Has Belgium Football found the secret to International success? In 2009, Belgium was #66 on the FIFA World Rankings. They made a few changes and rocketed to #1 in six short years. What did they change? Belgian FA Director of Coach Education, Kris Van der Haegen, shares their secret on our latest Way of Champions Podcast. Subscribe to the Way of Champions Podcast on iTunes Show Notes 9:00 Crashing out of the 2000 European Championship was the wake-up call for Belgium 11:10 Creation of the Vision ...
Mar 11, 2018•59 min
When that "hinge moment" that could change your life comes along, will you be ready? Join Dr. Rob Bell as he talks about hinge moments and those who help us because "No One Gets There Alone". Bio Dr. Rob Bell is a sport psychology coach, author, and speaker and His company DRB & associates is based in Indianapolis. He has written 6 books on Mental Toughness including the best seller Don't Should on Your Kids: Build Their Mental Toughness. In this episode we will discuss his most recent book ...
Mar 04, 2018•52 min
Are we educating coaches on the skills that really matter? A sport scientist says we teach way too much techincal information and not enough of the softer skills. Bio 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 New Sport the insights to see the real problems in your sport and help you develop effective and efficient ...
Feb 26, 2018•1 hr 14 min
What if, instead of worrying about winning games, we got our athletes to focus first on 'Winning the Day'? If they focused on their very best, working for the greater good of the team, and getting better every day, what kind of transformation would occur? Bio Hall of Fame head coach Cindy Timchal was named the first women's lacrosse coach at the United States Naval Academy on August 5, 2006, and in short order, has laid the foundation for a Navy program that is moving quickly in its quest to bec...
Feb 19, 2018•1 hr 7 min
Dr. Williams is Professor and Chair, Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Recreation at University of Utah. Dr. Williams has previously held senior leadership positions in the UK (Head of Life Sciences, Brunel University London) and Australia (Associate Dean for Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney). His research interests focus on the neural and psychological mechanisms underpinning the acquisition and development of perceptual-cognitive and perceptual-motor skills. He h...
Feb 12, 2018•56 min
Does culture matter in individual sports? According to 7x NCAA Tennis Champion Coach, Bob Hansen, it matters most. Bio Hansen is now in his seventh season as the head coach of the Middlebury men's tennis team. He came to Middlebury from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he has served as the head men's coach for 30 years. In his first six seasons, he has continued the post-season tradition with the team advancing into the NCAA Tournament each year. In the spring of 2013, his team fi...
Feb 04, 2018•1 hr 3 min
#46 How to Run Better practices with Best Selling Author Doug Lemov Bio Doug Lemov is the author of the international bestseller Teach Like a Champion , and Teach Like a Champion 2..0. He is the coauthor with TLAC team colleagues of Practice Perfect , Reading Reconsidered: A Practical Guide to Rigorous Literacy Instruction, and Teach Like a Champion Field Guide 2.0. In addition to his work studying teachers he is the front man in the nation's foremost Kenny G cover band. His favorite words are "...
Jan 29, 2018•1 hr 12 min
A small town in Vermont, with only 3,000 full-time inhabitants has put at least one athlete in the every Olympic games since 1984, including the highest ever finisher in the ski jump from the US. What are they doing to create such elite athletes? The answer has nothing to with facilities or coaches… Bio Karen Crouse is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where she earned a varsity letter in swimming. She started her newspaper career at the Savannah News-Press, where she was the ...
Jan 22, 2018•1 hr 14 min
Want to be a fly on the wall for a conversation between a 36-time NCAA Champion Sport Psychology Consultant and one of the greatest coaches of all time? This is a show you cannot miss! Dr. Jerry Lynch and Anson Dorrance join John this week to talk Dean Smith, John Wooden, Alonzo Stagg, and what it is like to build an unrivaled dynasty through love, connection, and strong character, Bio Anson Dorrance enters his 41st year of service to the University of North Carolina soccer programs in the fall ...
Jan 14, 2018•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 44
Your child gets that all important phone call offering a spot on the good select sports team in town. You want your child to sample multiple sports, so you ask about managing a two-sport schedule. The coach says, "we are no longer interested". What would you do? Listen in to find out what Steve Boyle did… Bio Steve Boyle is the Chair of The National Association of Physical Literacy (NAPL) Advisory Board and Principal/Founder of 2-4-1 Sports, a national organization that brings physical literacy ...
