Sport and the Growing Good

Coach Dave Perkins led Verona High School to the state championship in 2022. He was also named the WSCA Coach of the Year and, in 2021, the Big Eight Conference Coach of the Year. Dave has a long track record of success playing and coaching at multiple levels, including club, college, and high school. Dave joined SGG to discuss his leadership journey, including what he's learned along the way, why he coaches, and what he aspires toward as a leader of young people.

Coach Caitie Ratkowski is the 2022 state champion (Division I) volleyball coach at Divine Savior Holy Angels (DSHA) High School in Milwaukee. She was honored as the 2022 AVCA Girls high school coach of the year. Among Caitie's many other awards was her 2016 induction into the DSHA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016. Beyond her impressive success on the court, Caitie is committed to leading the people in her program toward holistic life success. She's impacted many lives through her coaching efforts. 

Coach Andrew Selgrad led Columbus High School to a 14-0 record and the division 4 state championship in 2022. For his efforts, he named Wisconsin Associated Press/Packers High School Coach of the Year. Coach Selgrad has a long track record as a coach in the state -- and even grew up on the sidelines when his father was a head coach. With a motto of "keep building," he focuses on "teaching the why," learning, trusting and growing every day.

Coach McDonnell leads the 2022 Wisconsin State football champions at Kettle Moraine High School. He is also a special education teacher at the school. Coach McDonnell focuses on treating the members of his team well. In doing so, he's cultivated a successful program where young people can thrive on and off the field. He joined us on the SGG podcast to discuss his journey and his perspective on coaching.

Coach Roehrig is a social studies teacher and the head softball coach at Kaukauna High School in Wisconsin. His team rides a 51 game winning streak and has won back-to-back state championship. Coach Roehrig's impact goes beyond softball victories. He's shaped a thriving community around softball. He develops rich relationships with players and families. Opportunities flow in, through, and beyond the Kaukauna softball program thanks to his leadership. We enjoyed a great conversation on the SGG podcast. Thanks, Coach Roehrig! 

Bill Schultz is the founder and leader of the Miracle League in Dane County, WI. He joined us to tell his own story of growing up with physical disabilities, staying resilient, and ultimately impacting many lives in positive ways. The Miracle League provides children with disabilities -- and their families -- with opportunities to play sports and have fun together. Bill's story is inspiring. Our SGG conversation included conversation about: 1. Bills sports experiences when he was young. 2. The coaches and adults who impacted him growing up. 3. His experiences as a manager in college. 4. His career. 5. How the Miracle league came to fruition in the Madison area. 6. What happens at Miracle League games. 7. A couple of "miracle stories." 8. What comes next.

George Dohrmann is senior managing editor for enterprise and investigations for The Athletic. Previously at Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times and the St. Paul Pioneer Press, where in 2000 he won a Pulitzer Prize, he is the author of multiple books. Play Their Hearts Out, George’s book stemming from a ten-year immersive journey with an AAU team, was winner of the 2011 PEN/ESPN Award and was named by GQ as one of 50 best books on literary journalism. On this SGG episode, we discussed: 1. There’s a picture of you coaching kids in soccer on your website. Do you coach? What’s your coaching style? (2:40) 2. What drew you to the topic of your new book, Switching Fields? (5:25) 3. Historically, what have been some of the signature differences between how men’s and women’s developmental systems have worked in American soccer? (7:47) 4. How UNC coach Anson Dorrance created a successful soccer program (10:27) 5. What was noteworthy about the development of American soccer in Southern California? (14:30) 6. Why have there historically been so few Black soccer players in the USA program? (20:40) 7. Who else has been left behind… and why? (21:30) 8. You documented some really horrible coaches in PTHO. But it sounds like you’ve found hopeful coaching models in these years that’ve followed. In soccer, what are the promising youth coaching practices that you’ve found? Would these translate across sports – including to youth basketball? (25:05) 9. Latino influence on coaching (29:10) 10. You’ve long been advocating for “junior NBA/WNBA leagues.” Why? Is this a logic of talent capitalization? How can we concurrently democratize healthy, high-level sport opportunity? (34:20) 11. Looking back on what you know now, would your analysis of the PTHO kids’ world change in any noteworthy ways?  What are the “big questions” we should be asking to make youth sports better in the US? (39:53) 12. What would he do differently if he could do Play Their Hearts Out again (43:10)

