Way of Champions Podcast

This week on the podcast we delve into an incredibly important topic, the mental health and well-being of our athletes. With the recent withdrawal of one of the world's top tennis players, Naomi Osaka, from the French Open due to depression and social anxiety, this topic has been in the news a lot recently. There have been two distinct camps; one that says you make millions of dollars so suck it up and play, and the other that recognizes that just becasue these athletes are so exceptional in one area of their life does not mean they are not struggling in others. One of the people leading that discussion recently on CNN and the BBC is our friend Dr Jarrod Spencer. Dr. Jarrod Spencer (@jarrod_spencer) is president and founder of Mind of the Athlete, LLC, a sports psychology company committed to improving the emotional health of athletes (www.MindOfTheAthlete.com). He is the author of Mind of the Athlete: Clearer Mind, Better Performance and the co-author of the book the The Sky Is NOT The Limit: Discovering the True North for Your Life's Path.  Dr. Spencer serves as the sports psychologist for several professional teams and individual professionals athletes.  He also works closely with NCAA teams, including teams at Princeton University, Lehigh University and University of Maryland. He maintains a private practice wherein he provides one-on-one coaching for athletes and business leaders. He has been featured in CNN, BBC, USA Today, New York Daily News and ESPN Radio. Dr. Spencer is a frequent guest on WFMZ Morning News in the NY/NJ/PA region. He also starred in the TV Show “What the Heck Were They Thinking?!” with former Heavyweight Boxing Champion Larry Holmes. Additionally, Dr. Spencer created and starred on the TV show Mind of the Athlete.  He has recorded 13 CDs, as well as over 500 podcasts and videos. Dr. Spencer has extensive training and experience in the field of health and sports psychology.  Before earning a Doctor of Psychology Degree from Argosy University, formerly known as The Illinois School of Professional Psychology, he earned his Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from West Chester University and his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychobiology from Lafayette College. Dr. Spencer professionally trained at The Jersey Shore Medical Center, Northwestern Neuropsychological Association, and The Diamond Headache Clinic. He is a licensed psychologist in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan and Virginia. Dr. Spencer is also a member of The American Psychological Association, Pennsylvania Psychological Association, and Lehigh Valley Psychological and Counseling Association. Influenced by views in neuroscience, psychoanalysis, Christianity, and peak performance literature, Dr. Spencer has a heart to assist athletes in attaining peak performance through sound emotional health. Welcome to our New Sponsor GoodSport! GoodSport™ is a natural sports drink that delivers superior hydration backed by science with a delicious thirst-quenching taste. And what’s really cool about it, is that it’s made from milk. It turns out, milk is packed with electrolytes and has been shown to hydrate better than traditional sports drinks and water. GoodSport ultrafilters milk to remove its protein and harness its electrolytes, carbs and vitamins to provide superior hydration in a clear and refreshing beverage. GoodSport™ has three times the electrolytes than traditional sports drinks with 33 percent less sugar. GoodSport™ is lactose free and provides a good source of calcium and an excellent source of B vitamins. I really enjoy GoodSport™ but what gets me most excited is the brand’s commitment to fostering a positive sports culture aimed at getting and keeping more people in the game.  GoodSport™ supports athletes with naturally powerful hydration and celebrates the natural good that comes from sports. GoodSport™ – Grab the Good.  Check it out at goodsport.com. This week’s podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sports Refund. Many of you probably buy trip insurance, every winter I buy ski pass insurance, to make sure that if I get injured I can get my money back on that expensive investment. Well, many of us spend thousands of dollars on our kids sports club fees, but what if they get hurt? In many cases you cannot get your money back, but now with Sports Refund you can. For just pennies on the dollar, you can make sure that if your child gets sick or injured and misses a month or more you can get your money back, or your club can get paid. It’s a great product, just go to www.sportsrefund.com/game and get your free quote, and if it sounds good you can either get your club to sign up, or you can purchase on your own.  Way of Champions Conference 2021 This weeks podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Leadership Conference, August 21-22, being held virtually this year. We have put together a lineup that is out of this world for our event, and just added Tara VanDerveer, the legendary Stanford Women’s Basketball coach who just broke Pat Summits all time wins record on NCAA hoops. Other guest speakers include Steve Kerr of the Warriors, Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz, multiple time NCAA Champion coaches Anson Dorrance, Cindy Timchal, and Jenny Levy, and mindfulness expert George Mumford. Click here to learn more or register before we sell out! 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

