Sport and the Growing Good

Several years ago, we wrote about an "NFL ready" football player, Ed Oliver. He's achieved success with the Buffalo Bills. But readiness questions in the sports pipeline persist for millions of young people around the country. Beyond physical readiness, we must consider academic, social, and other types of readiness. Participation is one aspect of life readiness that is overlooked. The more we can keep kids engaged in high quality sporting environments, the better. Trends in participation at youth and college levels are troubling -- and must be addressed. In this SGG episode, we identify some of these trends. And we launch a series examining participation and readiness in the sports pipeline.

Originally from Marietta, Ohio, Betsy Mitchell escaped Buckeye territory to become one of the great American swimmers of her day. She is a multi-time national, world, and Olympic champion. Betsy’s post-swimming career includes graduate school at the University of Texas and Harvard, coaching at Dartmouth and, now, as the athletic director at Caltech. She is a respected leader in college sports. Betsy joined the SGG podcast, where we discussed: 1. Betsy’s introduction story to sport: A rejection from t-ball and a sign at the YMCA for swim lessons. 2. Donna Lopiano’s influence on Betsy at the University of Texas. “She was always pushing me to do more.” 3. Key characteristics of good coaching: Keeping it fun. Using sport as a tool, not as an end in and of itself. Keeping balanced. 4. Her perspective on sport. “This is only part of me. Yes, I see myself as an athlete. Yes, I’m a swimmer. But I’ve always had such a rich ‘other life’ – and I credit my parents for that.” 5. “The training was hard. But they just set the table and allowed me to come into it.” 6. Her college coach Richard Quick: “You guys have talent. It’s yours to harvest.” 7. Always being aware of being a good leader. Being service-oriented and inclusive as a leader – even as a younger person. 8. “This was never just about me…I realized it was very representative.” 9. When she first started as a young coach at Dartmouth. “The women that were there didn’t see me as an Olympic swimmer. I was just their leader, just their coach. It was very collaborative.” 10. Books/authors that have impacted Betsy: Jeff Janson. Jim Collins. Brene Brown. “Lincoln on Leadership.” 11. “I don’t think that my way is the only way.” 12. Asking more questions than making big statements. 13. Creating a learning environment for her staff. A three-pronged approach: 1) hiring willing learners, curious people; 2) Funding ongoing learning; 3) We just talk about it all the time. 14. Why Betsy does not like coaching conventions. “I would rather have them take a Harvard business class online. Or take four coaches who you really admire to lunch…” 15. As a leader and coach: “You have to be good enough to always give the ‘why.’” 16. Betsy’s daily routines: 1) Exercise. “That’s my grounding feature…I do it for my own health but also to be seen…I make sure I work out here at least a couple times a week…So that I’m available, but also so that they see me. That I validate their own priority about their health.” 2) Being out and about. “I do not sit in this office all day.” Being intentional about checking in with people. “Not even about work…’how’s it going? How can I help.’” 17. A learned skill as a leader: “I try not to react. I try to respond.” 18. Her love of adventure…and the importance of adventure in her life: “This is play. The broad notion of play. Play is essential…It’s a way to fill your soul. To have a dynamic life.” 19. Purposeful travel: “Immersing myself in what I do not know…Go where you do not know and where you are in the minority.” 20. Always having an identity as being more than just an athlete. “I never wanted to be known as only a swimmer.” 21. On the importance of leaders and coaches ensuring that student-athletes have balanced lives: “We have to serve young people in that. Because they can get lost later.”

