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 passed away in June of 2017. In 1996, he coached the US Women's Olympic Team to the first ever Gold Medal in Women's Soccer. In 2008, in his return to international soccer, he coached the US ...
Nov 17, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 141
"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 inhibit earning by prioritizing a good looking practice drill over developing the athlete, and how meet the individual needs of a large practice squad. Highlights from the Discussion: Why aren't ...
Nov 10, 2019•1 hr 24 min
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 a more effective practice strategy, and the importance of understanding how delaying sport-specialization will create greater skill as an athlete. Highlights from the...
Nov 03, 2019•1 hr 19 min
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 the emergence of alternative sports. Highlights from the Discussion: Youth development over highly structured practices mimicking professional organizations Set...
Oct 27, 2019•1 hr 9 min
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 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 ...
Oct 20, 2019•1 hr 6 min
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 you?" These questions and so many more are answered in this fantastic episode with one of the best coaches in the world. Highlights from the Discussion: How an NFL Football Coach helped Coach Kerr develop a co...
Oct 13, 2019•1 hr 6 min
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 a decade. RITTER Sports Performance was created out of his desire to empower others to realize their true potential. With his experience as both a strength coach and swim coach, Chris has he...
Oct 06, 2019•1 hr 11 min
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 balance. Al and Jerry have written multiple books together, including Thinking Body, Dancing Mind , Spirit of the Dancing Warrior , and The Way of the Champion . We hope you enjoy this...
Sep 29, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 134
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 appropriate, and how to be a great parent/coach. Highlights from the Discussion: How making mistakes and showing vulnerability are valuable to coaches John shares a story about driving a child out of sport James shares a story about tea...
Sep 22, 2019•1 hr 16 min
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 and Chris discuss how quickly things improved over the past year How Chris accepted different roles at different parts of his professional career How the team turned around by becoming "La Familia" What needed ...
Sep 15, 2019•57 min
"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 men and women, how important culture and direct communication is to performance, and how to make a positive influence everyday on every athlete. Under Coach Steiner, Team USA has won 36 Sr Level World Medals, 7 Senior W...
Sep 08, 2019•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 131
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 coached basketball in Ireland, Lithuania, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania. While in Ireland, JP coached 30 teams in five years! That is a lot of time ...
Sep 01, 2019•1 hr•Ep. 130
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 a new book out, culminating five decades of work into one of the bet best on coaching you will ever read. Highlights from the Discussion: Wrap up of the Way of Champions Conference in Denver, CO Why Jerry wrote "Win the ...
Aug 25, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 129
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 at youth sport games. Whether you agree with the shaming of this behavior or not, we can all agree that sideline behavior of fans is a big problem and ...
Aug 17, 2019•58 min•Ep. 128
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, how many times they said no to great opportunities, how they limited his competitive team practices to 2 sessions per week, dealing with pressure, Christians goo...
Aug 11, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 127
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 Wanderers), professional and college football (San Francisco 49s and University of Michigan) and rugby (Welsh national team). We talk about the three types of coaches...
Aug 05, 2019•59 min•Ep. 126
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 Discussion: Making mistake as a young coach can help you later in your coaching career What do you do when winning doesn't fulfill you li...
Jul 28, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 125
"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 positive development of children and youth. Among other topics, we discuss about how his background as a developmental psychologist influences his coaching,...
Jul 22, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 124
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 coaching philosophy. As a coach, Dr. Quinn served as the Xavier University Women's Soccer Coach from 1993 - 2004 holding a 134 - 95 - 16 record over the 12 year period, winn...
Jul 14, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 123
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 their full potential. Our guest, Ted Kroeten, leads the way in rethinking and delivering player development always championing kids and possibilities based on his experienced, dedicated, and innovative ...
Jul 07, 2019•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 122
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. We dive into many different topics during our time together, including how a karate teacher changed the course of Kathrine's life, the best way to get athletes to love a sport or tea...
Jun 30, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 121
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". In this episode, we discuss ideas about how to create a culture of ever-improving performance, the role of sports academies, and the dark side of high-achieving, performance-driven youn...
Jun 24, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 120
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 with his work ranging from rugby union to triathlon and professional cycling with the UCI. \ His research, publications and conference presentatio...
Jun 16, 2019•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 119
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 tea. This one is packed with incredible information! Highlights from the Podcast: The most important trait of a great leader: the ability to learn How Trevor came up with the name "Train Ugly" Helpin...
Jun 09, 2019•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 118
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 Spanish Wining an "empty" championship How to get your best athletes to buy into a culture change New stuff for this year's con...
Jun 07, 2019•55 min
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 Leadership to Young Athletes The Captains and Coaches Workshop Give Each other permission to confront each other Turning Confrontat...
Jun 01, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 117
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 from the Podcast: Min 2: The debate between Epstein and Gladwell, and why the 10,000 rule is wrong Min 10: "Breadth of training predicts breadth of tran...
May 26, 2019•1 hr 14 min
Our guest this week is Erik Imler. Imler, a UVA graduate, was a NCAA National Champion in 1989, 1991 and 1992 and went on to be a member of the 1992 Olympic Team and represented the United States as a player and then as a coach. As a Youth Academy Director and passionate blogger who is dissatisfied with the status quo of youth soccer development in the United States, Erik is on a mission to support the positive change that must be experienced in youth development. Erik is in constant search for ...
May 19, 2019•1 hr 16 min
Terry Liskevych spent 12 years as the head coach of the USA National Women's Volleyball Team. During his tenure with the National Team, the U.S. posted over 300 international victories and earned bronze medals at the 1992 Olympics and the 1990 World Championships. In 1995 Liskevych led his team to the gold medal at the World Grand Prix and was selected as the FIV International Coach of the Year. Highlights from the Podcast: Min 07: Getting to know Terry Liskevych Min 15: Does college prepare an ...
May 12, 2019•59 min
Stuart Armstrong is the Head of Coaching for Sport England. Prior to Sport England, he was the Player Development Manager for the Rugby Football Union. He is one of the world's top experts on player development pathways and skill acquisition, and has helped thousands of coaches in the UK create better learning environments and develop deeper relationships with their players. His sports coaching experience is in golf, cricket, field hockey, rugby, and soccer. He leverages the knowledge gained fro...
May 05, 2019•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 112