This week, in order to celebrate Christian Pulisic becoming the first American male to win the Champions League, we dig into the archives for our interview with his father Mark. Mark is a former collegiate and professional player and coach, and our talk took place soon after Christian completed his $73 million transfer to Chelsea of the English Premier League. Since then, Christian has hit some incredible heights, and experienced some devastating injuries and extreme disappointment, yet came through it all to become a Champions league winner with Chelsea one week ago.   Today we speak about a variety of topics, including what it was like to raise Christian, how many times Mark and his wife Kelly said no to great opportunities, how they limited his competitive team practices to 2 sessions per week, dealing with pressure, Christian's goodbye in Dortmund, and so much more. We trace Mark’s professional career and his short stint coaching in Germany and what were the major differences with coaching youth players in the US. His answer might surprise you.   This is a great conversation with some terrific insight into the childhood and early sports career of one of world soccer’s brightest stars.   Other Highlights from the Discussion: How important is it to allow kids to develop their own passion for the sport? How do you know if your kid REALLY loves the sport? Is there a way to increase accuracy without losing creativity in children? Parents need to be able to say “No” to coaches. Does the tournament culture create “slow” players? What is missing here in the US, where and when do our kids fall behind?   Connect with Mark Pulisic Twitter https://markpulisic.com/ Mark’s Podcast: Soccer Unplugged Welcome to our New Sponsor GoodSport! GoodSport™ is a natural sports drink that delivers superior hydration backed by science with a delicious thirst-quenching taste. And what’s really cool about it, is that it’s made from milk. It turns out, milk is packed with electrolytes and has been shown to hydrate better than traditional sports drinks and water. GoodSport ultrafilters milk to remove its protein and harness its electrolytes, carbs and vitamins to provide superior hydration in a clear and refreshing beverage. GoodSport™ has three times the electrolytes than traditional sports drinks with 33 percent less sugar. GoodSport™ is lactose free and provides a good source of calcium and an excellent source of B vitamins. I really enjoy GoodSport™ but what gets me most excited is the brand’s commitment to fostering a positive sports culture aimed at getting and keeping more people in the game.  GoodSport™ supports athletes with naturally powerful hydration and celebrates the natural good that comes from sports. GoodSport™ – Grab the Good.  Check it out at goodsport.com. This week’s podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sports Refund. Many of you probably buy trip insurance, every winter I buy ski pass insurance, to make sure that if I get injured I can get my money back on that expensive investment. Well, many of us spend thousands of dollars on our kids sports club fees, but what if they get hurt? In many cases you cannot get your money back, but now with Sports Refund you can. For just pennies on the dollar, you can make sure that if your child gets sick or injured and misses a month or more you can get your money back, or your club can get paid. It’s a great product, just go to www.sportsrefund.com/game and get your free quote, and if it sounds good you can either get your club to sign up, or you can purchase on your own.  Way of Champions Conference 2021 This weeks podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Leadership Conference, August 21-22, being held virtually this year. We have put together a lineup that is out of this world for our event, and just added Tara VanDerveer, the legendary Stanford Women’s Basketball coach who just broke Pat Summits all time wins record on NCAA hoops. Other guest speakers include Steve Kerr of the Warriors, Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz, multiple time NCAA Champion coaches Anson Dorrance, Cindy Timchal, and Jenny Levy, and mindfulness expert George Mumford. Click here to learn more or register before we sell out! 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

Carlo Cornacchia is a long time friend and coaching collaborator, and has both played and coached at the highest levels the game of soccer has to offer. He played professionally in Italy for clubs such as Napoli, Atalanta and Cagliari, and the last few years he has been a part of legendary coach Claudio Ranieri's staff at Fulham in the English Premier League, Nancy in France, and both Roma and Sampdoria in Italy. They recently wrapped up a 9th place finish in Serie A with Sampdoria, punching far above their weight and budget during the most trying of seasons.  