I traveled to the Pettit Center in Milwaukee, home of DASH, to learn about competing, coaching, and leading from two speedskating legends. Bonnie Blair Cruikshank is one of the most successful Olympic athletes of all time, having won five Olympic speedskating golds and countless other medals and championships. Dave Cruikshank was also an Olympian, a world champion, and one of the elite skaters in the world. This husband and wife duo inspired a generation of Olympic athletes. They continue to take the lead in promoting speedskating and Olympic sports in the United States and beyond. DASH is a premier training organization that prepares highest-level athletes to reach peak performance. I sat with Bonnie and Dave in the DASH training space – located on the second level of the Pettit – to learn from these remarkable people. On this SGG episode, we discussed: 1. Dave’s early and ongoing attraction to speedskating: “I liked going fast. And I still like going fast.” 2. The mentoring that occurred across generations in the U.S. speedskating community – leading to many Olympians and world champions. 3. The impact Olympian Cathy Priestner had on Bonnie’s early path in the sport. “She took me under her wing…It was a neat building of a great friendship…That relationship was a very big part of my journey.” 4. Bonnie training pretty much on her own in Champaign, IL during her early days on the U.S. team. 5. How and when Bonnie knew she had to make coaching changes during her career. 6. Dave being coached by a 4-time Olympian in Northbrook. 7. Dave: “I didn’t really start training until I was 16. I was on my first Olympic team at 18.” 8. Coaching rule of thumb: “If we get hit by a bus, you should be able to take care of yourself. Our job is to educate you and give you as much knowledge and information on technique, training, sleep, nutrition, and preparation as we can. We will help guide you, but it’s your journey.” 9. His athletes keep journals. (What’s in the journals?) 10. Bonnie on the lack of performance training research: “We were flying by the seat of our pants.” 11. Why a peanut butter and jelly sandwich as pre-race meal made sense for Bonnie. (insights from special ops leaders) 12. The importance of getting to know your athletes. 13. Coach and athlete as “caddy-player relationship.” 14. “How can you get the most out of your players if you don’t know them?! It’s staggering to us that that communication is not taking place in a lot of sports.” 15. Cybernetics testing: Bonnie and Dave’s two tests were the hardest they’d ever done. Why? “Because we can hurt. We can take a lot of stuff. We put up with a lot to get where we want to go…If I know I want to race really well, I know there’s some stuff I have to do to hurt mentally and physically.” 16. Right-sizing commitment and sacrifice in sport. Bonnie: “If you want to take it to the absolute levels, there’s absolute commitment.” Constantly “checking ourselves” when it comes to deciding how hard to push. 17. Dave’s early goals: D-1 soccer and pro soccer. Didn’t have concrete Olympic aspirations until six months before his first Olympic trials. 18. Bonnie: “I think my dad saw something in me.” 19. In her third race (ever!), Bonnie placed 8th in the Olympic trials. 20. Bonnie: “We never went on family vacations…We went to Chicago every weekend for races…That’s what we did as a family. I never knew anything different…Skating was the thing that I loved the most.”    For more episode notes from the Bonnie and Dave interview, refer to sportandthegrowinggood.com.

Steve Collins is a teacher and the head basketball coach at Memorial High School in Madison. His long track record of success includes multiple state championships and coach of the year awards. Coach Collins is also known for his broader work in the coaching world, including a business, active social media presence, and multiple podcasts. He joined the SGG podcast and we discussed: 1. Learning from his dad, his brother, and Madison East basketball Coach Boyle. 2. The Great Swami 3. Coach Boyle: “He had a lot of confidence in me.” 4. “When I speak at clinics, I ask coaches to close their eyes and imagine the coach that was their most influential coach and why…It’s never Xs and Os. It’s an interpersonal thing that made them feel complete…How did he make them feel? I try to remember that when I’m coaching too.” 5. Human beings want to feel loved and they want to have meaning. 6. The importance of having close relational connections with the team: “It’s the secret sauce. It’s what’s most important.” 7. “Taking a piece” of each coach he worked for. 8. Developing a blue print for building the Memorial program: scouting, summer camps, youth program… and a future NBA player. 9. The importance of having smart and supportive administration in a school. 10. “If I was coaching the same way I was 25 years ago, I would be unemployed…Things change. You better adapt with the times.” 11. “You have to adjust. You have to see your surroundings. See your players. See what their strengths and weaknesses are. And as a teacher, you always want to accentuate the positives and work on the negatives.” 12. Having a growth mindset as a coach. 13. Being willing to “throw out” plays and schemes that aren’t working. 14. High school coaches can’t recruit players to a system – so they need to be willing to recognize what they have talent-wise and appropriately adapt. 15. Delegating roles among a coaching staff. 16. The two most important days for a coach: the day you choose your team and the day you choose your staff. 17. Is there still a place for clinics? Yes, for bonding. Less so for content. 18. A perspective lesson from Covid: “Let’s enjoy the time we have!”

