Way of Champions Podcast

Latest Episodes:

#290 Tim Hightower, NFL Running Back, on His Four Year Quest to Return from Injury, Resiliency, and Having a Dream Worth Fighting For Sep 16, 2022

Show notes

On October 23, 2011, Tim Hightower (@Tim_Hightower) was the starting running back for the Washington Commanders (then known as the Redskins) of the National Football League, when he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during a game. Over the next four years he faced a lengthy recovery in body and soul. His is a story of strength, resilience, faith, courage, and determination – surviving five surgeries, financial challenges, and periods of homelessness to return to play in the NFL. Today he is the Director of Alumni Relations for the Washington Commanders and a speaker who shares his story of resilience and inspiration. Get ready to be inspired this week.

Hightower's story of his recovery from injury, as told in A DREAM WORTH FIGHTING FOR: Never Let Obstacles Stop You From Being Your Best Self with co-author William Sachs, will resonate with everybody who has been injured, suffered, or had their lifelong dream derailed. He is the only NFL running back to return to play four years after an injury. But more, he is a father, a husband, and a man who had a dream, owned his dream, and never stopped fighting for a return to the game he loved. His story is an inspiration for coaches, parents and athletes.

This week's podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sprocket Sports. Sprocket Sports is a new software platform for youth sports clubs. Yeah, there are a lot of these systems out there, but Sprocket provides the full enchilada. They give you all the cool front-end stuff to make your club look good– like websites and marketing tools – AND all the back-end transactions and services to run your business better so you can focus on what really matters – your players and your teams.

Sprocket is built for those clubs looking to thrive, not just survive, in the competitive world of youth sports clubs. So if you've been looking for a true business partner – not just another app – check them out today at https://sprocketsports.me/CTG.

Become a Podcast Champion! This weeks podcast is also sponsored by our Patreon Podcast Champions. Help Support the Podcast and get FREE access to our most popular online courses, a $300 value. If you love the podcast, we would love for you to become a Podcast Champion, (https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions) for as little as a cup of coffee per month (OK, its a Venti Mocha), to help us up the ante and provide even better interviews, better sound, and an overall enhanced experience. Plus, as a $10 per month Podcast Super-Champion, you will have access to never before released and bonus material, including:

Downloadable transcripts of our best podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes!
A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, plus four other courses worth over $100, all yours for free for becoming a patron.
Other special bonus opportunities that come up time to time
Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences.

Thank you for all your support these past four years, and a special big thank you to all of you who become part of our inner circle, our patrons, who will enable us to take our podcast to the next level. https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions

#289 Stephan Wiedner, Psychological Safety Expert, on Building High-Performing Teams, Giving Your Athletes the Courage to Speak Up, and the Confidence They Will Be Heard Sep 09, 2022

Show notes

According to research, the #1 characteristic of high performing teams is a high degree of psychological safety, but what exactly is that, and how can we build it? That is why we brought on this week's guest Stephan Wiedner. He is a psychological safety expert whose career has focused on developing sustainable high performance leaders, teams, and organizations. His passion for unleashing the collective potential of people has led him to cofound Noomii.com, the web's largest network of independent life coaches, Skillsetter.com, the deliberate practice platform for interpersonal skills, and Zarango.com, the psychological safety training experts. Stephan has worked with legendary Harvard professor Amy Edmondson on a psychological safety study, and his writing has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, and other popular publications.

If you would like to take a free psychological safety evaluation with your team, go to www.zarango.com/freepsi

Downloadable transcripts of our best podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes!
A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, plus four other courses worth over $100, all yours for free for becoming a patron.
Other special bonus opportunities that come up time to time
Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences.

#288 Seth Pepper, 23x All-American Swimmer and Mental Performance Coach: How to Nurture Intrinsic Motivation, Embrace Failure as an Opportunity, and Unlimit Your Potential Sep 02, 2022

Show notes

Seth Pepper (@sethpepper) is a 23x All-American and 2x National Champion swimmer from the University of Arizona who won Gold Medals at the World University Games and the Pan Pacific Championships.And he only started swimming at age 14. Though he fell inches short of fulfilling his dream to be an Olympian, he has used his athletic journey as a model and inspiration for countless athletes on the PGA Tour, NBA, WTA, MLB and at the collegiate level. Now working as a mental performance coach, Seth brings a unique perspective and understanding of high performance environments that have helped his clients excel at the highest levels of sport.

In our conversation today, Jerry and John unpack Seth's journey, discuss whether obsession is a healthy or unhealthy thing, and explore Seth's unique ability to see failure and adversity as positive developments that lead to growth. You can connect with Seth at www.sethpepper.com or on social media @sethpepper.

Downloadable transcripts of our best podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes!
A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, plus four other courses worth over $100, all yours for free for becoming a patron.
Other special bonus opportunities that come up time to time
Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences.

#288 Seth Pepper, 23x All-American Swimmer and Mental Performance Coach: How to Nurture Intrinsic Motivation, Embrace Failure as an Opportunity, and Unlimit Your Potential Sep 02, 2022

Show notes

Downloadable transcripts of our best podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes!
A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, plus four other courses worth over $100, all yours for free for becoming a patron.
Other special bonus opportunities that come up time to time
Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences.

