Way of Champions Podcast

This week on the WOC Podcast we ae so excited to welcome back Joe Baker from York University in Canada, along with one of his PhD students Sandy Mosher @sandymosher. You can follow Joe at @bakerjyorku on Twitter. This was a very challenging podcast, as you all know what an advocate I am of sport sampling and Joe Baker did much of the early research in this space. Joe's research focuses on optimal human development, largely to understand how someone gets to, and stays at, the highest levels of performance. He is one of the worlds foremost experts in talent identification and skill development, and his book Developing Sport Expertise is a must have for any talent developer. He looks at various psychosocial and environmental factors influencing athletic skill development across a range of sports with a goal of building better theory/models and construct superior learning environments. Sandy Mosher is a PhD candidate studying under Joe at York, and her recent article with Joe and Jessica Fraser-Thomas entitled "Is it too early to condemn early sport specialization" has caused quite a stir as you might imagine, so I knew I had to have them on to discuss. Sandy's research in this area has found that we have potentially been making some false assumptions around early specialization, namely that if early specialization is bad, early multi-sport participation must be good. She says this is not necessarily the case as far as the evidence goes, and that there are actually many barriers to multi sport participation, and that some of the things we accuse early specialization of causing, such as injury, may be attributable to poor training more than specialization itself. Like I said, it is controversial stuff. In our talk today we speak about many of these problematic areas, such as what exactly is early and what exactly is specialization, as we actually have no definition. In other words, if we go simply by the research, we cannot say that specialization is bad, nor can we say that diversification is good. HOWEVER, what is really clear after this talk is what is really bad for our kids are youth sporting environments that take away enjoyment, autonomy, and connection, do not teach multi movement skills, and over train athletes at far too young an age. It's a fascinating talk, so I hope you are ready to listen closely to this one. Way of Champions Conference 2021 This weeks podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Leadership Conference, August 21-22, being held virtually this year. We have put together a lineup that is out of this world for our event, and just added Tara VanDerveer, the legendary Stanford Women's Basketball coach who just broke Pat Summits all time wins record on NCAA hoops. Other guest speakers include Steve Kerr of the Warriors, Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz, multiple time NCAA Champion coaches Anson Dorrance, Cindy Timchal, and Jenny Levy, and mindfulness expert George Mumford. Click here to learn more or register before we sell out! Become a Podcast Champion! This weeks podcast is also sponsored by our Patreon Podcast Champions. Help Support the Podcast and get FREE access to our most popular online courses, a $300 value. If you love the podcast, we would love for you to become a Podcast Champion, (https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions) for as little as a cup of coffee per month (OK, its a Venti Mocha), to help us up the ante and provide even better interviews, better sound, and an overall enhanced experience. Plus, as a $10 per month Podcast Super-Champion, you will have access to never before released and bonus material, including: Downloadable transcripts of our best podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes! A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, plus four other courses worth over $100, all yours for free for becoming a patron. Other special bonus opportunities that come up time to time Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences. Thank you for all your support these past four years, and a special big thank you to all of you who become part of our inner circle, our patrons, who will enable us to take our podcast to the next level. https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions

This week on the podcast we are joined by someone who knows a ton about building and sustaining championship environments. I am talking about Brett Ledbetter. Brett is a performance consultant, author and speaker. His work focuses on character development, priority alignment, behavior management and self-awareness. He's authored four books: What Drives Winning, What's Really Important, What Drives Winning Teams and What Drives Winning Environments. Brett has also given three TEDx talks: "What Drives Winning," "Building Your Inner Voice" and "How to Stop Comparing and Start Competing." He is the co-founder the "What Drives Winning" conference with hall-of-fame coach Becky Burleigh, producing five conference events with top minds in sports. Brett currently works with several Division 1 athletic departments––including Gonzaga, Oregon, Florida and Oklahoma State to