In our chat today, Carlo and John discuss how players and the game have changed from his playing days, what are the qualities of exceptional coaches such as Ranieri, how to connect with players at any level, and how young coaches transitioning from their playing days must pay their dues, and "taste the mud" as he says. What is great about Carlo is that not only has he coached internationals in front of massive crowds on the world's biggest stage, but he has also coached JV high school and youth soccer in the US, so he has an appreciation of the game at every level. Buckle in for a great ride! Welcome to our New Sponsor GoodSport! GoodSport™ is a natural sports drink that delivers superior hydration backed by science with a delicious thirst-quenching taste. And what’s really cool about it, is that it’s made from milk. It turns out, milk is packed with electrolytes and has been shown to hydrate better than traditional sports drinks and water. GoodSport ultrafilters milk to remove its protein and harness its electrolytes, carbs and vitamins to provide superior hydration in a clear and refreshing beverage. GoodSport™ has three times the electrolytes than traditional sports drinks with 33 percent less sugar. GoodSport™ is lactose free and provides a good source of calcium and an excellent source of B vitamins. I really enjoy GoodSport™ but what gets me most excited is the brand’s commitment to fostering a positive sports culture aimed at getting and keeping more people in the game.  GoodSport™ supports athletes with naturally powerful hydration and celebrates the natural good that comes from sports. GoodSport™ - Grab the Good.  Check it out at goodsport.com. This week’s podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sports Refund. Many of you probably buy trip insurance, every winter I buy ski pass insurance, to make sure that if I get injured I can get my money back on that expensive investment. Well, many of us spend thousands of dollars on our kids sports club fees, but what if they get hurt? In many cases you cannot get your money back, but now with Sports Refund you can. For just pennies on the dollar, you can make sure that if your child gets sick or injured and misses a month or more you can get your money back, or your club can get paid. It’s a great product, just go to www.sportsrefund.com/game and get your free quote, and if it sounds good you can either get your club to sign up, or you can purchase on your own.  Way of Champions Conference 2021 This weeks podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Leadership Conference, August 21-22, being held virtually this year. We have put together a lineup that is out of this world for our event, and just added Tara VanDerveer, the legendary Stanford Women’s Basketball coach who just broke Pat Summits all time wins record on NCAA hoops. Other guest speakers include Steve Kerr of the Warriors, Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz, multiple time NCAA Champion coaches Anson Dorrance, Cindy Timchal, and Jenny Levy, and mindfulness expert George Mumford. Click here to learn more or register before we sell out! 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

Joe Sagula has spent the last 40 years as an NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball coach with the University of Pennsylvania and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. During that time his teams have won over 800 matches and 17 Conference titles. He is a 9x ACC and Ivy League Coach of the Year and ranks 15th all time in Division I wins. More importantly, Joe is an amazing guy, who is focused on creating a culture of love and respect, constantly reinventing himself, and creating a transformational experience for the kids he coaches. In this weeks episode we discuss love, power, vulnerability, culture, being a lifelong learner, joy, and so much more. Buckle in and get ready to take some notes! This week’s podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sports Refund. Many of you probably buy trip insurance, every winter I buy ski pass insurance, to make sure that if I get injured I can get my money back on that expensive investment. Well, many of us spend thousands of dollars on our kids sports club fees, but what if they get hurt? In many cases you cannot get your money back, but now with Sports Refund you can. For just pennies on the dollar, you can make sure that if your child gets sick or injured and misses a month or more you can get your money back, or your club can get paid. It’s a great product, just go to www.sportsrefund.com/game and get your free quote, and if it sounds good you can either get your club to sign up, or you can purchase on your own.  Way of Champions Conference 2021 This weeks podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Leadership Conference, August 21-22, being held virtually this year. We have put together a lineup that is out of this world for our event, and just added Tara VanDerveer, the legendary Stanford Women’s Basketball coach who just broke Pat Summits all time wins record on NCAA hoops. Other guest speakers include Steve Kerr of the Warriors, Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz, multiple time NCAA Champion coaches Anson Dorrance, Cindy Timchal, and Jenny Levy, and mindfulness expert George Mumford. Click here to learn more or register before we sell out! 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