Jeff Staus is a highly successful varsity soccer coach at Arrowhead High School in Wisconsin. He is also the leader of “Let Kids Fly” (LKF), a unique youth soccer program that is rooted in choice, accessibility, limited travel, character development and fun. In the contested space of youth sport, LKF presents an appealing model from which communities throughout the U.S. can learn. In this SGG episode, we discussed: His parents’ hands-off approach during his childhood sporting experiences. The two questions he encourages coaches and parents to ask: “Did you have fun?” and “Were you a good teammate?” More dynamic leaders at the high school than ever before. Working hard on “making good people and creating leaders.” Concerns with the professionalization of youth sports. How LKF started. The free play model that was used by many of the top players and nations. The number of kids signed up for LKF in its first four sessions: 125 – 225 – 300 – 500+ (rapid growth). “Free play Thursdays” at LKF practices. The benefits of free play. Deliberate practice on Mondays. A games approach to deliberate practice. Developing as a player. Developing as a person. Documentary: In Search Greatness. Providing kids choices in sports. “Do as many things as long as you can.” The rationale for seasonal registration. A “flipped classroom on the soccer field.” Soliciting parent participation. Accessibility to free play and to a healthy culture of sport. Affordability as a means of accessibility. Supporting kids who want to play collegiately. Impacts of sports travel on families. Why LKF sends all teams to same tournaments. Character development. The intentional embedding of character. Fun. Looking for teachers and parents as coaches. An obstacle: building the program in the broader competitive club soccer environment. Not worrying about the naysayers. His visions of success.

Brian Bott is the founder and leader of SportsadvantEdge, a leading athlete development business with multiple locations throughout southern Wisconsin. Brian was previously the strength coach at Wisconsin and he’s worked with elite athletes at multiple levels. In this episode we discussed: 1.  Key influences on Brian: his father, Coach Shelton, Dean Matsche. “You need people you can trust.” 2.  The importance of honesty in coaching. (avoiding blaming, complaining, and defending) 3.  “As a coach, our job isn’t to be our athletes’ friend. Our job is to earn their trust.” 4.  “How close are you getting to what you’re capable of?” 5.  “How you do anything is how you do everything.” 6.  Three guiding pillars of SportsadvantEdge: 1) consistency; 2) relentless effort; 3) love and ownership. 7.  Parents taking the love of sports away from kids. 8.  Defining the process and setting goals. 9.  Always learning and adapting.

Jason Wahlers, is Vice President of Communications for the Green Bay Packers. He joined the team in 2011. In addition to overseeing communications, he heads up public affairs and community outreach. Jason joined SGG to share about his background and his leadership work with the Packers. We discussed: 1.  The value of working in minor league baseball. “I had an opportunity to do a little bit of everything.” 2.  “You learn pretty early on that you have to put your time in in this business…It’s not enough to just love sports.” 3.  The importance of consistency, unflappability, steadiness in his PR work. 4.  Relationships with the media. Being available, direct, and honest. “If you can give them time, return calls. It sounds so simple. It’s the right thing to do…Don’t waste their time.” 5.  He spends most of his time with football communications. 6.  Making sure players, coaches, and others are prepared when they step in front of the media. 7.  To be prepared in my role, you have to know what’s going on. It’s a constant monitoring of the many media platforms. 8.  Not being a “meeting person.” 9.  A benefit of working for the publicly-owned Packers: “We’re given the freedom to work.” 10. The inaccuracy of people thinking the Packers are a simple “small market team.” 11. His long family attachment to the Packers. 12. Jason’s learning and growth over recent years. 13.How sports provide a venue for meaningful conversation among diverse groups.

