The Secrets to Winning with Dr. Bhrett McCabe

This week's guest on The Secrets to Winning is Greg Byrne, the Director of Athletics at The University of Alabama. Throughout his career, Byrne has been consistently more impactful and successful with each step up the administrative ladder. As a fundraiser, he has been directly involved in raising more than $200 million in gifts during his career. As a leader of competitive athletics programs, he has fostered major improvements across the spectrum of sports at both programs he has led prior to being at Alabama (Mississippi State University and University of Arizona). A proponent of developing student-athletes into productive people after college, Byrne has led programs that have attained academic success at levels not reached prior to his tenure. Throughout our conversation, you will hear Greg speak about serving others as this is what it takes to effectively lead at the highest level. There are all sorts of valuable leadership content including: Communicating your message and expectations very clearly Developing a leadership style and philosophy Valuing all members of your staff because everyone's role is critical to the overall success of the department Listening to the needs of student-athletes, coaches, and other individuals you serve Utilizing social media to promote the Alabama brand Constantly developing yourself personally and professionally

This week's guest on The Secrets to Winning is Scott Fawcett. His golf course-management system DECADE has been sweeping through the competitive golf world over the last few years. Scott is also very active on social media, specifically on Twitter, and can be a controversial figure in the golf community. He challenges the "status quo" and utilizes statistics to back a lot of his arguments. The facts are the facts. I have even referred to him as a "disruptor". Scott and I used this podcast to touch base about the value and the importance of having conversations about mental health issues. Each of our own individual struggles within the mental health realm have helped guide who we are today and the areas in our lives that are stressors.

This week's guest on The Secrets to Winning is Cullen Talley, Founder and CEO of Exit Momentum. It is a very interesting title, so why Exit Momentum. Well, it is a process for building momentum to exit where you are, to get where you want to go, at the speed you are committed to. Throughout this podcast, you gain insight from Cullen on his business strategies and how to "Exit Winning" - meaning, how are you going to keep winning AFTER the first time. And the second time. And the third time. How you can you continue to sustain your winning process?

This week's guest on The Secrets to Winning is Kevin DeShazo. Kevin is the best-selling author of Leadership Interrupted: daily inspiration to become the leader you were meant to be, and iAthlete: Impacting Student-Athletes of a Digital Generation, and founder of Fieldhouse Media. He is a sought-after speaker, having presented on over 80 college campuses as well as a regular presenter at conferences and conventions, including NACDA, CoSIDA, the NCAA Convention and the Collegiate Athletics Leadership Symposium. He has also been quoted on ESPN.com, The New York Times, USA Today, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Sports Business Journal, and a variety of other national and local media outlets. Kevin is also the founder of Culture Wins Championships, helping leaders in the sports industry build a championship culture with their team.

Our guest this week is PGA Tour Coach and Instructor, Mark Blackburn, who has a refreshing take on the way he coaches his players. His philosophy is centered around developing the person first, before you ever develop the player. He believes that, no matter the sport, coaches create a culture that nurtures and develops their athletes. Mark was the Alabama NW Florida Section PGA Teacher of The Year in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2015, a finalist for The PGA National Teacher of The Year 2010-2014, 2016, a Golf Magazine Top 100 Teachers and one of Golf Digest 50 Best Teachers in America. On the PGA Tour clients who have utilized Mark's coaching include; Kevin Chappell, Chez Reavie, Harris English John Peterson, and more.

This week's episode of The Secrets to Winning peels back the curtain on college football's premier program to talk to it's unsung hero. That person is Jeff Allen, Associate Athletics Director for Sports Medicine and Head Athletic Trainer at The University of Alabama. Known as one of the most respected athletic trainers in the entire country, Allen was honored with the 2018 Division I Head Athletic Trainer of the Year Award for his work during the 2018 season that saw several players return to the field from serious injuries in time for the playoff and national championship game. During this episode, Jeff discusses his journey, the role of an athletic trainer in an athlete's life, how to be most effective in dealing with coaches, and communication within an organization.

This week's guest on The Secrets to Winning is former Alabama Offensive Lineman and current NFL Draft Prospect, Ross Pierschbacher. Ross was a four-year starter for the Crimson Tide across three different positions and has also been lauded as "one of the most consistent and technically-sound lineman to ever play at The University of Alabama." As a four-year starter, 2-time All American, and the first player in college football history to play in four straight national championship games, Pierschbacher has modeled a level of consistency experienced by very few. So, how did he do it? What was it like playing for Nick Saban as an offensive lineman? What mindset do you need to play for a coach as demanding as Saban? What are the secrets to Alabama's football success over the last decade?

Our guest this week on The Secrets to winning is Amanda Scarborough, one of ESPN's Lead Softball Analysts and a former All-American Pitcher at Texas A & M. If you turn on ESPN and there is a college softball game taking place, there is a very good chance you are listening to Amanda. Amanda provides tremendous insight from both a player's perspective and from the analyst's booth on the competitive mindset of today's collegiate athletes, overcoming challenges you are faced with, and how to succeed no matter the circumstances.

Our guest this week on The Secrets to Winning is Kevin Wilson, one of the most accomplished and respected hitting coaches in all of baseball. Over the last 15 years, Kevin has coached and mentored a plethora of Major League Baseball players across 22 of the 30 MLB organizations. He is also the author of the #1 best-selling book, Finding Clarity: A Mindful Look Into the Art of Hitting. So, what separates a Major League hitter from the rest of the crop? They can cut through the mental clutter and figure out WHY they are successful. It's not all about launch angle, exit velocity, and other confusing language. While those things are great and play a small part, you can't take them with you while you are in the box in the bottom of the 9th with the game on the line. That is why your competitive mindset, figuring out who you are, and how you respond under pressure is so important in training.

Every organization, team, and athlete that has reached the pinnacle of success has a system in place to be their formula for success. They do not take workouts off, blow off meetings, or mail it in. Those that are truly great are excellent in every aspect of what they do, whether a coach sees it, a customer sees it, or a manager sees it. Their excellence is their culture, and they know that if they invest in their excellence, it is reflected in their brand. In fact, excellence becomes their brand.