This past week, John has been assisting his local competitive soccer club with their annual tryouts, and like most years, tryouts are a trying time! How do you balance the "as many as possible, as long as possible" philosophy with facility shortages, lack of trained coaches, and the fact that competitive teams and leagues require different levels of commitments than some are willing to make? How do athletes prepare mentally to perform their best? How can parents support their kids during this time? How do you support the child who gets cut or moved to a new team? And how can coaches be humane and empathize with their players and parents while at the same time make the difficult decisions they are called to make? We have never covered this in depth on the podcast before, so we figured we would give it a shot this week. Please let us know what you think! This week's podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sports Refund. Many of you probably buy trip insurance, every winter I buy ski pass insurance, to make sure that if I get injured I can get my money back on that expensive investment. Well, many of us spend thousands of dollars on our kids sports club fees, but what if they get hurt? In many cases you cannot get your money back, but now with Sports Refund you can. For just pennies on the dollar, you can make sure that if your child gets sick or injured and misses a month or more you can get your money back, or your club can get paid. It’s a great product, just go to www.sportsrefund.com/game and get your free quote, and if it sounds good you can either get your club to sign up, or you can purchase on your own.  Way of Champions Conference 2021 This weeks podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Leadership Conference, August 21-22, being held virtually this year. We have put together a lineup that is out of this world for our event, and just added Tara VanDerveer, the legendary Stanford Women’s Basketball coach who just broke Pat Summits all time wins record on NCAA hoops. Other guest speakers include Steve Kerr of the Warriors, Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz, multiple time NCAA Champion coaches Anson Dorrance, Cindy Timchal, and Jenny Levy, and mindfulness expert George Mumford. Click here to learn more or register before we sell out! 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

Resilience is quite the buzzword these days, but what is it exactly, and how do we develop resilience in ourselves, and model it for our children? Clint Schumacher is a husband, father, lawyer, HS football coach and author fo the great new book Second Wind, all about the 14 decisions we get to make about whether to be resilient or not throughout our lives. In this weeks talk John and Clint break down a few of these major choices we get to make, such as viewing obstacles as opportunities, preparing the child for the path, and more.    Schumacher is passionate about building teams that are resilient, engaged, and motivated. He has the unique experience of both working to solve complex legal problems and coaching young athletes to succeed. He has studied, applied, and taught the principles of resilience set out in this book. They work. He has completed a marathon, climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge, won a bellyflop contest, and finished deep in the money at the World Series of Poker, and has many years of experience coaching youth and high school football. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Abilene Christian University in Accounting and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin.   You  can learn more about Clint and his great book here: www.findsecondwind.com Twitter: @J_Clint Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/findsecondwind LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clint-schumacher-a81b678/ This weeks podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sports Refund. Many of you probably buy trip insurance, every winter I buy ski pass insurance, to make sure that if I get injured I can get my money back on that expensive investment. Well, many of us spend thousands of dollars on our kids sports club fees, but what if they get hurt? In many cases you cannot get your money back, but now with Sports Refund you can. For just pennies on the dollar, you can make sure that if your child gets sick or injured and misses a month or more you can get your money back, or your club can get paid. It’s a great product, just go to www.sportsrefund.com/game and get your free quote, and if it sounds good you can either get your club to sign up, or you can purchase on your own.  Way of Champions Conference 2021 This weeks podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Leadership Conference, August 21-22, being held virtually this year. We have put together a lineup that is out of this world for our event, and just added Tara VanDerveer, the legendary Stanford Women’s Basketball coach who just broke Pat Summits all time wins record on NCAA hoops. Other guest speakers include Steve Kerr of the Warriors, Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz, multiple time NCAA Champion coaches Anson Dorrance, Cindy Timchal, and Jenny Levy, and mindfulness expert George Mumford. Click here to learn more or register before we sell out! 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