The long and distinguished leadership story of Fred Glass is well documented. He is widely credited as one of the best athletic directors in Indiana University history. In his forthcoming autobiography, he describes the importance of rooting leadership in clearly defined values. Similar to the great Packers coach Vince Lombardi, Fred’s leadership principles are closely tethered to his Jesuit education. In this SGG episode, we discussed: 1.  His initial exposure to Jesuit education: his father and Brebeuf High School. 2.  Borrowing from the Jesuits as he sought to build IU athletics. 3.  The messy situation that Fred walked into as AD at IU. 4.  Healing the department before he could build it. 5.  Grad at graduation. Five characteristics that Jesuit schools want to inculcate into students as they graduate. “It’s everywhere…Every teacher has to drive these values into their students.” 6.  Everything IU Athletics did was around the pillars: Play by the rules. Well in mind body and spirit. Achieve academically. Excel athletically. Be part of something bigger than ourselves – and more integrated with the university. 7.  “If you are not a values based organization, then you don’t have much of a chance to succeed.” 8.  The difference between “GPS” and a “compass” to guide you. “Your value system is your compass.” 9.  Fred’s “living rules:” his father, Fr. Paul O’Brian, Herman Wells. 10.  “Comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” 11.  St. Francis: “Preach the gospel and use words if you have to.” And, “Seek not so much to be understood as to understand.” 12.  “A lot of people are not listening so much as they are waiting to speak.” 13.  Never interrupting other people. 14.  “Interested is interesting.” The value of asking others questions about themselves. 15.  The hardest thing about being an athletic director: firing coaches. 16.  Ignatian discernment and detachment as useful tools in getting through difficult times. 17.  “Take criticism seriously but not personally.” If you reflect on it and it’s accurate, then there’s a great opportunity to fix it. If you reflect on it and it’s not accurate, then who cares?” 18.  “Seeing God in all things.” 19.  Getting criticism – and respect -- for the positions we hold, not who we are. “You’ve got to be careful not to believe all that BS people are saying about you.” 20.  “Surround yourself with people who will tell you the truth.” 21.  Fred’s vocation: leadership. 22.  The difference between asking “what’s next” vs “what’s at the end.” Choose what offers most opportunities downstream. And be open to the journey.

Paul Baniel is the Vice President of Finance and Administration of the Green Bay Packers. He’s a veteran of over 35 years in the sports and entertainment industry. Having joined the Packers in 2009, he’s one of the key leaders in guiding the franchise to new heights. Paul joined SGG as we continue our “Running a Championship System” series. We discussed: 1.  The role of sports in his life as he grew up the 7th of 10 children. 2.  As leader in Packers organization: Becoming a steward of a community asset. 3.  Stewardship: one of the Packers five values. 4.  Similarities between the Packers and Steelers franchises. “You definitely see a lot of parallels. 5.  Key phases of the calendar year: end of fiscal year; building budget; reporting. For facilities and IT, off-season is project season. 6.  “When the team is not in the building, that’s the time when we can change things in the team areas.” 7.  How communication plays out across his three departments. 8.  The Packers’ “mission, vision, values” approach. 9.  What Paul values in looking for staff members: independence, creativity, problem-solving. 10.  Servant leadership. If the team performs well “all the boats rise.” 11.  The challenge of seeking upward advancement in an organization where there is little turnover. “Sometimes you have to move out to move up.” 12.  Being introduced to servant leadership while leading at Potawatomi Casino…And applying the principles in his work with the Packers. 13.  Working with employees: “Tell me what you need and don’t beat around the bush.” 14.  Challenges and adaptations that he foresees for the future. 15.  How roots and identity influence Packers’ decision-making. “We try to display a good amount of humility in our organization.” 16.  Finding an edge as an organization. 17.  “Winning financially helps us to win on the field.”

Gabrielle Valdez-Dow is vice president of marketing and fan engagement for the Green Bay Packers. Her career in sports is long and distinguished, including work with the Baltimore Ravens, Florida Panthers, and AEG. As we continue learning about the multi-level leadership of the Packers, her perspective helps us to better understand the broader organizational context. We discussed: 1.  How living and studying in Oregon led her into the field of sports. 2.  Pearls of wisdom gleaned from her father: “love what you do.” 3.  Two influential professors on her journey: Rick Burton and Dennis Howard 4.  The difference between being a fan and the business of sports. “You have to love the business of sports.” 5.  Every day is different. “That’s the beauty of it.” 6.  Servant leadership. 7.  Being a kind of “air traffic controller” in her unit. 8.  Mission, vision, values. What’s noteworthy about the Packers? Stewardship. “Being a steward of our brand, no matter who you are, you are a steward of the brand…We drink the Kool-Aid from top to bottom. What’s best for the brand.” 9.  How she’s changed over the years: “I’ve matured. I’ve relaxed.” 10.  The character and culture is much different here…We don’t have an owner. Everything we do is put back into the team. 11.  Mark Murphy as a supporter of leadership development. Getting her a growth coach. 12.  Jill Ratliff, growth coach. 13.  “The biggest thing for me is listening.” 14.   Using Masterclass for growth for her staff. 15.  How fan engagement is changing. 16.  Getting players on “Call of Duty” and other new, innovative strategies. 17.  “Winning always cures everything.” 18.  The Packers’ community outreach efforts. 19.  Her everyday routines. Working out early. Do not look at email before exercise and morning time with husband. On your resume: add a “personal” section in order to make connections