The Great Coaches: Leadership & Life

Alan is a volleyball player and now coach. As a player he was a Collegiate All American and represented the USA Team.He was an Assistant Coach at his Alma Mater, Long Beach State University in 1996 before taking over as Head Coach in 2000. He has led them to 7 final four appearances and back-to-back NCAA championships in 2018 and 2019.From 2009 until 2012 he was also the Coach of the USA Men’s team and led them to Gold medal at 3 Continental Championships as well as Gold at the 2012 World League.Alan is a reflective and thoughtful leader, who manages to couple a program with a strong structure and supportive environment.Some of the highlights from the interview for me were:The way he encourages his team to focus on the message not the tone during in-game communication. The importance of not coaching to the last point, but to be able to manage your emotions and look forward. The importance of honesty and not using “feelings” when describing selection decisions And how he uses Mindset Monday to reset and prepare for the week ahead. 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 Being Coachable, and we are joined for the discussion by Allistair McCaw, who has just written a terrific new book called Habits that Make a Champion.Allistair is that rare person who excels across disciplines and industries. In addition to being an author who has sold over 300,000 books, his podcast ranks in the top 1% in the world, and for the last 25 years he has also consulted and worked with Olympic Gold Marriage, Grand Slam Champions, Fortune 500 companies, NCAA Colleges, and Professional sports teams. And you will hear him mention some of the these in this terrific interview.Allistair also has a fantastic social media presence.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 Dan McKellar Dan is a former professional Rugby Union Player and now coach.He played more than 150 premier grade games at Souths Rugby Club in Brisbane, Australia winning a premiership with them in 2000. He started coaching as a Player-Coach at Wicklow in Ireland in 2002, before becoming the Head Coach of his old side Souths Rugby Club in 2008. He then became Head Coach for the Tuggeranong Vikings Rugby in 2011 and won back to back premierships with them.In 2018 he became Head Coach of the Brumbies in the Super Rugby competition and led them to the 2020 Super Rugby AU premiership.In 2021 he became as Assistant Coach for the Australian Wallabies and then in 2022 was announced as the head coach for Leicester Tigers.Dan has a nice balance between the science and art of coaching and in this terrific interview some of the highlights for me included:The importance of life-balance and how he has added this to the trademarks he looks for in the coaching group.How the time you invest with each individual in an organisation will mean a lot to them, and strengthen their connection to the organisation.The importance of self-awareness as a leader, but also having people around you who are will to empower you to learn about leadership through being given opportunities to lead others.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 focuses on the topic of Turning Points and we are joined for the discussion by Dr David Turner. Dr David Turner is a Senior Lecturer in Sports Coaching at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom, where he is a member of the Cambridge Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences. He has been a sports coach and an educator for around 40 years. His research interests are centred around expertise and learning in sports coaching and beyond. He is particularly interested in the use of storytelling to derive and represent the wisdom of great coaches, and has an ongoing project of public talks and articles entitled Learning From Legendary Coaches.  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.

Noeline is a former national team player who is currently head coach of the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns. As player Noeline won a silver medal 1998 Commonwealth Games and a bronze medal at the 1995 Netball World Championships. From 2002 to 2013 she was the Head Coach of Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic leading them to the Championship in 2005, 2006 and 2012. In 2017 and 2018 she coached the Sunshine Coast Lightning to back to back premierships in the Australian Suncorp Super Netball league. Then in 2019 she famously led New Zealand to victory in the World Cup. Some of the highlights for me were:How the great coaches are able to mobilize people and create an environment where people want to keep coming back.The importance of having strategic drivers that will drive the vision you have for the club or team,The importance of succession planning and proving the right experiences to everyone in the team so that they grow.And the story she shares about her daughters experience of not getting on court for the team she plays for, and how this illustrates the way the she approaches learning and helping people reach their potential. 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.

Nick Montgomery is a former professional soccer player and now coach.As a player he started his career in England most notable playing 349 games for Sheffield United.In 2012 he moved to Australia and played for the Central Coast Mariners.  In 2018 he started as an Assistant coach at the Mariners before being appointed as Head Coach in 2021. In just his second season he led the team to A -league championship where they beat the more fancied and resourced Melbourne City 6-1. And in 2023 was appointed Head Coach at Scottish club HibernianSome of the highlight were:The way Nick goes about understanding what drives each individual, how this fuels his belief that people can change; and the results he had at the Mariners to prove this.How he was able to turn a team with one of the lowest salary budgets into premiers by building on what he calls a siege mentality, coupled with seasoned professionals and young energetic players and his own unshakeable belief.And The role that visualization played in the story of their underdog championship.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 focuses on the topic of Mindset and we are joined by Mark Zimmerman to talk about Mindset. Mark is a Mindset coach and works with sporting teams across Australia and his homeland South Africa. His passion is Rugby and he has great energyand some of the things he said that resonated with me were:How he defines mindset as your mental outlook, and how that either helps or hinders your performance in a professional or just a competitive arena.The analogy he uses to explain how your mindset is the software that powers your hardware.And The interesting link between the collective mantra a team might use and their mindset.You can reach Mark at https://otmcoaching.com.au/ 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.

Jeremy Gunn, former professional soccer player and now Head Coach, discusses the importance of challenging athletes for mental growth. The role of coaches in shaping individuals towards desired outcomes is emphasized. The podcast also explores the transformation of Cal State's soccer program and the significance of creating a competitive training environment. Professor Eric Knight highlights the necessary skills for future leaders and the concept of mental fitness. The chapter on assessing individuals' impact on culture introduces a four box matrix to evaluate behavior and performance.

Today’s episode is focuses on the topic of On being a champion teammate, and we are joined for the conversation by Dr Jerry Lynch and John O’Sullivan.Dr. Jerry LYNCH received his doctorate in psychology from Penn State University, he is the author of 13 books on coaching, leadership, peak performance, and sports psychology. In the past 30 years alone, he has worked with teams that have been a part of 54 Final Four and 36 National Championship at the collegiate and professional levels.John O’Sullivan is a former collegiate and professional soccer player and has coached for over 30 years on the youth, high school, and collegiate levels. John has written two bestselling books, he is also the host of one of the world’s top podcasts, The Way of Champions. Together John and Jerry have written a new book called The Champion Teammate: Timeless Lessons to Connect, Compete and Lead in Sports and LifeIf 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 Joe Gallagher . Joe is a former amateur boxer who started coaching in 1993. He has been involved in over 300 professional fights. 100 title fights and his fighters have won world, European,. British and Commonwealth titles. In 2015 he became the USA Ring Magazine 2015 World Trainer of the year. Then became 2018-19 Boxing News trainer of the year for a second time .In 2018 Joe set up the Joe Gallagher Academy in Manchester which is backed by England Amateur Boxing which provides Education and boxing courses for 16-18 year olds. In 2019 Joe received award for the work done with the academy at The This Is Manchester Awards ceremony for making a difference in the community.Some of the highlights are:His belief that new blood motivates old blood, and how he brings this to life in the gym. The work he does giving back to the community through is academy in Manchester which he says gives him a feeling that “ theres nothing better than’” which is saying something given the world champions he has coached.His learning that underdogs meed to have grit, tenacity and desire if they are to succeed.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.