#450 Becky Burleigh, NCAA Champion Soccer Coach and Co-Founder of What Drives Winning (replay)

Oct 10, 2025

Becky Burleigh, a former NCAA champion soccer coach and co-founder of What Drives Winning, shares her coaching journey starting at just 21. She discusses the importance of building trust through innovative team exercises and how vulnerability can enhance leadership. Becky also highlights her unique question-based approach to coaching, fostering player autonomy. With insights on supporting women coaches and the future of U.S. women's soccer, she inspires listeners to find their inner confidence and trust in their coaching journey.

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ADVICE

Start With The Right Question

Ask players a single open question: "What's the most important thing we should be talking about right now?"
Let the player lead the meeting so you discover the real issues beyond tactics.

INSIGHT

Coach Humans, Not Just Systems

Coaches train human beings, not human doings, so relationship work never gets stale.
Focus on people first because their needs and contexts constantly change.

ADVICE

Build Trust With Reliance Exercises

Build trust by creating low-risk exercises that require reliance, like paired snorkeling or synchronized tasks.
Use those activities to expose dependency and improve mutual reliance incrementally.

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Becky Burleigh began her college soccer coaching career at the ripe old age of 21, coaching Berry College to two NAIA National Championships before moving onto the University of Florida. In her nearly three decades at Florida, she won the 1998 NCAA Championship, a combined 26 SEC regular season and tournament championships, and over 500 games. Upon retiring, she was named interim coach of the NWSL’s Orlando Pride during a time of great turmoil, and currently she partners with Brett Ledbetter on coaching education through their business What Drives Winning (www.WhatDrivesWinning.com). In our podcast here, a replay from 2023, we discuss the relationship game, trust, the challenges facing women coaches, and the most important question that Becky would begin every individual player meeting with that is an absolute game changer.

Connect with Becky at Becky@WhatDrivesWinning.com

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