name a few––that hire him as a thinking partner for athletic directors, coaches and athletes. He also applies his high-performance training within education, military, sport and business sectors. Today Brett and John cover a multitude of topics, including above the line and below the line behavior, the five pillars that drive winning environments, and the importance of coaches defining, implementing, and modeling core values for their teams. The big takeaway though our talk and his work with top coaches such as PJ Fleck, Geno Auriemma, Brad Stevens and others: anything that is expected is defined! To learn more: Visit www.WhatDrivesWinning.com to view free conference videos, get the books, enroll in the workshop or sign up to be part of the Coaching Lab, a community of coaches that meet twice per month. I highly recommend joining his email list and getting his weekly video clips, they are amazing. Way of Champions Conference 2021 This weeks podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Leadership Conference, August 21-22, being held virtually this year. We have put together a lineup that is out of this world for our event, and just added Tara VanDerveer, the legendary Stanford Women's Basketball coach who just broke Pat Summits all time wins record on NCAA hoops. Other guest speakers include Steve Kerr of the Warriors, Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz, multiple time NCAA Champion coaches Anson Dorrance, Cindy Timchal, and Jenny Levy, and mindfulness expert George Mumford. Click here to learn more or register before we sell out! Become a Podcast Champion! This weeks podcast is also sponsored by our Patreon Podcast Champions. Help Support the Podcast and get FREE access to our most popular online courses, a $300 value. If you love the podcast, we would love for you to become a Podcast Champion, (https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions) for as little as a cup of coffee per month (OK, its a Venti Mocha), to help us up the ante and provide even better interviews, better sound, and an overall enhanced experience. Plus, as a $10 per month Podcast Super-Champion, you will have access to never before released and bonus material, including: Downloadable transcripts of our best podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes! A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, plus four other courses worth over $100, all yours for free for becoming a patron. Other special bonus opportunities that come up time to time Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences. Thank you for all your support these past four years, and a special big thank you to all of you who become part of our inner circle, our patrons, who will enable us to take our podcast to the next level. https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions

This week we welcome back Lindsey Wilson (@lindseypositiveperform) of Positive Performance Training and host of the Inner Game Podcast. She was on with us back in Episode 112, and she is so incredible we had to have her back on. Lindsey was an amazing athlete, an All-American basketball player at Iowa State, a WNBA draft pick, a professional player for many years, and now is not only a mindset and inner game coach for some top, top teams, but her goal is also to help coaches at every level not be intimidated by helping their athletes with the mental game. As she says, she wants to move you from "Ummmm, I don't know how to be a mindset coach!" to "Okay, it's not perfect but I can do this!" This is often the biggest frustration coaches have - not being able to really reach someone that is struggling mentally. It's also the thing most coaches talk about as the most rewarding… when it goes well. But how do you actually sit down and help an athlete or a team with their mindset? Get ready to take some notes as we discuss how to overcome our fear of helping our kids with the inner game, a quick breakdown of what a session can look like, and since we all coach the inner game anyway, usually after the fact when things go south, why not learn how to be proactive about it, right? URL for free toolkit: http://www.positiveperformancetraining.com/ultimate-mindset-coaching-toolkit Inner Game Podcast:https://wavve.link/cTuM2K4ec BRAVR: https://www.positiveperformancetraining.com/bravr-system Way of Champions Conference 2021 This weeks podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Leadership Conference, August 21-22, being held virtually this year. We have put together a lineup that is out of this world for our event. Guest speakers include Steve Kerr of the Warriors, Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz, multiple time NCAA Champion coaches Anson Dorrance, Cindy Timchal, and Jenny Levy, and mindfulness expert George Mumford. Click here to learn more or register before we sell out! Become a Podcast Champion! Help Support the Podcast and get FREE access to ALL of our online courses. If you love the podcast, we would love for you to become a Podcast Champion, (https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions) for as little as a cup of coffee per month (OK, its a Venti Mocha), to help us up the ante and provide even better interviews, better sound, and an overall enhanced experience. Plus, as a $10 per month Podcast Super-Champion, you will have access to never before released and bonus material, including: Downloadable transcripts of our best podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes! A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, plus four other courses worth over $100, all yours for free for becoming a patron. Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences. Thank you for all your support these past three years, and a special big thank you to all of you who become part of our inner circle, our patrons, who will enable us to take our podcast to the next level. https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions

This week on the podcast, we are airing a replay of a man who needs no intro, 8x NBA Champ and current Golden St Warriors coach Steve Kerr. We are replaying this today because Steve will be one of the presenters at our 2021 Way of Champions Virtual Conference, joining fellow coaching legends Quin Snyder, Cindy Timchal, Anson Dorrance, Jenny Levy, George Mumford, and more TBA. You can discover more about the event here: https://changingthegameproject.com/2021-way-of-champions-conference/ In our discussion with Steve, John and Jerry ask: What makes a great coach? How do you build a championship culture? Why should a coach ask their team, "How can I be better for you?" These questions and so many more are answered in this fantastic episode with one of the best coaches in the world. Highlights from the Discussion: How an NFL Football Coach helped Coach Kerr develop a coaching philosophy How to get players to buy in to core values of a coach What do effective coaches have in common? Authority and Humanity What percentage of coaching is strategic? "Never let a player rot at the end of a bench." Why has Coach Kerr let his players run the time outs? What is the role of "Love" in coaching? What are the ingredients needed for a great culture? Cultural Architects vs Cultural Assassins How do you build a culture when there is high turnover? Having the confidence and the vulnerability to be honest with your team Coach Kerr gives his thoughts on how what to ask the parents of a young athlete in order to coach more effectively We finish the show by talking about legacy and how Coach Kerr wants to be remembered. You don't want to miss this one! Way of Champions Conference 2021 This weeks podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Leadership Conference, August 21-22, being held virtually this year. We have put together a lineup that is out of this world for our event. Guest speakers include Steve Kerr of the Warriors, Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz, multiple time NCAA Champion coaches Anson Dorrance, Cindy Timchal, and Jenny Levy, and mindfulness expert George Mumford. Click here to learn more or register before we sell out! Become a Podcast Champion! Help Support the Podcast and get FREE access to ALL of our online courses. If you love the podcast, we would love for you to become a Podcast Champion, (https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions) for as little as a cup of coffee per month (OK, its a Venti Mocha), to help us up the ante and provide even better interviews, better sound, and an overall enhanced experience. Plus, as a $10 per month Podcast Super-Champion, you will have access to never before released and bonus material, including: Downloadable transcripts of the podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes! A monthly discussion with John, James, Jerry, and other special guests talking about the previous month's episodes and answering some of the FAQs we received that month A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, plus four other courses worth over $100, all yours for free for becoming a patron. Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences. Thank you for all your support these past three years, and a special big thank you to all of you who become part of our inner circle, our patrons, who will enable us to take our podcast to the next level. https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions Visit us on: Web: https://changingthegameproject.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ctgprojecthq Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangingTheGameProject/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ctgprojecthq/ iTunes: http://bit.ly/wocpodcast