Jan 08, 2018•55 min•Season 2018Ep. 43
We asked you all to share with us your favorite podcasts from 2017, and we had so many responses that we have decided to divide it up into multiple episodes. In this episode, we share your favorite podcasts from select coaches: UNC National Champion Lacrosse Coach Jenny Levy, USA Volleyball's John Kessel, World Cup and Olympic Champion Tony DiCicco, Unleash the Athlete's James Leath, and our interview with Dr. Wade Gilbert and Dr. Jerry Lynch. This is a bit longer than most of our podcasts, but ...
Jan 01, 2018•1 hr 9 min•Season 2018Ep. 42
What would it be like to spend 14 years working alongside and learning from one of the greatest coaches of all time – Johan Cruyff? We asked Todd Beane that question and more in our most recent podcast. Download it now. Bio Todd graduated from Dartmouth College in 1986 with a B.A. in English Literature. Upon graduation, he was awarded a Rotary Scholarship to attend the University of Sussex in England. Todd concluded his formal studies at Stanford University where he earned a M.A. in Education an...
Dec 27, 2017•1 hr 15 min•Season 2017Ep. 41
Chamique Holdsclaw was called the Michael Jordan of Women's Basketball. She dominated the courts winning 3 National Championships and being named the Naismith Player of the Century. She was 4-time All-American, World Champion, Olympic Champion and enjoyed an 11-year professional career, but no one knew the real battle she was waging… Bio Chamique Shaunta Holdsclaw is a former professional basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) most recently under a contract with ...
Dec 17, 2017•59 min•Season 2017Ep. 40
What do you think the path to professional sports looks like? 22 year veteran coach at Manchester United, Tom Statham, shares what he has seen and experienced as the path over the last few decades. Spoiler alert…there is no defined path. Listen in for Tom's explanation. Bio This is what Manchester United Academy has to say about Tom. "Tom has been coaching at Manchester United since 1994. He has coached boys from 7-18 years old and has worked with and learnt from great coaches such as Sir Alex F...
Dec 11, 2017•1 hr 12 min•Season 2017Ep. 39
We must SHOW athletes how to be leaders, and not just tell them. Bio James founded UTA in 2017 when an unexpected family emergency took him away from his post at IMG Academy as the Head of Leadership Development and landed him in Dallas, TX. Since then, James has continued to work with teams throughout the nation on character development through leadership and mental conditioning curriculum. Leadership lessons consist of communication skills, personal and group leadership, developing an identity...
Dec 03, 2017•1 hr•Season 2017Ep. 38
How powerful is sport for creating an excellent life beyond the game? For Sally Roberts wrestling transported her from the detention cell of juvenile hall to the floor of the United Nations. Now she is on a mission to give the same opportunities to young girls the world over. Join us as we hear Sally's amazing life story and learn about her foundation that is changing the sport of wrestling and the world with it. Donate to Wrestle Like a Girl on Tuesday November 28th and the Gates Foundation wil...
Nov 26, 2017•57 min•Season 2017Ep. 37
A mere 1 percent of all youth athletes end up playing pro. What is the goal of youth sports for those other 99 percent? In this episode, John Haime discusses the real skills that kids can learn in the locker room and transfer to the board room. Bio John is a world-class Coach in the area of performance and one of the world's leading authorities in Emotional Intelligence as it relates to performance in sport. He personally coaches leading professional and elite amateur athletes, corporate athlete...
Nov 19, 2017•58 min•Season 2017Ep. 36
Do the principles and beliefs we discuss regarding youth athletes apply to "elite" athletes? How do you approach the process of parenting elite athletes? Dr. Peter Vint, one of the world's top experts on high-performance athletes shares his views on elite athletes, quality coaching, and parenting. Bio Dr. Peter Vint is a former Football Academy Director in the UK. He is considered one of the top experts in the world on high-performance athletes. He spent 10 successful years with the United State...
Nov 13, 2017•59 min•Season 2017Ep. 35
Everyone has these defining moments in their lives that they vividly recall. Some are extraordinary and some are terrible. As coaches, we do not get to choose which moments our athletes recall, but we do get to choose the moments we create in order to ensure what we leave our athletes with are exceptionally positive moments. Dan Heath discusses how these moments arise and how we can help create them. Bio Dan Heath is a Senior Fellow at Duke University's CASE center, which supports social entrepr...
Nov 06, 2017•1 hr 2 min•Season 2017Ep. 34
How do you define a quality coach? Is it number of wins? Are we expert coaches because of the amount of time we have coached the game? Wade Gilbert and Jerry Lynch have a candid conversation with John about what it really means to be a quality coach and the definition is not what we have used all these years. Time spent coaching and number of wins have nothing to do with being a quality coach. Bio Wade Gilbert, PhD, is an award-winning professor in the department of kinesiology at California Sta...
