Sport and the Growing Good
The SGG podcast examines how athletics contributes to everyday improvement in our society. We take an embedded approach to tell stories of the "hidden" people and practices on the front-lines of sport.
Latest episodes
Jan 30, 2020 • 30min
#2: Wisconsin volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield thinks carefully about team spaces
Kelly Sheffield is the head coach of the University of Wisconsin's volleyball team. Fresh off a run to the national championship game, Coach Sheffield discusses:
1. His initial team goals during his first season at Wisconsin in 2013;
2. Why he chose to hold a critical team meeting in the top corner of the field house;
3. His purposeful design of the team’s locker room;
4. The messages that are conveyed by different spaces where the team gathers;
5. The film room’s “classroom” feel;
6. Player seating in the film room;
7. His “goulash” style of learning from other coaches;
8. Being unafraid to ask questions;
9. How to make large amounts of information simple and useable for the team;
10. How he utilizes the days and weeks immediately following the season; and
11. Preparing for top rivals’ specific strengths and strategies.
Jan 30, 2020 • 36min
#1: Wisconsin men's rowing coach Chris Clark is always pushing the rock uphill
Chris Clark is the head coach of the men's rowing team at the University of Wisconsin. Reflecting on his years as leader and competitor across the world, he discusses:
1. Dwelling on failures (7:04).
2. Eliminating impediments (11:50)
3. The myth of Sysiphus and the momentum of a team (12:20)
4. Multi-sport athletes who "know they know nothing" (16:00)
5. The value of athletes with "the right attitude" (19:55)
6. Finding his first rowing mentors at Orange Coast College, the national team, and beyond (25:00)
7. Reassessing coaches years after being on their teams (27:45)
8. Oxford Coach Mike Spracklen's patience with young "Heater" Clark... and the lessons Heater learned (28:20)
9. Coaching at Navy...while delivering pizzas (33:50)
10. His perspective that "nobody is above or below anything" (34:30)