This week on the Way of Champions Podcast we welcome Sarah McQuade, a developer of coaches. She is the Founding Director of e.t.c coaching consultants, an international Coach Development Consultancy practice, which specializes in building coaching systems, and the professional development of sports coaches and sports coach developers. She works with various national and international sports organizations and clients include the US Olympic Committee, United Soccer Coaches, Steel Sports and TB12 among others. During our time together, we discuss the current state of coaching education, how do you build a development pathway for volunteer coaches, and The danger of bringing baggage from your playing career into your coaching career. Highlights and great quotes from the this episode: The current state of coaching education How does a coach learn to recognize what they don't know? Is there a way to do coaching education across other sports? Where do you start with educating volunteer coaches? What does a coach development pathway look like? Why isn't empathy and emotional intelligence taught in coaching courses? Creating "needs based learning opportunities" Defining three levels of coach development Integrating self awareness in to coaching Defining your ideal practice The danger of bringing baggage from your playing career into your coaching career The importance of having someone who can help us navigate our development What should a coach do next? More about Sarah McQuade She has recently joined the USTA in what she describes as a 'career-defining opportunity.' She is delighted to be working within Player Development as a Senior Director leading the Accreditation and Certification of coaches to drive the quality coaching agenda for Tennis. You can email her at info@etccoachingconsultants.com and follow her on twitter @etcconsultants Way of Champions Conference 2021 This podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Conference. Registration opened on March 1, and we have compiled an amazing list of speakers for our event. How does learning from NBA Head Coaches Steve Kerr and Quin Snyder sound? What about Hall of Fame Lacrosse coach Cindy Timchal, US National Team coach Jenny Levy, or Stanford Women's Basketball coach Tara Vanderveer sound? Or how about mindfulness from George Mumford, or how to create a compete training environment from 22x National Champion Anson Dorrance? We are going virtual this year August 21-22, 2021, and if you sign up but cannot attend, every session will be recorded and provided to you as an online course after the event! Click here to learn more and sign up before we sell out! Become a Podcast Champion! Help Support the Podcast and get FREE access to ALL of our online courses. If you love the podcast, we would love for you to become a Podcast Champion, (https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions) for as little as a cup of coffee per month (OK, its a Venti Mocha), to help us up the ante and provide even better interviews, better sound, and an overall enhanced experience. Plus, as a $10 per month Podcast Super-Champion, you will have access to never before released and bonus material, including: Downloadable transcripts of the podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes! A monthly discussion with John, James, Jerry, and other special guests talking about the previous month's episodes and answering some of the FAQs we received that month A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, but yours for free for becoming a patron. Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences. Thank you for all your support these past two years, and a special big thank you to all of you who become part of our inner circle, our patrons, who will enable us to take our podcast to the next level. https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions

This week on the Way of Champions Podcast we welcome Caleb Porter, 2x MLS Champion Coach and head coach of the Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew. We talk about what makes a great coach, developing your own coaching style, and why being honest with your players is the best way to create a great culture. Highlights and great quotes from the this episode: What makes a great coach? Learning from a great coach while developing your own style Focusing on the WHY of coaching to bring a fresh perspective What does it feel like to be coached by Caleb Porter? How Coach Porter intentionally creates culture for his team The value of being honest with your players and creating a family environment More about Caleb Porter Coach Porter was previously head coach of the Portland Timbers from 2013 until 2017, winning MLS Cup in 2015 before winning again in 2020 with the Crew. He also coached the United States U-23 team in 2011–12, and lead the University of Akron men's team from 2006 to 2012, winning the NCAA title in 2010. 2021 Way of Champions Conference This podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Conference. Registration opened on March 1, and we have compiled an amazing list of speakers for our event. How does learning from NBA Head Coaches Steve Kerr and Quin Snyder sound? What about Hall of Fame Lacrosse coach Cindy Timchal, US National Team coach Jenny Levy, or Stanford Women's Basketball coach Tara Vanderveer sound? Or how about mindfulness from George Mumford, or how to create a compete training environment from 22x National Champion Anson Dorrance? We are going virtual this year August 21-22, 2021, and if you sign up but cannot attend, every session will be recorded and provided to you as an online course after the event! Click here to learn more and sign up before we sell out! Become a Podcast Champion! Help Support the Podcast and get FREE access to ALL of our online courses. If you love the podcast, we would love for you to become a Podcast Champion, (https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions) for as little as a cup of coffee per month (OK, its a Venti Mocha), to help us up the ante and provide even better interviews, better sound, and an overall enhanced experience. Plus, as a $10 per month Podcast Super-Champion, you will have access to never before released and bonus material, including: Downloadable transcripts of the podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes! A monthly discussion with John, James, Jerry, and other special guests talking about the previous month's episodes and answering some of the FAQs we received that month A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, but yours for free for becoming a patron. Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences. Thank you for all your support these past two years, and a special big thank you to all of you who become part of our inner circle, our patrons, who will enable us to take our podcast to the next level. https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions

This week on the Way of Champions Podcast we welcome back author Doug Lamov. Doug is here to discus his new book, The Coach's Guide to Teaching. Doug was on the podcast years ago in episode #046 to discuss his previous book, Teach Like a Champion 2.0: 62 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College. In his new book, and all throughout our conversation, we dive into how to give feedback, check for understanding, and how to build culture, plus much, much more! Grab a pen and something to write on--you will need it or this episode! You can follow @DougLemov or visit his website https://teachlikeachampion.com/ to learn more. Highlights and great quotes from the this episode: Learning how to give feedback Teaching kids how to be decision makers Do players see because they scan, or scan because they see? How does looking at the phone on game day hurt athlete performance? Does your club have a curriculum and a plan to deliver it? "Starting an activity the phase before the one you are working on" Simplifying how we teach young athletes Reducing the cognitive load on working memory "You can get a lot wrong if you get culture right." How to move kids up and down without kids thinking they are being punished for going down More about Doug Lemov Doug Lemov is the author of the international bestseller Teach Like a Champion, Teach Like a Champion 2..0 andPractice Perfect. He is one of the foremost teacher educators in the world, and recently he has branched into the world of coach education. He now consults with major League Baseball teams and is an instructor for the US Soccer professional licenses. His new book The Coach's Guide to Teaching will soon become a "must read" for any serious coach. In our conversation today, john and Doug break down this incredible book, touch on topics such as decision making vs. problem solving, how forgetting is key to learning, performance vs learning, how to give feedback and check for understanding, and so much more. Take out your notebooks and pens and get ready to write, as this one is a doozy. 2021 Way of Champions Conference This podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Conference. Registration opened on March 1, and we have compiled an amazing list of speakers for our event. How does learning from NBA Head Coaches Steve Kerr and Quin Snyder sound? What about Hall of Fame Lacrosse coach Cindy Timchal, US National Team coach Jenny Levy, or Stanford Women's Basketball coach Tara Vanderveer sound? Or how about mindfulness from George Mumford, or how to create a compete training environment from 22x National Champion Anson Dorrance? We are going virtual this year August 21-22, 2021, and if you sign up but cannot attend, every session will be recorded and provided to you as an online course after the event! Click here to learn more and sign up before we sell out! The Way of Champions Podcast is brought to you by Sports Refund. When kids sign up to play youth sports there are always fees involved. And parents pay those fees so their child can be on the team, not the injury report. That's why I love Sports Refund, and parents will too. Sports Refund is low-cost sports fee insurance – NOT health insurance, sports fee insurance. So if your child becomes injured or sick and can't play, you get your fees reimbursed for that lost time, from one game to an entire season. It's that simple. This product not only saves families wasted fees, it saves injured athletes the stress of feeling like they're wasting their parents' money. The fees come back until the player comes back. So they can focus on fully recovering and making a healthy return to the game. Sports Refund has options for individuals and organizations. Ask your club if they offer it, or visit SportsRefund.com/Game to learn more and sign up today. That's SportsRefund.com/Game. Can't Play? Don't Pay. With Sports Refund. Become a Podcast Champion! Help Support the Podcast and get FREE access to ALL of our online courses. If you love the podcast, we would love for you to become a Podcast Champion, (https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions) for as little as a cup of coffee per month (OK, its a Venti Mocha), to help us up the ante and provide even better interviews, better sound, and an overall enhanced experience. Plus, as a $10 per month Podcast Super-Champion, you will have access to never before released and bonus material, including: Downloadable transcripts of the podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes! A monthly discussion with John, James, Jerry, and other special guests talking about the previous month's episodes and answering some of the FAQs we received that month A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, but yours for free for becoming a patron. Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences. Thank you for all your support these past two years, and a special big thank you to all of you who become part of our inner circle, our patrons, who will enable us to take our podcast to the next level. https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions

This week on the Way of Champions Podcast we welcome back Todd Beane, founder of TOVO Academy in Barcelona, Spain and a former director with the Cruyff Institute. During our discussion, we talk about how to coach clearly, how to establish a club philosophy, why it is important to find your why, and why it is important to find define our ideal player and ideal practice. Check out his new book Clear Coaching: Harness Clarity To Drive Development and follow him on twitter @_ToddBeane. Highlights and great quotes from the this episode: Launching a product with NWSL The need for more female coaches Taking five weeks and forty years to write a book Searching for and understanding "why" you coach How to train athletes to be problem solvers Bowling and playing Duck Duck Goose with your soccer players What are some of the biggest challenges in installing a new methodology? Being an Educator vs a Teacher Seeing experiences through the eyes of the kids Reflecting as a Coach More about Todd Beane Todd Beane is the Founder of TOVO Academy in Barcelona, Spain and a former director with the Cruyff Institute, working for 10 years alongside Johan Cruyff, one of the greatest players, coaches and philosophers in soccer history. Todd played collegiate soccer at Dartmouth College and earned his masters in education from Stanford University, before embarking on a decade long teaching journey. He then helped found the Cruyff Institute, and upon Cruyff's passing founded TOVO Academy and the TOVO Institute to meld the worlds of education and coaching in soccer. Todd has just released a book containing many of his ideas called Clear Coaching: Harness Clarity to Drive Development. Today John and Todd discuss the book, coach education and development, and a project they have been working on together: introducing the TOVO methodology to John's local soccer club in Bend, Oregon. You can follow Todd at @_ToddBeane on Twitter or go to TOVOInstitute.com to learn more about coaching education and player residency camps in Spain, the US, and online. 2021 Way of Champions Conference This podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Conference. Registration opened on March 1, and we have compiled an amazing list of speakers for our event. How does learning from NBA Head Coaches Steve Kerr and Quin Snyder sound? What about Hall of Fame Lacrosse coach Cindy Timchal, US National Team coach Jenny Levy, or Stanford Women's Basketball coach Tara Vanderveer sound? Or how about mindfulness from George Mumford, or how to create a compete training environment from 22x National Champion Anson Dorrance? We are going virtual this year August 21-22, 2021, and if you sign up but cannot attend, every session will be recorded and provided to you as an online course after the event! Click here to learn more and sign up before we sell out! The Way of Champions Podcast is brought to you by Sports Refund. When kids sign up to play youth sports there are always fees involved. And parents pay those fees so their child can be on the team, not the injury report. That's why I love Sports Refund, and parents will too. Sports Refund is low-cost sports fee insurance – NOT health insurance, sports fee insurance. So if your child becomes injured or sick and can't play, you get your fees reimbursed for that lost time, from one game to an entire season. It's that simple. This product not only saves families wasted fees, it saves injured athletes the stress of feeling like they're wasting their parents' money. The fees come back until the player comes back. So they can focus on fully recovering and making a healthy return to the game. Sports Refund has options for individuals and organizations. Ask your club if they offer it, or visit SportsRefund.com/Game to learn more and sign up today. That's SportsRefund.com/Game. Can't Play? Don't Pay. With Sports Refund. Become a Podcast Champion! Help Support the Podcast and get FREE access to ALL of our online courses. If you love the podcast, we would love for you to become a Podcast Champion, (https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions) for as little as a cup of coffee per month (OK, its a Venti Mocha), to help us up the ante and provide even better interviews, better sound, and an overall enhanced experience. Plus, as a $10 per month Podcast Super-Champion, you will have access to never before released and bonus material, including: Downloadable transcripts of the podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes! A monthly discussion with John, James, Jerry, and other special guests talking about the previous month's episodes and answering some of the FAQs we received that month A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, but yours for free for becoming a patron. Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences. Thank you for all your support these past two years, and a special big thank you to all of you who become part of our inner circle, our patrons, who will enable us to take our podcast to the next level. https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions

This week on the Way of Champions Podcast we welcome Mike O'Malley, actor, producer, and youth sport advocate. You have seen Mike on Morning Show, The Good Place, Yes, Dear; Parks and Recreation, Justified; My Own Worst Enemy; My Name is Earl; Welcome to the Family and The Mike O'Malley Show. Mike is also a champion for youth sports. During our discussion, we dive into the state of youth sports, yelling during a band performance or writing assignment, and making youth sport teams fair for the benefit of all. Mike shares many great insights on the world of youth sports! Highlights and great quotes from the this episode: What is the state of youth sports? Allowing your kids to fail and succeed Why aren't more kids playing multiple sports and learning basic physical skills? Yelling during a band performance or writing assignment Making youth sport teams fair for the benefit of all Deciphering the difference between a pizza party after a win or after a loss Working with Lebron James More About Mike O'Malley Mike O'Malley is the creator of the award-winning television series Survivor's Remorse, which recently completed its four season run on Starz. Currently, he is the showrunner of the LionsGate/Starz hour long drama Heels which began shooting last summer. O'Malley also wrote on Showtime's Shameless for the first four seasons. As an actor, Mike was nominated for his groundbreaking portrayal of Burt Hummel on Glee, and more recently starred in Wayne, now airing on Amazon. Television acting credits include: Morning Show, The Good Place, Yes, Dear; Parks and Recreation, Justified; My Own Worst Enemy; My Name is Earl; Welcome to the Family and The Mike O'Malley Show. Film acting credits include: Sully, Concussion, 28 Days, Deep Impact, Cedar Rapids, Eat Pray Love and Meet Dave. Way back when, he hosted the Nickelodeon shows Get the Picture and Guts. Mike co-authored the book for the Broadway musical Jimmy Buffett's Welcome to Margaritaville and has written two plays that have been published by Samuel French: Three Years from Thirty and Diverting Devotion. His play Searching for Certainty was adapted into the film Certainty, which won the Best Screenplay award at the Boston film Festival. Born in Boston, and raised in New Hampshire, Mr. O'Malley resides in Los Angeles with his wife Lisa and their three children. The Way of Champions Podcast is brought to you by Sports Refund. When kids sign up to play youth sports there are always fees involved. And parents pay those fees so their child can be on the team, not the injury report. That's why I love Sports Refund, and parents will too. Sports Refund is low-cost sports fee insurance – NOT health insurance, sports fee insurance. So if your child becomes injured or sick and can't play, you get your fees reimbursed for that lost time, from one game to an entire season. It's that simple. This product not only saves families wasted fees, it saves injured athletes the stress of feeling like they're wasting their parents' money. The fees come back until the player comes back. So they can focus on fully recovering and making a healthy return to the game. Sports Refund has options for individuals and organizations. Ask your club if they offer it, or visit SportsRefund.com/Game to learn more and sign up today. That's SportsRefund.com/Game. Can't Play? Don't Pay. With Sports Refund. Help Support the Podcast! Become a Podcast Champion! …and get FREE access to ALL of our online courses. If you love the podcast, we would love for you to become a Podcast Champion, (https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions) for as little as a cup of coffee per month (OK, its a Venti Mocha), to help us up the ante and provide even better interviews, better sound, and an overall enhanced experience. Plus, as a $10 per month Podcast Super-Champion, you will have access to never before released and bonus material, including: Downloadable transcripts of the podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes! A monthly discussion with John, James, Jerry, and other special guests talking about the previous month's episodes and answering some of the FAQs we received that month A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, but yours for free for becoming a patron. Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences. Thank you for all your support these past two years, and a special big thank you to all of you who become part of our inner circle, our patrons, who will enable us to take our podcast to the next level. https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions

This week on the Way of Champions Podcast we welcome Ron Adams, Golden State Warriors Asst. Coach. Ron is in his second season as an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors, his 21st season overall on the bench as an NBA assistant. In his first year with the Warriors, Ron helped the team finish first in defensive rating (98.2) en route to an NBA Championship. During our discussion, we dive into Ron's philosophy of being a great assistant coach, navigating hard conversations with players, and working on a staff where another assistant coach is trying to undermine the head coach. Highlights and great quotes from the this episode: Ron talks about his journey as a coach "A good coach is someone who has a job." "There is no formula for good coaching." How has social media changed the halftime locker room experience? Why does Steve Kerr call Ron the "truth-teller"? What makes an assistant coach effective? ...what are your "ego needs"? How do you handle disagreements with the Head Coach? Having hard conversations with players Ron talks about his relationship with Kevin Durant How do you know when it's time to move on as an assistant? More About Ron Adams Adams, 68, owns previous coaching experience with Boston Celtics (2013-14), Chicago Bulls (2003-08, 2010-13), Oklahoma City Thunder (2008-2010), Milwaukee Bucks (1998-2003), Philadelphia 76ers (1994-96) and San Antonio Spurs (1992-94). During his time as an assistant coach, Adams has made 14 appearances in the NBA Playoffs. In addition to his coaching roles, the Laton, CA, native also served as a player personnel scout for the Portland Trail Blazers from 1996-98. Adams joined the Warriors following a one-year stint (2013-14) with the Celtics. Prior to working in Boston, he had spent the previous three seasons on Tom Thibodeau's staff in Chicago. The Bulls made the playoffs in each of those three campaigns, including a trip to the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals. During this most recent stint with the Bulls, the team ranked in the top-three in opponent scoring each season, leading the league in the category in 2011-12. Before joining the NBA, Adams coached collegiately for 20 years with head coaching stints at Fresno State (1986-90) and his alma mater, Fresno Pacific (1972-75). He also served as an assistant coach at U.S. International, UC Santa Barbara, UNLV and at both Fresno schools. Additionally, Adams has coached professionally in Belgium and Japan, as well as for the Canadian national team. Adams and his wife, Leah, have a daughter, Hayley, and a son, Jared The Way of Champions Podcast is brought to you by Sports Refund. When kids sign up to play youth sports there are always fees involved. And parents pay those fees so their child can be on the team, not the injury report. That's why I love Sports Refund, and parents will too. Sports Refund is low-cost sports fee insurance – NOT health insurance, sports fee insurance. So if your child becomes injured or sick and can't play, you get your fees reimbursed for that lost time, from one game to an entire season. It's that simple. This product not only saves families wasted fees, it saves injured athletes the stress of feeling like they're wasting their parents' money. The fees come back until the player comes back. So they can focus on fully recovering and making a healthy return to the game. Sports Refund has options for individuals and organizations. Ask your club if they offer it, or visit SportsRefund.com/Game to learn more and sign up today. That's SportsRefund.com/Game. Can't Play? Don't Pay. With Sports Refund. Help Support the Podcast! Become a Podcast Champion! …and get FREE access to ALL of our online courses. If you love the podcast, we would love for you to become a Podcast Champion, (https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions) for as little as a cup of coffee per month (OK, its a Venti Mocha), to help us up the ante and provide even better interviews, better sound, and an overall enhanced experience. Plus, as a $10 per month Podcast Super-Champion, you will have access to never before released and bonus material, including: Downloadable transcripts of the podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes! A monthly discussion with John, James, Jerry, and other special guests talking about the previous month's episodes and answering some of the FAQs we received that month A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, but yours for free for becoming a patron. Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences. Thank you for all your support these past two years, and a special big thank you to all of you who become part of our inner circle, our patrons, who will enable us to take our podcast to the next level. https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions