We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

Naeimeh Zafar shares how coaching across Iran, Serbia, Qatar, Oman, Vietnam, Thailand, and France demanded cultural adaptation, humility, and clear communication when language and perceptions created barriers, and how she learned to respect athletes’ privacy and judge only commitment and performance. She describes building resilience amid restrictions in Iranian women’s sport, using her Serbian studies to raise coaching standards, and pursuing opportunities abroad when institutional constraints outweighed development. She reflects on the controversy and success of coaching a men’s team in Oman—reaching a grand final and being voted best coach—and on staying focused while unable to contact family during war. She hopes her legacy is defined by discipline, professional values, and six coaching books.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it. John Speraw reflects on how great coaches lean into singular strengths while staying humble and learning from staff, and how early mentors helped him see what was possible. He describes choosing coaching over medical school, building a “systems coach” identity at UC Irvine by maximizing limited resources, and returning to UCLA ready to follow Al Scates by being himself. Speraw shares practical lessons on feedback—asking athletes how they want to hear it, creating cultures that accept critical input, and using routines for mistake recovery—plus integrating visualization, breathwork, and journaling into practice to prepare for championship moments when things go sideways. Now as USA Volleyball CEO, he’s focused on scaling culture, improving communication, increasing volleyball’s cultural relevance, lowering barriers to play, and ensuring kids have great growth experiences through sport. If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Here are 3 self-reflective questions based on the interview:

1.What are one or two strengths I naturally bring to a team, and how could I use them more intentionally?

2.what routine or mindset could help me stay composed and useful in high pressure moments?

3.Who has helped me see a possibility for myself that I could not yet see, and how can I now do that for someone else?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Percy Cerutty was an Australian athletics coach who transformed distance running in the 1950s and 1960s. Based at his rugged Portsea training camp, he developed the Stotan philosophy, blending Stoic discipline, Spartan toughness, natural diets, sand-hill running, weight training and intellectual growth. Best known for coaching Herb Elliott to world records and Olympic gold, Cerutty inspired athletes to pursue physical excellence and personal mastery. 

Our discussion is led by Dr David Turner, a Senior Lecturer in Sports Coaching at Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom, and we are also joined by Andrew Gunn the author of Percy Cerutty: Life Lessons From A Remarkable Coach by Andrew Gunn.

I scribbled down these 3 self-reflective questions:

· Where in my life could I benefit from choosing growth over comfort?

· What is one challenge I have already overcome that shows I am capable of reinvention?

· How do I personally measure success: by outward achievement, or by how far I have come from where I started?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

Mick Byrne reflects on elite coaching influences from Allan Jeans to Rod McQueen and the All Blacks, arguing great cultures are built on education, clarity of roles, consistent messaging, and disciplined weekly preparation so coaches and players can “sleep when the wind blows.” He explains his rare shift from AFL to rugby through skill transfer in kicking and high-ball work, and how he approached pressure roles by bringing an attacking kicking philosophy that manipulates defenses and makes fly-halves a triple threat. Byrne also shares how he tailors communication across countries through questioning rather than telling, helping players own solutions, recall them under pressure, and shape positive self-talk, while personally learning patience and healthy conflict. If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Three self-reflective questions based on this conversation:

1.Where in my own leadership do I need to create better preparation, so that I can “sleep when the wind blows” and respond calmly when pressure arrives?

2.Am I telling people what to do too often, or am I asking the kinds of questions that help them discover the answer, build confidence, and take ownership?

3.What part of my leadership has grown most over time?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Voges discusses how Justin Langer’s first address as Western Australia coach showed the power of clear communication, aligning the group through a shared vision and the idea that players ultimately determine a coach’s success, so they must be brought along and empowered. Ben reinforces this as interdependence in team sport and leadership, likening it to CEOs needing buy-in. Adam describes his rapid transition from player to head coach in 2018, the challenges of shifting relationships, managing staff, and relying on mentors like Bob Muirhead and Justin. He explains revisiting team values with players and staff at Rottnest Island to define their “why” (family pride, representing WA, winning) and values (trust, humility, commitment). He contrasts perfection with striving for excellence, details feedback that improved his emotional control, and emphasizes using emotion objectively while empowering others to avoid burnout and help athletes become self-reliant across changing teams and coaches.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Here are 3 self-reflective questions I took from the interview:

•Where am I trying to do too much myself, instead of trusting and empowering the people around me?

•Do the people I lead feel genuinely brought along on the journey, or am I asking them to follow decisions they had no part in shaping?

