The Great Coaches: Leadership & Life

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.

Our Great Coach on this episode is Graham Reid.Graham is a is a former Australian Field Hockey player that was part of the team that won the silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. And Gold at the 1990 World Cup.He became Head Coach of the Australian National Team in 2012 and lead them to the Champions Trophy, the Oceania Cup, a Commonwealth Games Gold Medal and the World League final.Then in 2019 he became the Head Coach of the Indian National team and lead them to the Bronze medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics breaking the teams 41 year drought without a Mens Hockey medal.Graham is a that rare leader, who has had success both in the corporate and sporting worlds. He brings a sense of perspective and long-held wisdom to his leadership; that helps his team focus on the activities that make a difference.Our Great Coach on this episode is Graham Reid.Graham is a is a former Australian field hockey player that was part of the team that won the silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. And Gold at the 1990 World Cup.He became Head Coach of the Australian National Team in 2012 and lead them to the Champions Trophy, the Oceania Cup, a Commonwealth Games Gold Medal and the World League final.Then in 2019 he became the Head Coach of the Indian National team and lead them to the Bronze medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics breaking the teams 41 year drought without a Mens Hockey medal.Graham is a that rare leader, who has had success both in the corporate and sporting worlds. He brings a sense of perspective and long-held wisdom to his leadership; that helps his team focus on the activities that make a difference.I chased Graham for over a year to get this interview and I am very happy that 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.

Our Great Coach on this episode is Doug Beal.Doug is an American volleyball player, coach and former CEO of USA volleyball.As a player he was a five time All American at Ohio State University, and then from 1970 to 1976 and played over 200 games for the USA Volleyball team.He became coach of the USA Men’s Volleyball team in 1977, and eventually led the team to a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics.He also coached the Gonzaga team in Italy and led them to the World Club championship in 1991.In 2005 he became the CEO Of USA Volleyball and served in that role until his retirement in 2017.Doug was inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame in 1989 and was USA Volleyball's first recipient of the All-Time Great Coach Award in 1995.Doug is a leader with a deep sense of humility, and an equally impressive ability to connect a far reaching vision with the critical steps needed to progress today. He has been part of a lineage of coaches that developed USA Volleyball into the powerhouse it is today.This was a terrific conversation, with an inspiring human being 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.

Our Great Coach on this episode is Petr KotikPetr is the holder of a 5th dan in kickboxing and is the Head Coach of the Czech Republic Kickboxing team.He is a 14 time World Champion, a 5 time world cup winner, and 3 time winner of the USA open.He has also coached more than 10 amateur world champions.Petr is a coach with a deep focus on helping his athletes with the specific mental and physical skills they require, to master their fear, and enter the tatami confident that they are able to perform at their very best.He is a student of coaching, and searches for learning from a broad array of sports and people to ensure that that he has the skills he needs to be the best possible coach he can be for every individual. In fact he describes his role a s a coach, as figuring our what his role needs to be for each person.I always enjoy learning from Combat coaches, their focus on learning to master fear and build confidence is applicable to so many parts of life, and some of the highlights of this conversation for me were:The importance of being calm, as when your emotions are under control you are able to more easily adapt your strategy. And the advice he gives on practicing to be calm by focusing on the combination of physical actions in front of you in that moment.That great coaches are partners with their athletes, and they work together to make the necessary changes to achieve success.And that you overcome self doubt by focusing on your strengths and the successful moments you deploy them, and making sure that these are a key part of your training programme.This was a terrific conversation, and I hope you enjoy it as much 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.

Our Great Coach on this episode is Julie Fitzgerald.Julie is a Australian Netball coach.From 1997 until 2007 she coached the Sydney Swifts leading them to premierships in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007.She then became coach of NSW in 2008 in the new ANZ Championship and in the inaugural season won the championship.She has also coached the World 7 team in a series win over New Zealand, The Australian Institute of Sport team and in 2015 and 2016 coached Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic to conference titlesIn 2017 she became the inaugural coach of the GWS Giants and has led them to 2 minor championships.In 2020 she was made a a member of the order of Australia.It was a lot of fun to interview Julie, she has great energy, 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.

Today’s episode is on the topic of Motivation and we are joined for the discussion with one of our listeners, Dr Brian Hite.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.comOur guest Dr. Brian Hite can be reached through his website: www.beginagainperformancepsychology.com or Email: brian@beginagainperformancepsychology.com. He also co-hosts a podcast www.PokingHolesInBlinders.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Great Coach on this episode is Trevor GleesonTrevor is an Australian basketball coach who transitioned into coaching in 1984 at the age of 18 after an industrial accident.Over the next decade he rose through the coaching ranks leading men's and women's teams in regional competitions.In 1997 he started coaching in the National Basketball League in Australia in Assistant roles before taking similar positions in America and South Korea.In 2006 he returned to Australia as the Head Coach of the Townsville Crocodiles in the National Basketball League, and for 5 years led them to the post season, ultimately leading to him being named the Coach of the year in 2011.In a move that illustrates his coaching prowess, he then switched sports and was a skills coach in the Australian Football League for 3 years under the legendary Alastair Clarkson.In 2013 he returned to Basketball as the Head Coach of the Perth Wildcats and led them to 5 Championships in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020.In 2021 he moved to the NBA as an assistant with the Toronto Raptors.Trevor is the type of coach that makes the individual feel like they are contributing to something bigger than themselves, through the behaviour and attitude choices they make every day. He is unflinchingly honest and a believer in the merits of a strong work ethic to succeed both on and off the court.He is also that rare breed of coach, who has worked at the elite level in 2 different sports; and this dexterity, re-enforces his credentials as a teacher, leader and importantly; life-long learner. And in this interview you will hear him talk about being driven by curiosity to find the best treatments, ways to communicate and skills and techniques.Other key highlights include:How a close relationship with players allows him to have quick, heated conversations during the game without fear of it derailing the players performance. And that building this relationship takes time and isn’t something you can short cut.How one of the major change he has seen over 30 years of coaching is that when he first started, when he told players to jump they would ask how high, whereas now they ask why.And how we believes that there should be only one ego in the team, and that is the teams collective ego.This was a terrific conversation, it was one of the first we did for the podcast, and we hope you get as much out of it 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.

This episode pulls together the thoughts that over 100 Great Coaches from around the world; men and women who have won multiple Olympic medals and championships both regionally, nationally and on the world stage; have shared with us on the topic of 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.