Ryan Bernacchi, Fmr. Navy Captain, TOP GUN Instructor, and Commander of the Blue Angels on Character, Leadership, Team Building, and the Importance of Visualization to High Performance
Friday, 21 October 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Listen and Watch the Podcast on You Tube: @WayofChampionsPodcast Captain Ryan Bernacchi, USN (Ret.) is a retired naval officer who possesses a unique background in aviation, leadership, high performance teamwork, and organizational culture. During his distinguished 25-year career in the Navy his notable positions include the Commanding Officer and Flight Leader of
- Published in Leadership, Podcast
#294 Raymond Verheijen, 4x World Cup and EURO’s Coach, on the Importance of Fitness Training Within Sport Context, Overuse Injuries, Periodization of Training, and Managing Load When Athletes Play up an Age
Friday, 14 October 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Raymond Verheijen (@raymondverheije) is a world renowned fitness coach and has been involved as an assistant in 4 World Cups and 4 EURO’s working under Legendary Dutch coach Gus Hiddink, as well as working with several European top clubs like FC Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester City. As a youth player Verheijen
#292: Christopher Kolenda, Retired US Army Colonel, on Servant Leadership, Getting Buy In From Your Team, and Taking Lessons from the Battlefield to the Sports Field
Friday, 30 September 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Christopher Kolenda is a West Point Grad and a retired US Army Colonel, as well as the founder of the Strategic Leaders Academy, Kolenda helps leaders and their teams soar to new heights. During his military career, Kolenda, a combat leader and trusted adviser to three four-star generals and two undersecretaries
- Published in Leadership, mental health, Podcast
#291 Steve Magness, Author and Former Elite Runner, on His New Book “Do Hard Things: How We Get Resilience Wrong and the Science of Real Toughness”
Friday, 23 September 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Steve Magness (@stevemagness) is a world-renowned expert on performance, well-being, and sustainable success. His most recent work is Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and the Surprising Science of Real Toughness. He is coauthor of the best selling Peak Performance and The Passion Paradox. In his coaching practice, Steve
- Published in Mental Toughness, Podcast
Confidence CANNOT be Given; it Has to be EARNED!
Tuesday, 20 September 2022
Don’t we all wish our children were more confident? Don’t we wish there was a magic confidence pill, or some special words that we could say to our children that would have them step into the arena bursting with the belief that they could accomplish any task? And is there anything more painful than to
- Published in Confidence
Creating the Ideal Learning Environment
Thursday, 01 September 2022
I have been on the road the last few weeks, visiting with some high performance teams and coaches across numerous sports from New York to Belgium to Vermont and finally, Colorado. In that time, regardless of whether these coaches were working with adults or children, similar questions kept popping up. “What does a great learning
- Published in Coaching, Leadership, Talent Development
#286 John Kessel, Former USA Volleyball Director of Sport Development: “Lines Teach You How but the Game Teaches You Why!” (replay)
Friday, 19 August 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher John Kessel (@JohnKesselUSAV) is the recently retired Director of Sport Development for USA Volleyball and one of the most sought after coach educators and sport developers in the world. John has been coaching since 1971 at the collegiate level or above, including Women’s U.S. Open titles in 1986 & 1987, Disabled
- Published in Coaching, Podcast, Volleyball
#285 Dave Aranda, Baylor Football Head Coach, on Winning the Big 12 Championship and Sugar Bowl in 2022, and the Importance of Authenticity, Vulnerability, and Finding Your Coaching Why
Friday, 12 August 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Dave Aranda is the Head Coach of Baylor Football, the 2021 Big 12 Champions and winners of the 2022 Sugar Bowl. A 2020 National Champion Asst. Coach at LSU and a 26-year coaching veteran, Dave Aranda was named the 28th head coach in Baylor Football history on Jan. 16, 2020. In
#284 Steve Gomez, 3x NCAA Champion Women’s Basketball Coach at Lubbock Christian University, on Selflessness, Sacrifice, Coaching Males vs Females, and Building a Sustainable Championship Culture
Friday, 05 August 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Steve Gomez is the 3x NCAA Champion women’s basketball coach at Lubbock Christian University. He graduated from LCU in 1988 with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Mathematics, and played on the mens basketball team where he is still in the top of many categories in the record books. He then