•When pressure rises, do I become more helpful and clear — or do my emotions make the situation harder for others?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it. In this episode, Dr. George Selik and Alan Gregerman discuss how early self-organized play shaped George’s coaching philosophy around joy, belonging, and learning, and why sport should prioritize human development alongside performance. George reflects on the tension between striving to be “great” and the costs of neglecting family, sharing lessons from divorce, self-coaching, and reflective decision-making that integrates head (facts), heart (values), and gut (instinct). Both guests argue that leadership is action—creating environments where everyone grows—by listening, building ownership, and developing each person’s strengths. George outlines sport’s “gifts” for life: empathy, belief, expectations, accountability, resilience, and celebration, and urges making sport accessible as a classroom for community and social connection. If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Here are three self-reflective questions to take away from this episode:

1.Where in my life am I treating sport, work, or leadership as only a competition, when it could also be a place for growth, belonging, learning, and joy?

2.What kind of environment do I create for the people around me, and does it help them grow as human beings, not just perform better?

3.When I face setbacks or big decisions, how deliberately do I pause, reflect, and listen to my head, body, and gut before choosing my next step?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

From Charlottesville, Virginia, former Virginia lacrosse coach Dom Starsia reflects on learning from coaching greats while ultimately finding success through authenticity—taking useful ideas from others but staying comfortable in your own skin. He explains how team excellence depends on selflessness and sacrifice, sharing examples of players changing roles for the good of the group, and why “no big games” means consistent preparation and focusing on the process of daily improvement. Starsia describes a gratitude ritual—reminding players they have much to be thankful for—and reframes toughness as consistency and a willingness to communicate. He emphasizes positive language over sarcasm, learning from “scars” and mistakes, and concludes that wins and losses are fickle, but relationships endure and should never be spoiled in pursuit of victory. If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Here are three self-reflective questions based on the interview:

1.Where in my life am I trying to copy someone else’s style instead of trusting my own authentic way of leading or contributing?

2.What does “toughness as consistency” look like for me?

3.when could I choose more positive or patient language?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

In this episode, Mike Dunlap reflects on returning to Division II coaching at Colorado Mesa and now living in La Jolla, arguing that money, NIL, and the transfer portal can distort the game’s “innocence,” while true purpose is found in relationships, service, and “victory beyond the scoreboard.” Using three poems—“Why Me?,” “Chasing Heaven,” and “Quiet Down”—he explores joy within competition, the dangers of perfectionism, and how coaches can nudge “me to we” through simple, detailed habits like journaling, planning, and intentional teammate touch. Dunlap shares how naming vulnerabilities and reframing losses into learning protect self-esteem, and how parenting mentor Diana Gilman helped him reject inherited myths and lead with curiosity.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

• Where am I currently measuring success too narrowly by outcomes, and what “victory beyond the scoreboard” might I be overlooking?
• How well do I balance high standards with joy — and do I pause long enough to recognise the “good” that may be the gateway to great?
• What does my inner voice sound like under pressure, and what practices help me quiet the chatter enough to respond with awareness rather than react automatically?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

In this episode, Cath Tetley shares lessons from coaching Scotland’s national netball team as an Australian in a new culture: great coaches know their gaps, build strong teams by getting the right people “on the bus,” and handle hard decisions with empathy and support from trusted local leaders. She explains how pathway experience and being a strong assistant coach shaped her head-coaching approach, including learning organization and preparation. Tetley uses the Smalley Trent animal framework to create shared language about personalities under pressure, and advocates authenticity while adapting communication to the people in front of you. She describes creating a safe training space, building belief and “beast mode” to shift the Thistles from being liked to being feared, and relying on a “pit crew” of mentors and data when confidence dips. She hopes to leave a legacy of stronger on-court performance and more professional business, sponsorship, and athlete support structures in Scottish netball.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

1.    How does Kath Tetley’s willingness to acknowledge her own gaps challenge traditional ideas of what strong leadership looks like?

2.    What does Tetley’s approach to difficult conversations reveal about the role of empathy in high-performance coaching?

3.    How does Tetley’s emotional journey—from doubt and retreat to connection and trust—show the importance of vulnerability in leadership?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

In this book-club podcast, the host and Dr. David Turner discuss Pat Summitt’s memoir Sum It Up through themes of “transformation, triumph, and tragedy,” including her rise from a tough Tennessee farm upbringing to Olympic success, 38 years coaching the Lady Vols, and her Alzheimer’s diagnosis. They debate uncomfortable elements such as Summitt’s blunt framing of coaches as “emotional manipulators,” the tension between harshness and care (“Mama Pat”), and whether they’d want daughters in such a program, while noting her evolution from commander to collaborator and use of tools like motivational profiling. They highlight her impact beyond wins: innovation amid Title IX-era change, consistent excellence, high standards and honest feedback, 100% graduation, many players becoming teachers/coaches, and her legacy of resilience, sisterhood, and purpose.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