We continue our SGG conversations with Sidney Moncrief, whose perspectives on leading for justice are rooted in years of competing, leading, and learning at the highest levels. In this episode, we discussed: What Made Don Nelson special: he understood the value of having a good support team and he made sure to be authentic during his interactions with both his assistant coaches and his players to create sincere relationships with them. (9:08) “The wisdom that I had when I played came from humility and self awareness” (13:30) “When he became a leader on the Bucks he eliminated hazing because he wanted the new players to be able to come to him and not be looked down upon or pass judgment… he would just give them the facts” (15:23) “It’s easy for anyone to become insecure about a number of things and as a coach you really need to guard against that.” (19:38) The negative effects of social media on athletes. (24:47) His perspective of diversity, equity, inclusion throughout the sports landscape while playing at Arkansas. (28:30) Learning from his experience playing tennis with Sam Walton. (32:27) “When you're in your 20s you really don’t have the wherewithal, it’s all about ‘me’ and … you are not leveraging potential relationships to do good things for others” (36:00) “I don’t care how famous you are or how many followers you have, always speak from an educated perspective know both sides.” (38:24) You have to use both your public and your private platforms. (39:58) Learning from his conversation with Senator Kohl. (41:33) Learning about intentionality as a part of his GRIT concept. (43:00) How sports give him the platform today. (45:47) “Our job as older players is to make ourselves relevant… take current issues and collaborations to make things better. (46:39) The effect of his mom keeping composure during times of crisis. (48:28) Why coaches have to guard their players too much information. (52:23)

Tony Granato’s accolades and accomplishments in hockey are remarkable. A highest level champion of the game in every way at college, NHL and Olympic levels, Tony is recognized as one of the great teammates, competitors and leaders in the game. As head coach of the Badgers, Tony continues to positively impact countless lives each year. He joined SGG, where we discussed: 1. The shared passion for hockey among the Granato siblings. “NHL games” in the family basement. Core values and love developing in the basement. 2. Coaching principles “come from that basement.” 3. Benefits of free play. Learning about leadership and how to be a teammate. 4. Learning about courage and perseverance from his sister Cammi. “She fought through lots of barriers and obstacles.” 5. Learning from his brother Donny about overcoming hard things. 6. Learning about the core values of individuals that his team recruits. 7. One of Tony’s bell cows (models): Bob Johnson – “His enthusiasm and passion for hockey was what I thought it should be. He brought that spirit to wherever he was.” “His style was unique back then. Coaches were hard-nosed and tough. Stand-offs. Screamers and yellers…Badger had the opposite. He loved and appreciated players for who they were.” 8. Another bell cow: his dad. “He didn’t know hockey very well…But what I learned from him was love and care for one another. Respect and care for each other and the game.” 9. Positive mindset. Taking positive things from other players. 10. “I don’t want to be respected because I was a good player. I want to be respected because I was a good teammate.” 11. Personality of a team. “It has to be a natural thing.” 12. “Great character” vs. “great characters” in the game of hockey. 13. Values/principles of his program: work ethic; passion/love for the game and people. 14. “When you’re appreciated, you’re willing to go through the wall for somebody.” 15. Differences in international models of sport and development. 16. US Hockey’s new model for developing the game. 17. European focus on tactical and skill work. 18. Talent capitalization. 19. Starting points in leadership development: Core values. Compassion. Relationships. 20. “The part I’ve enjoyed most about my journey in sport is the fact that I’ve been able to share it with my brothers and sisters and dad and mom. We’re all connected by sport.” 21. His dad never pushed hockey upon him.

Naismith Hall of Famer Sidney Moncrief – a former Bucks all-star and assistant coach – joined us (2nd time on SGG!) to discuss leadership across different eras. He identified a critical shift in player-coach relations that occurred in the early 2000s and offered broad insights on leadership across diverse settings. We discussed: 1. How do relationships look in the NBA? In the 1980s: Corporate. “There were no relationships. You were told what to do. In the 2000s “there was a new source of empowerment among the players.” At that point, if you were an assistant coach, your sole purpose was to develop a relationship with players. “They were no longer doing what you told them to do because you were the leader. They wanted you to earn their trust.” 2. The impact of the rise of AAU. 3. One thing that has not changed in coaching: “Once players know that you care…right away, the trust goes up. And the respect goes up.” What matters most: caring, transparency, honesty, integrity. 4. Coaches showed care behind the scenes. 5. Principles are important in action, not just in what you say. Great coaches “walk the talk.” (Don Nelson. Del Harris, Rick Majerus, etc.) 6. Sidney’s “Cs of Leadership:” Competence, Character, Consistency, Communication. 7. The 1980s was the era of excess in the league – not an era of social consciousness. “We had conversations behind the scenes. But if you had those discussions in public…it would have been detrimental to your career.” It was easier to have those conversations in the 60s and 70s. 8. The importance of “Magic vs. Bird” in shifting from team to individual branding. 9. “Coaches play a major role in giving players a base for being game changers in society.” 10. “You should never be afraid of stepping outside of the box as a coach.” 11. Don Nelson understood that he needed to get the star players on board with ideas first. “He would come to us and ask for our opinions…Great players must be part of your internal team.” 12. “Being a social justice person.” Sidney’s thoughts on order and action in a sports context – a sensitive and complicated matter. 13. Could Coach Eddie Sutton coach the same way today? “He made some adjustments but his standards never changed.” 14. “GRIT:” Growth, resilience, intentionality, tenacity. 15. Body language. Reading cues. 16. Authenticity. “The worst thing as a leader is for people that you lead to not know who you are and what you stand for.” 17. “Empathy should have no age limit.” 18. Having a purpose. 19. The diversity in the game. 20. Principled coaches are “setting their players up to be social game changers in society, to accelerate their life’s purpose.”