Oct 29, 2017•1 hr 10 min•Season 2017Ep. 33
Did you know only 1 in 5 youth coaches are properly trained in motivational techniques and only 1 and 3 are properly trained in skills and tactics? The big reason for this fact is the myth that volunteers can't or don't want to be trained. In this episode, Tom Farrey, of The Aspen Institute's Project Play, discusses how untrained coaches lead to the decline in youth sport participation, how vital this participation is to the viability of our communities, and some simple opportunities to get more...
Oct 23, 2017•46 min•Season 2017Ep. 32
What can sport coaches learn from a former British Commando? A better way to deliver content, ensure learning has occurred, and empower players to own their learning process. In this episode, Mark explains how coaches can more effectively shape behaviors, which will lead to better learning outcomes. Bio Mark has been training, coaching & mentoring individuals and teams since the early 90s. He joined the British Army in 1983. Mark passed the world famous Commando course in 1990 and while post...
Oct 15, 2017•1 hr 12 min•Season 2017Ep. 31
Fun. It is the biggest reason kids play sports and it is also the reason why they quit. That is widely known. What is not widely known is the fact kids define fun differently than us adults. In fact, they define fun 81 different ways. You'd be surprised at what they consider fun... In this episode, John talks with Amanda Visek, PhD, the world's leading expert on Fun Integration Theory, about the research she has done in discovering what it takes to make sports fun for athletes of all ages. Bio A...
Oct 08, 2017•55 min•Season 2017Ep. 30
"When I was a child, the vast majority of my sporting activities were in playgrounds and sandlots. Now, the majority of youth sports activities are organized and administered by adults …. The biggest problem in organized youth sports is very simple to explain — too many adults who want to compete through children." — Bob Bigelow, CNN Sunday Morning Bio A standout at University of Pennsylvania under Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Daly, Bob's talent brought him to play for the NBA's Kansas City Kings, B...
Oct 02, 2017•55 min•Season 2017Ep. 29
Brett Fischer used to see Tommy John's surgery in 25 to 28 year old athletes. Now he is seeing it in 13 year olds. What has happened to simple joy of the game and playing for fun when we push our athletes so hard they need surgeries at half the age they used to need them? Listen to Brett explain to John what is lacking in youth sports performance, how parents can help young athletes remain healthy and play longer, and how to make it fun and still get the work you need from even the highest-level...
Sep 25, 2017•57 min•Season 2017Ep. 28
Has your child experienced bullying in sport? This episode is the tough conversation none of us like to have but we must in order to protect our children. Author and anti-bullying expert, Jen Fraser, shares her own experiences with John and outlines a new kind of sport paradigm that could end bullying. Listen in to find out how to recognize bullying, address it, and protect your children.BioAuthor and teacher, Jennifer Fraser has a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Toronto. He...
Sep 18, 2017•59 min•Season 2017Ep. 27
Would you be willing to trade 10 minutes at the start of practice in order to shorten training by an hour and increase your team's learning and development? Many coaches struggle to keep practices short and on task and fear giving up any time to activities like mindfulness training. What Dr. Lynch has discovered, the last few decades working with some of the top collegiate and professional teams, is that mindfulness rituals actually shorten training time and increase performance. If this is bein...
Sep 11, 2017•56 min•Season 2017Ep. 26
Is the way we coach based upon the latest science, research, and best practices of how children learn? Or is it based upon how we were coached growing up? In this fantastic interview, Dr. Richard Bailey, Head of Research at ICSSPE, separates fact from fiction and discusses some of the common mistakes that he sees coaches of all levels making around the world. He sheds light on what is missing in the coaching profession and the prevailing myths that cause us to approach athletic coaching in the w...
Sep 04, 2017•1 hr 13 min•Season 2017Ep. 25
What would your team look like if you let them shape and drive the culture, and if you loved them first as people before you ever tried to be coach? Would they be more like the bad news bears instead of Barcelona? If you said the bad news bears, you are dead wrong. In this entertaining and thought provoking interview with Tom Bates, we discover that the world's greatest teams believe in love, connectedness and the human component as the most important factors in building great cultures and winni...
Aug 28, 2017•58 min•Season 2017Ep. 24
"...and it may mean you may never win." 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 to let go of the fallacy of winning for creating a culture that matters? This is exactly what Roy Williams told Jenny Levy in 2012. Jenny took what Roy told her to heart and changed her focus from chasing championships to a culture of connection. Two NCAA Champi...
Aug 21, 2017•1 hr 3 min•Season 2017Ep. 23