This week we dive into the archives, back to episode 31 where Mark Bennett visited us for the first time. This podcast was a game changer for me in terms of how I coach, communicate with athletes, build accountability, and more. It was so fun to do the editing again and listen to this one. Get ready to take some notes! Mark is a former British Commando & senior instructor within the Army Physical Training Corps who served 22 years before turning down promotion in order to leave the services & pursue his passion full time. During his Military career Mark was the senior instructor running the commando training wing & was the first person to redesign the preparatory training to focus on developing mental robustness within soldiers to increase the pass rate on one of the toughest courses in the British Army. ​Mark works as a consultant, trainer, mentor & coach to various corporations, professional & national sport organizations, teams & Universities around the world, as well as Schools & community sports to help transform the leadership capabilities of every manger, coach & teacher that he comes in contact with. Put simply, Mark makes people better “influencers”. ​Over the last 3 decades Mark has worked with over 30 sports at all levels & age groups; from grass roots to professional & International teams. He has also supported national sports organizations & global businesses to embed robust cultures that improve wellness, productivity & performance. Mark had the honor of being awarded the MBE by her majesty the Queen in 2006 for his work in developing his systems. Learn more at www.pdscoaching.com or follow Mark @pdscoach ​ This weeks podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sports Refund. Many of you probably buy trip insurance, every winter I buy ski pass insurance, to make sure that if I get injured I can get my money back on that expensive investment. Well, many of us spend thousands of dollars on our kids sports club fees, but what if they get hurt? In many cases you cannot get your money back, but now with Sports Refund you can. For just pennies on the dollar, you can make sure that if your child gets sick or injured and misses a month or more you can get your money back, or your club can get paid. It’s a great product, just go to sportsrefund.com/game and get your free quote, and if it sounds good you can either get your club to sign up, or you can purchase on your own.  Way of Champions Conference 2021 This weeks podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Leadership Conference, August 21-22, being held virtually this year. We have put together a lineup that is out of this world for our event, and just added Tara VanDerveer, the legendary Stanford Women’s Basketball coach who just broke Pat Summits all time wins record on NCAA hoops. Other guest speakers include Steve Kerr of the Warriors, Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz, multiple time NCAA Champion coaches Anson Dorrance, Cindy Timchal, and Jenny Levy, and mindfulness expert George Mumford. Click here to learn more or register before we sell out! 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  

Asia Mape is a 4x Emmy Awards winning sports journalist and producer, and the founder of the incredible website "I Love to Watch You Play." She has covered five Olympic games, two Super Bowls and nearly every major sporting event in the world. She has also interviewed hundreds of the top athletes, and has first hand knowledge of what it takes to perform at the highest level. A former college basketball player and mom of three athletic girls, Mape has dedicated the past few years to providing parents and coaches with the latest information on coaching, parenting, nutrition, sleep, and everything youth sports. You can follow her on social media, (@iltwyp) and get instant access to all her latest posts.  Here are also some of her best articles: Kids Tell Us The Truth About Sports Parents 17-Ways I'm going to be a better sports parent Why it sucks to be the parent of a good athlete The crucial lesson parents must learn from Covid In our conversation today we cover so many items, from the origins of ILTWYP,  to five great pieces of advice to best support your kids, to her annual article on how she promises to be a better sports parent. She also tells an absolutely hilarious story about her children's nickname for her when she helps them out with their sports. You can find all things ILTWYP at https://ilovetowatchyouplay.com/ This weeks podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sports Refund. Many of you probably buy trip insurance, every winter I buy ski pass insurance, to make sure that if I get injured I can get my money back on that expensive investment. Well, many of us spend thousands of dollars on our kids sports club fees, but what if they get hurt? In many cases you cannot get your money back, but now with Sports Refund you can. For just pennies on the dollar, you can make sure that if your child gets sick or injured and misses a month or more you can get your money back, or your club can get paid. It's a great product, just go to sportsrefund.com/game and get your free quote, and if it sounds good you can either get your club to sign up, or you can purchase on your own.  Way of Champions Conference 2021 This weeks podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Leadership Conference, August 21-22, being held virtually this year. We have put together a lineup that is out of this world for our event, and just added Tara VanDerveer, the legendary Stanford Women's Basketball coach who just broke Pat Summits all time wins record on NCAA hoops. Other guest speakers include Steve Kerr of the Warriors, Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz, multiple time NCAA Champion coaches Anson Dorrance, Cindy Timchal, and Jenny Levy, and mindfulness expert George Mumford. Click here to learn more or register before we sell out! 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

