#403 Anson Dorrance on his Retirement as Head Coach of 21x NCAA Champs UNC Women's Soccer, Self Awareness, and Being a Truth Teller to Your Athletes (Part 1)
Way of Champions Podcast
Unlocking Self-Awareness in Coaching
This chapter explores the vital role of self-awareness for coaches, emphasizing the importance of understanding one's identity and decisions. It highlights a new program designed to enhance self-awareness, discusses key coaching principles such as the 'competitive cauldron,' and addresses challenges in aligning athletes' perceptions with reality.
Anson Dorrance recently stepped down as Head Coach the University of North Carolina Women’s Soccer program. In his career spanning 1979-2024, he won over 1100 games, 21 NCAA Championships, 7x NCAA Coach of the Year awards, 12 ACC Coach of the Year Awards, and even one NCAA Men's Coach of the Year award. He also led the US Women’s National Team to the 1991 World Cup Championship. He has published 3 books (Vision of a Champion, The Man Watching, and Training Soccer Champions) and has a wonderful podcast where he interviews the best of the best, the Vision of a Champion Podcast:
https://ansondorrancesoccer.com/podcast/
While we spoke today, we all decided this would be a two part interview, so today we recorded part 1. We took a deep dive into his decision to retire as head coach, staying on as the third assistant this season and the new responsibilities it comes with, and then pivoted to self-awareness. His insight into helping players and programs to succeed was incredible, and we dove deep into the importance of getting everyones personal narrative and the team narrative to the truth, to reality, and away from excuses. Even coaches! Get ready to take some notes!
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