- Published in Basketball, Coaching, Podcast
#283 Podcast Lessons That Changed the Way I Coach: Kris Van Der Haegen, Mark Upton and Mark Bennett from Season 1 and 2
Friday, 29 July 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Last week, the Belgium Red Flames Women’s Soccer Team qualified for the knockout stages of the 2022 Women’s European Soccer Championships, the first time the team has advanced that far in a major tournament. Our friend and popular podcast guest Kris Van Der Haegen is the assistant coach of that team,
#282 Dre Baldwin, Founder of Work on Your Game, Author of 31 Books, and Former Pro Basketball Player on Overcoming Fear, Discipline and Resilience
Friday, 22 July 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher As CEO and Founder of Work On Your Game Inc., Dre Baldwin has given 4 TEDxTalks on Discipline, Confidence, Mental Toughness & Personal Initiative and has authored 31 books. He has appeared in national campaigns with Nike, Finish Line, Wendy’s, Gatorade, Buick, Wilson Sports, STASH Investments and DIME magazine. Dre has
- Published in habits, Mental Toughness, Podcast
#281 Wayne Goldsmith, World Renowned Coaching Professional, on Issues with Early Talent ID, and How to Fix Coach Education
Friday, 15 July 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Wayne Goldsmith has been at the forefront of sports innovation, education and development for over 25 years. His unique “whole of sport” background – having worked across every level and aspect of sport around the world gives him the insights to see the real problems in your sport and help you
Is Your Child’s Youth Sports Experience Transactional or Transformational?
Tuesday, 12 July 2022
This week I am headed to Chicago to speak at a youth sports conference called Rev, for clients of one of our partners, the web development and online registration organization Sprocket Sports. I have been tasked with moderating a panel called “The Secret Sauce of Taking Your Club from Transactional to Transformational,” and I am
- Published in Problems in Youth Sports, Soccer, Team Culture
#280 Keagen Hadley, The ACL Therapist, on Overcoming the Psychological Challenges of Sports Injuries
Friday, 08 July 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Keagen Hadley (@theacltherapist) is an occupational therapy doctor specializing in using psychological treatments such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) with his patients. As a patient and therapist, he has a deep understanding of the interventions and knows how emotional stress can interfere with rehabilitation, daily activities, and overall quality of
#279 Martin St Louis, Montreal Canadians Head Coach and 6x NHL All Star: “I was Really Good at Getting Better.” (replay)
Friday, 01 July 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Martin St. Louis is currently the Head Coach of the Montreal Canadians of the National Hockey League. During his career, he played over 1,000 games and scored 1,000 points in an NHL career that began with the Calgary Flames in 1998 and ended with the New York Rangers in 2015. St.
#278 JP Nerbun, Author and Coach Mentor, on Implementing a Proven Process for Creating an Extraordinary Team Culture
Friday, 24 June 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher J.P. Nerbun (@jpnerbun) is a coach, sports consultant, and the founder of TOC Culture Consulting, a global sports-consulting business. He has over a decade of basketball experience, coaching men and women in Ireland, Lithuania, and the United States, at the professional, collegiate, and high-school levels. His mission is to help leaders
- Published in Podcast, Team Culture
#277 Dr. Joe Parent, Performance Psychologist and Mindfulness Expert: How to Get Out of Your Own Way in Golf, Sports and Life
Friday, 17 June 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Dr. Joe Parent is a highly regarded expert in Performance Psychology and Applied Mindfulness, working with athletes, actors, artists, and executives. He is a well known psychology consultant, as well as a media commentator, business executive coach, and author of the classic Zen Golf and numerous other books. Dr. Parent developed
Confidence is a Feeling, Competence is a Behavior
Tuesday, 24 May 2022
We have all seen the interview many times. The star athlete comes off the field or court, and the first question the interviewer asks is “You were looking really confident out there today, what was your secret?” We might even say the same thing to our own young athletes that we coach and mentor: “Wow,
- Published in Confidence, sport psychology, Sports Parenting
#273 Dan Abrahams, Sport Psychologist, on Creating a Mental Framework, Stomping the ANTS, and Improving Your Inner Dialogue (replay)