Kate Leavell is a speaker, workshop facilitator, and author of the brand new book Stick Together with Jon Gordon. She is a former NCAA and high school coach, corporate sales consultant, and Coaches Education Trainer for US Lacrosse, and now works with teams and leaders across the country to boost performance, connection, and energy as one of the lead trainers for the Jon Gordon group. She is passionate about teaching strategies that turn a powerful vision into reality, while unifying teammates around their purpose and mission. She is also the author of Confessions of an Imperfect Coach as well as a sports parent. In our conversation today, we discuss her great new book and its simple principles about how great teams come together through shared purpose, ownership, love, inclusion, and much more. Stick Together is a great book for teams coaching staffs, and other groups to read and reflect n together, and Kate delivers this message with great knowledge and passion.  This weeks podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sports Refund. Many of you probably by trip insurance, every winter I buy ski pass insurance, to make sure that if I get injured I can get my money back on that expensive investment. Well, many of us spend thousands of dollars on our kids sports club fees, but what if they get hurt? In many cases you cannot get your money back, but now with Sports refund you can. For just pennies on the dollar, you can make sure that if your child gets sick or injured and misses a month or more you can get your money back, or your club can get paid. It's a great product, just go to sportsrefund.com/game and get your free quote, and if it sounds good you can either get your club to sign up, or you can purchase on your own.  Way of Champions Conference 2021 This weeks podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Leadership Conference, August 21-22, being held virtually this year. We have put together a lineup that is out of this world for our event, and just added Tara VanDerveer, the legendary Stanford Women's Basketball coach who just broke Pat Summits all time wins record on NCAA hoops. Other guest speakers include Steve Kerr of the Warriors, Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz, multiple time NCAA Champion coaches Anson Dorrance, Cindy Timchal, and Jenny Levy, and mindfulness expert George Mumford. Click here to learn more or register before we sell out! 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

The children are listening, they are paying attention, and they need us more than ever. That is what our guest this week John Yeager is telling us. John Yeager is a positive psychology consultant and performance coach who works with coaches and athletes at the youth, high school, college, Olympic, and professional levels. As a former elite athlete, John was both collegiate and professional Lacrosse Player and is a member of the New England Lacrosse Hall of Fame. He has also been a coach and currently is the chief education officer at Yeager Leadership, his presentations and training programs have motivated and inspired audiences around the United States. He works with many college teams and athletes, as well as corporate leaders. His brand new book  which he co-authored is called The Coaching Zone: Next level Leadership in sport and its really good. It talks about self awareness,  what he called “The Team Dance” and a concept I really like, how to build psychological capital with your athletes. I just want to tell you this about this interview. John tells a story in the first few minutes, and one in the last few minutes that gave me goosebumps. You are going to love this talk about the powerful influence we have as coaches. This weeks podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sports Refund. Many of you probably by trip insurance, every winter I buy ski pass insurance, to make sure that if I get injured I can get my money back on that expensive investment. Well, many of us spend thousands of dollars on our kids sports club fees, but what if they get hurt? In many cases you cannot get your money back, but now with Sports refund you can. For just pennies on the dollar, you can make sure that if your child gets sick or injured and misses a month or more you can get your money back, or your club can get paid. It's a great product, just go to sportsrefund.com/game and get your free quote, and if it sounds good you can either get your club to sign up, or you can purchase on your own. Again that is www.sportsrefund.com/game Way of Champions Conference 2021 This weeks podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Leadership Conference, August 21-22, being held virtually this year. We have put together a lineup that is out of this world for our event, and just added 2021 NCAA Champion coach Tara VanDerveer, the legendary Stanford Women's Basketball coach who just broke Pat Summits all time wins record on NCAA hoops. Other guest speakers include Steve Kerr of the Warriors, Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz, multiple time NCAA Champion coaches Anson Dorrance, Cindy Timchal, and Jenny Levy, and mindfulness expert George Mumford. Click here to learn more or register before we sell out! 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