How Soccer Explains Leadership Podcast

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Cori Close, UCLA Women's BB Head Coach—Leading with a Broom and a Shovel (RECAST)

Mar 19, 2026

Guest

Cori Close

Cori Close, UCLA women’s basketball head coach known for servant leadership and Wooden-inspired habits. She shares stories about multi-sport roots and mentorship, the meaning behind her broom and shovel, building Championship Level Habits, practicing gratitude, embracing healthy conflict, and doing the next right thing when under pressure.

01:04:29

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INSIGHT

Coaching Hearts Over Jump Shots

Cori Close learned from John Wooden that coaching is about hearts more than techniques.
Wooden taught process over product: peace of mind comes from knowing you did your best, not the scoreboard outcome.

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ANECDOTE

John Vallely's Testimony About Wooden's Influence

A former UCLA player told Cori Wooden's lessons helped him survive cancer and personal tragedy.
John Vallely emphasized character over championships, inspiring Cori's mission to shape who players become.

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ADVICE

Sweep The Sheds And Dig For Roots

Be a servant leader and cultivate roots before expecting fruit.
Cori displays a broom for sweeping the sheds and a shovel for digging into the soil as daily leadership reminders.

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Cori's multi-sport roots and coaching path

01:54 • 3min

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Mentorship under John Wooden

04:39 • 5min

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Wooden's lessons on process and giving

09:33 • 4min

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Cori's personal 'why' and faith

13:12 • 2min

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Long-term impact over trophies

15:21 • 5min

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Broom and shovel: service and roots

20:00 • 2min

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Close Conversations and connecting with coaches

22:11 • 3min

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Healthy conflict and trust in teams

25:11 • 3min

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Start with common ground

28:34 • 5min

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Gratitude: 'get-to' versus 'have-to'

33:40 • 4min

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Habits and Championship-level process

37:38 • 2min

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Process beats obsessing over goals

39:53 • 6min

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Doing the next right thing in the wrestle

46:12 • 4min

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Responding to failure: be a goldfish

50:19 • 3min

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What she wants players to remember

53:35 • 2min

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Sport lessons applied to life

55:12 • 6min

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In Episode 193, we are recasting our incredible interview with Cori Close, Head Coach of UCLA Women's Basketball, who talked with Phil about lessons she learned from her mentor, John Wooden, her personal "Why," what a broom and a shovel have to do with leadership, her Close Conversations, healthy conflict, gratitude, Championship Level Habits, doing the next right thing, and how work done in the dark gets revealed in the light. Specifically, Coach Close discusses:

· Issues with specialization in one sport too early

· How she developed her passion for soccer, basketball, and leadership, and how she got to be where she is today

· Some lessons she learned while being mentored by the incomparable, John Wooden

· Her personal "Why" and life mission, and how it informs her leadership

· What are the things from sports that will stay with us for our whole life

· Why she has a broom and a shovel in her office

· How we can find and what we can learn from her Close Conversations on social media

· Why healthy conflict and tension is necessary for any healthy team

· A "have-to" vs. "get-to" mentality and why it matters

· Creating and reaching Championship Level Habits

· Doing the next right thing in the midst of the wrestle and getting back to neutral

· What she wants her players to know when they leave her program