#287 Adam Kuhn, Founder of Satori Soccer, on Using Surveys and Data Analytics to Improve Player Experience and Build a Better Youth Sports Organization Aug 26, 2022

Show notes

Adam Kuhn is the director of a nonprofit startup, Satori Soccer (www.satorisoccer.org), a youth soccer coach, and has a business background in data analytics in the field of improving customer experiences. In a youth sports world that is increasingly using analytics to improve performance on the field, the importance of player experience can sometimes get overlooked. To bring this essential component--arguably the most essential component in youth sport--to the forefront, Satori is using enterprise-grade analytics techniques to measure and improve youth soccer experiences. In measuring things like retention, player enjoyment, and parent satisfaction, clubs & associations are more quickly improving their programming for the benefit of their players. Satori Soccer is currently engaged with many large youth sport organizations and is actively surveying membership and using the data to guide better coaching and programming decisions for the clubs.

In our conversation today, Adam explains many of the key findings they have made, including the effect of winning on parent satisfaction and player retention, as well as when the biggest dropout ages are and why that may be happening. Youth sports is a big business, and organizations that are serious about improving member experiences are increasingly using data to take that experience from a transactional to a transformational one.

Downloadable transcripts of our best podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes!
A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, plus four other courses worth over $100, all yours for free for becoming a patron.
Other special bonus opportunities that come up time to time
Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences.

#287 Adam Kuhn, Founder of Satori Soccer, on Using Surveys and Data Analytics to Improve Player Experience and Build a Better Youth Sports Organization Aug 26, 2022

Show notes

Downloadable transcripts of our best podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes!
A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, plus four other courses worth over $100, all yours for free for becoming a patron.
Other special bonus opportunities that come up time to time
Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences.

#286 John Kessel, Former USA Volleyball Director of Sport Development: "Lines Teach You How but the Game Teaches You Why!" Aug 19, 2022

Show notes

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 Programs, USA Deaf Olympic Teams, Starlings USA, National Parks and Recreation Assoc., the YMCA and over 30 other Affiliated Organizations working with USAV. He was Secretary of the NORCECA Technical and Coaches Commission, and Director of Development for World ParaVolley. He was Team Leader for the 2000 USA Olympic Beach Volleyball Teams in Sydney, which brought home one gold medal, and for the 2004 USA Paralympic Women's Sitting Volleyball Team in Athens, which came home with the bronze medal. In 1995, Volleyball Magazine's special Centennial issue named him one of the 50 most important people in the sport in the past 100 years. In 2013 the American Volleyball Coaches Association inducted him as their 60th member of the AVCA Coaches Hall of Fame.. A sought after international lecturer, he has conducted seminars in all 50 states, and in over 50 nations.

In our discussion, first released in August 2017, John and John discuss the need for coaches to be vulnerable, adaptable, and always learning. As the opening quote of the podcast says, if your doctor practiced medicine the same way he or she did 5 years ago, it would be malpractice, yet why do so many coaches still coach the way they were coached 20-30 years ago? We discuss teaching through the game, why our parents did not hire a bike riding coach, and so much more. Get ready to take some notes!

Downloadable transcripts of our best podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes!
A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, plus four other courses worth over $100, all yours for free for becoming a patron.
Other special bonus opportunities that come up time to time
Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences.

#286 John Kessel, Former USA Volleyball Director of Sport Development: "Lines Teach You How but the Game Teaches You Why!" Aug 19, 2022

Show notes

Downloadable transcripts of our best podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes!
A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, plus four other courses worth over $100, all yours for free for becoming a patron.
Other special bonus opportunities that come up time to time
Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences.

#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 Aug 12, 2022

Show notes

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 2021, Aranda's Bears tied for the best turnaround in college football, boasting a ten-win improvement from the previous year, including a school-record five wins against ranked opponents. Aranda came to Waco after four seasons as associate head coach and defensive coordinator at LSU, including a 2020 National Championship and a 2019 SEC Championship. Widely considered one of the top defensive minds in football, Aranda has a track record of producing NFL-ready players.

In this conversation with John and Jerry, originally recorded for the 2022 Way of Champions Virtual Conference, Dave talks about his coaching journey, his first introduction to the Way of Champions through Jerry's book Thinking Body, Dancing Mind, and their long friendship. He talks about his struggles to be his authentic self while coaching a sport that often has in your face screamers as coaches, and how difficult it was to be a quiet, confident leader.

Downloadable transcripts of our best podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes!
A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, plus four other courses worth over $100, all yours for free for becoming a patron.
Other special bonus opportunities that come up time to time
Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences.

#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 Aug 05, 2022

Show notes

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 catagories in the record books. He then taught math and coached at Lubbock Monterey High School where he served as an assistant coach in the men's basketball program from 1988 to 1995. In 1996, Gomez accepted the men's basketball head coaching position at Lubbock Cooper High School, where he remained until returning to Lubbock Christian University to take over the reins of the Lady Chaps in 2003. He led the Lady Chaps to 10 straight NAIA tournament appearances and oversaw their transition to NCAA Division II. Since then, the Lady Chaps have won the NCAA II National Championship in 2016, 2019 and 2021, He also served with USA Basketball as an assistant coach for the U16 and U17 girls National Team, winning the FIBA America's Cup in 2017 and the FIBA World Cup in 2018.

In our talk today, we discuss having a higher purpose than winning, the difference between coaching male and female athletes, selflessness, sacrifice, and how to recruit athletes into your program that fit your values and team culture. It is a great conversation.

Downloadable transcripts of our best podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes!
A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, plus four other courses worth over $100, all yours for free for becoming a patron.
Other special bonus opportunities that come up time to time
Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences.

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