The Great Coaches: Leadership & Life

Our Great Coach on this episode is NBA coach Jenny Boucek.Jenny is a former WNBA player, Assistant Coach and Head Coach. The first person to hold all 3 roles in the league’s history.She began her coaching career in the WNBA during the 1999 season as an assistant with the Washington Mystics.In 2000, she joined the Miami Sol, also as an assistant coach, for three seasons.Jenny was an Assistant Coach with the Seattle Storm when they won the WNBA Championship in 2004 and 2010 and the Head Coach for the Sacramento Monarchs and Seattle Storm.In 2017 Jenny became the player development coach for the Sacramento Kings, becoming the third female assistant coach in NBA history.In 2018 she became an Assistant Coach for the Dallas Mavericks and since this interview was originally released, Jenny was named an assistant coach of the Indiana Pacers in July, 2021.Jenny is a coach with a deep sense of purpose, and belief in the power of intrinsic motivation to drive you to become the best version of yourself. Her career is a study in perseverance and risk that has resulted in redefining paradigms. She is self-reflective, empathetic and focused on helping those in her circle of influence become, in her words, a better me for a better we.This was a wonderful conversation, with a coach who transcends what it means to lead in both elite mens and womens competitions, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Great Coach on this episode is Damien Hardwick.Damien is an Australian rules football coach and former player.As a player, he played 207 games for Essendon and Port Adelaide, winning premierships with each club in 2000 and 2004 respectively.He was appointed to his first head coach role in 2010 with Richmond; and led them to premierships in 2017, 2019 and 2020. He is now the longest tenured coach in the clubs 136 year history.In 2017 he voted Coach of the Year by his peers. And is also a member of a small and elite group of people who have both played in and coached an AFL premiership.Damien’s journey as a coach has been documented in books and in documentary’s, and in this interview he takes us through the key inflection points that led to him changing his philosophy, and then ultimately leading his team to 3 premierships.It’s a terrific story, there are so many highlights and here are just a few that stayed with afterwards:His descriptions of the effort that went into building the championship environment that eventually led to 3 premierships.How it was a leadership course on Authenticity at Harvard that led him to change his style, and ultimately unlock improved performance in the team.And the use of the triple H framework: hero, hardship and highlight to encourage his team to become more open and vulnerable with each other; and how this deeper level of connection translated into improved performance.If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Great Coach on this episode is John WoodenCoach Wooden was an American basketball coach who led the UCLA Bruins to 10 NCAA Championships, including a record 7 titles in a row.Over a 29-year coaching career, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games, and he was voted coach of the year on 7 occasions. As a player he was names a collegiate All American on 3 occasions and was the first person to be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and coach.He is one of the most revered coaches in history and is by far the coach mentioned most by the Great Coaches we have interviewed.John Wooden wrote 13 books on coaching and leadership; but it is his opus from 2005, the Pyramid of Success through which he has become internationally recognized. In that book he lays out his key principles to leadership and success in life.Unfortunately Coach Wooden passed away in 2010 at the age of 99. However, he left so much rich material behind that we are going to recreate a posthumous interview with him.Much of the footage of him is copyrighted and so not able to be reproduced without a lot of cost and bureaucracy, so we have ordered his words around key coaching and leadership themes hired an actor to read those words. And that is what you will be listening to today.We used multiple books to find the words you will hear:Coach Wooden's Pyramid of SuccessWooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the CourtWooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning OrganizationThe Essential Wooden: A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Great Coach on this episode is basketball coach Sandy Brondello.Sandy is a former professional basketball player and the current coach of the New York Liberty in the WNBA.She started playing for Australia at the age of 18 and went on to represent the national team at four Olympics winning three medals. She has played Basketball for teams in America, Australia and Germany.In 2003 she began her coaching career as an assistant with the San Antonio Silver StarsShe became a Head Coach of the Phoenix Mercury in 2010 and in 2014 won the National Title and the Coach of the Year.In 2017, Sandy was appointed head coach of the Australian women's national basketball team, The Opals.If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Great Coach on this episode is Tom Ryan.Tom Ryan is a former All-American college wrestler, and now coach of the Ohio State Wrestling team.During his collegiate wrestling career, he was a member of the University of Iowa 1991 and 1992 NCAA and Big Ten championship teams.He became a Head Wrestling coach at Hofstra University in New York in 1995 leading them to six consecutive conference titles from 2001 to 2006. He then moved to Iowa to coach, and in 2015 Led the wrestling program to the NCAA National Championship.He has won multiple coach of the year awards, and at present is the owner of a 76% match winning ratio.From the highs of winning championships and coaching Olympic Gold medalists to the unimaginable loss of his own child; Tom Ryan is a coach with a deep appreciation for the pain that can either de-rail or elevate your life.His coaching philosophy is infused with a focus on truth and love, Truth to help you see the areas where you can develop; and love so you have the confidence that you will be supported as you develop and grow.I chased Tom for 6 months to get this interview, and I am so glad I did. His lessons on leadership and life are truly universal; and some of the key ones for me wereHow the coaches role is to reduce stress through controlling their emotions. This reduces tension in the athlete and allows them to focus on the task at hand.Giving feedback the moment a skill is not being executed properly in a way that is productive . And how great athletes truthfully assess themselves in a way that allows an accurate development plan to put in place.The great story he shares about the prisoner of war James Stockdale and the importance of combining optimism with realism.And wanting to leave a legacy of helping people to learn to love deeply; and with a few Olympic and World Champions along the way.This was a wonderful conversation, and I hope you enjoy it as much as Jim and I did.If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s episode is on the topic of Mental Health for Coaches and we are joined for the discussion with one of our listeners, Mads Claussen.If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.comMads can be reached through his website: www.madsclaussen.dk or Email: coach@madsclaussen.dk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Great Coach on this episode is Bill Sweetenham.Bill is an Australian swimming coach, who first started training athletes in the 1970’s in the rural Australian town of Mount Isa.His coaching career progressed quickly and he coached at his first Olympics in 1976, and was then Head Coach for Australia at the 1980, 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games, as well as the 1982 and 1986 Commonwealth Games teams.He then went on to be the Head Coach of the Hong King swimming team in 1991, and the Great Britain team from 2000 to September 2007. In his tenure with the Great Britain team they won as many medals at the World Championships as they had at all previous World Championships back to 1973.In all he has coached at 5 Olympic Games, 8 Commonwealth Games, and 9 World Championships, his swimmers have delivered 27 Olympic and World Championship medals and have broken 9 world records.Bill has an amazing presence, he fills the room with his energy and passion. He is a coaching guru in the truest sense of the word and in this interview we were also joined by 4 other elite coaches, who came to listen to what he had to say.And it was an absolute masterclass. He talks about meeting Nelson Mandela and the Great Boxing coach, Angelo Dundee. He shares stories of his successes and failures and reflects on what he has learnt from each. He is also challenging, forthright and motivating; I left with a soaring sense of energy after this discussion.There were so many highlights:The story he shares about meeting Nelson Mandela and the answer he gave him to the question of what lessons he learned while imprisoned on Robben island.His view that The coach sees what the athlete can't, and the athlete feels, what the coach cant and takes a marriage of both those attributes to produce a winning result.And The importance of investing in your past so that you can see your future.This was a life affirming conversation, and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode we discuss skills and what the Great Coaches have to say about them when it comes to individual and team dynamics. Applicable to all leaders.If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Great Coach on this episode is Kathy Delaney-Smith.Kathy is a recently retired American Basketball coach who for 40 years led the Harvard Womens Basketball team.During her tenure she led the team to over 600 career wins, 11 Ivy League championships and six NCAA Tournament berths, and between 1986 and 2011, every senior class except one, won at least one conference championshipOutside of Basketball she has also received numerous awards and recognition for her services to the community and improving gender equality.In this terrific interview some of the key highlights were:Her belief that sports is the greatest classroom and if you can educate the whole person then winning is the end result.The way she manages the very fine line of having deep relationships with her athletes but also maintaining a safe zone where respect is required.How your body language affects your thoughts, and how she uses this belief to encourage her team to act as it.And how the great coaches are authentic and they care about their athletes as much as they care about winning.I thoroughly enjoyed this interview with Kathy, and I hope you enjoy it as much as we didIf you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Great Coach on this episode is Roy Hodgson.Roy has been coaching football since 1976, and over 46 years has led 21 teams in 8 different countries.His achievements are quite lengthy, but here is a summary.He led the Swiss national team to the last 16 of the 1994 World Cup, a tournament they had not qualified for since the 1960;s.He coached the Finnish national team to their highest ever FIFA ranking.He led the English National team to the #3 rank in the world,He led Hamstead in Sweden to the league championship in 1976 and 1979.In 1985 he took over Malmo in Sweden and led them to five consecutive league championshipsIn 2000 he led FC Copenhagen to the Superliga championshipIn 2009 he led Fulham to their highest finish in the English Premier League and a UEFA Europa League qualificationAnd has also coached Inter Milan, Blackburn Rovers, , Udinese, , Liverpool, West Bromwich Albion, Crystal Palace and Watford.He is by far the most global coach we have interviewed so far, and in fact speaks 5 different languages.This was a wonderful conversation with a truly iconic coach, and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.