Friday, 20 May 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and 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. A former professional golfer and PGA qualified, Dan has a First Class Honors degree in Psychology and a
- Published in Podcast, sport psychology
#272 Jonah Oliver, Performance Psychologist, on Taking Positive Action, Building Capacity to Embrace Pressure, and Finding Your Why in Order to Perform Your Best
Friday, 13 May 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Jonah Oliver (@jonah_oliver1) is one of Australia’s leading performance psychologists. Combining his training in sport psychology and neuroscience, Jonah brings a unique, simple and effective approach to facilitating peak performance. Over the past two decades he has worked with a wide variety of clients: ranging from professional golfers (caddying on the
- Published in Coaching, Podcast, sport psychology
#271: Dan Coyle, NYT Bestselling Author on Culture, Zero Tolerance for Brilliant Jerks, and Establishing a Playbook for Building Safety, Vulnerability, and Shared Purpose
Friday, 06 May 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Daniel Coyle (@DanielCoyle) is the New York Times bestselling author of The Culture Code, The Talent Code, The Little Book of Talent, The Secret Race, Lance Armstrong’s War, and Hardball: A Season in the Projects. Coyle works as an advisor to the Cleveland Guardians of MLB, as well as numerous teams in sports, business
- Published in Podcast, Team Culture
Don’t Win the Race to the Bottom During Tryout Season
Wednesday, 04 May 2022
“My kid is so stressed, she is so worried she won’t be able to play with her friends anymore,” a mom recently wrote us. “We have friends who tell us their daughter is physically ill with worry. She is 10!” Sound familiar anyone? It is the annual rite of passage we call tryouts in youth
- Published in Tryouts
#270 Mirelle van Rijbroek, US Soccer Director of Talent Identification for Girls, on Defining, Identifying and Developing Talent
Friday, 29 April 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Mirelle van Rijbroek has been US Soccer’s Director of Talent Identification for the Girls Program since 2017. van Rijbroek is a UEFA A Licensed coach, and began her coaching career in her native Netherlands working for clubs and the KNVB, as well as the head of Talent Identification, Talent Development, and
- Published in Podcast, Talent Development
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher This week we bring you Part I of a two episode masterclass with Mark Bennett (@PDScoach). Mark has been one of our most popular guests over the years, and has been training, coaching & mentoring individuals and teams since the early 90s, including world and Olympic champions, professional rugby teams, the
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher This week on the Way of Champions Podcast, we dive into the archives from episode 162 and welcome Chris Armas, currently the assistant coach at Manchester United in the English Premier league. Previously Chris has been the Head coach of Major League Soccer clubs Toronto FC and New York Red Bulls,
#264 Ed Coughlan, Dr Skill Acquisition, on Deliberate Practice, Session Design, and Using the ASPIRE and PEAQ Models of Coaching to Help Your Athletes Improve Faster
Friday, 18 March 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Ed Coughlan (@DrSkillAcq) qualified as a sport scientist before specializing on the concept of practice-transfer in his PhD and subsequent research. He is a senior lecturer in applied sport psychology, expertise and coaching science at Munster Technological University, where he is a research lead in the domain of skill acquisition. Edward’s
#261 Luke Chadwick, Former Man United Player, on the Genius of Alex Ferguson, Struggles with Mental Wellness, and his Mission to Make Youth Football Fun Again
Friday, 25 February 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Ex-Manchester United football player Luke Chadwick played over 460 professional games for clubs such as United, West Ham, Stoke and others before retiring and beginning his coaching journey. Luke was a young boy who dreamed of running out at Old Trafford. But the reality of the pressure of being a professional
- Published in mental health, Podcast
#259 Juan Gonzalez Mendia, Professional Rugby Coach and Coach Educator: “If We Do Not Engage with Parents, We May Never Know What is Going on in a Kid’s Life”
Friday, 11 February 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Juan Gonzalez Mendia is a well known rugby coach and founder of Sudamerica Coaching (@sudcoaching), whose goal is to develop coaches, educators, professionals and volunteers through education and mentoring programs within their sporting or educational organization, and bringing increasing awareness on the importance of conscious, caring and people-centered environments. His organization