John reflects on becoming a better leader by putting people first, understanding personality, and building clear processes, drawing on his early coaching in Ireland where he relied mainly on his playing experience. He shares a simple chain—leadership shapes culture, culture drives behavior, behavior creates results—and a key question from Ivan Cleary: what do you want the team to look, feel, and act like? A pivotal “stairway/landing” lesson helped him set clearer endpoints, while a 2010 Johannesburg assault pushed him away from chasing outcomes and toward staying on process and regulating emotion. He emphasizes communication that checks for understanding across personality types, creating safe spaces for self-discovery, and balancing discipline with creativity through “handbrake off,” failing fast, and recovering quickly, anchored by authenticity, care, and challenge.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

• How well am I putting people before performance or outcomes in the way I lead?
• What do my current behaviours say about my self-awareness, values, and the culture I’m creating?
• Am I communicating in a way that builds trust, understanding, and enough freedom for others to grow?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stefan Olsson on Handball Leadership, Decision-Making, and Cognitive Profiling

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

Handball coach and former Swedish legend Stefan Olsson joins the Great Coaches podcast from Stockholm, where he coaches the Dutch men’s national team and works with cognitive testing. He contrasts two influential coaches: Bengt Johansson’s democratic, player-involving leadership and Vlada/Noka Serdarusic’s authoritarian, performance-demanding approach, noting success can come from different styles and that national-team coaching allows far less time than club coaching. Olsson reflects on winning three Swedish titles with Hammarby, preferring the pride of winning as a coach, and emphasizes training fast decision-making through progressive practice. He argues talent identification is nonlinear, warns against early “super talent” labeling, and values learning through failure. He discusses Olympic pressure, his heart surgeries, and a mobile-based cognitive profiling tool measuring traits like impulse control, creativity, flexibility, memory, and strategic thinking to tailor communication, concentration, and development.

1.    Am I leading in a way that is genuinely authentic to me, or am I copying a style that doesn’t fit who I am?

2.    How do I respond to mistakes — do I treat them as failures to avoid, or as necessary moments for growth and learning?

3.    Do I spend enough time understanding the people I lead as individuals, not just focusing on performance and outcomes?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at thegreatcoachespodcast@gmail.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

Joe Montemurro explains that effective leadership starts with a clear identity and a few non-negotiable playing principles that reduce “copious” information into simple teaching tools players can use to coach themselves, especially during tough periods. He emphasizes adapting leadership to national workplace cultures (Italy, France, England) by learning local norms, hierarchy, and language, while keeping consistent messages and standards. Training should be tightly planned to achieve key outcomes, allow creativity within a framework, and avoid wasting time with long talks. He manages match emotions by stepping back, avoiding reactive decisions, and reviewing games days later for objectivity; yelling is only useful when purposeful, not emotional. His core values—selflessness, honesty, humility—come from family and underpin team culture and player development.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

• What are the few core principles that define how I want to lead or work, and are they clear enough for others to act on without constant direction?
• How well do I understand the culture of the environment I’m working in, and where might I need to adapt my approach?
• Which values truly guide my behaviour each day, and how visible are they to the people around me?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

In this episode, Olympic gold-winning Dutch field hockey coach Jeroen Delmee shares that great coaching starts with selflessness, deep player connection, and creating clarity, while adapting communication to different cultures and flatter modern team hierarchies. He explains how international hockey has become a sprinting game requiring higher intensity, smarter load management, and training plans that close the gap between club and international demands. Delmee describes learning “soft skills” through mistakes in Belgium and France, using doubt to make rational, transparent decisions, and building trust through individual attention and development plans. He details how he rebuilt Dutch team culture after Tokyo by prioritizing cohesion over star names, protecting standards (“ignoring is accepting”), and defining winning as both medals and restoring pride, energy, and legacy. If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eamon is the founder of Minute9, a consultancy that works with some of the world’s elite teams and coaches in helping them improve their half time talks and preparation.

This discussion is so rich in information, and useful to any of us that are leading sporting teams or work teams that have split into 2 parts.

Eamonn Devlin on Game-Day Leadership: Halftime Protocols, Culture, and Coach Control

In this episode, former financial services lawyer Eamonn Devlin explains how personal adversity and his daughter’s negative team-talk experience led him to research and advise elite teams on communication, culture, and match-day environments. He shares common traits of top coaches (welcoming others, curiosity, confident challenge, and clear problem definition), and outlines a halftime framework prioritizing players “landing” mentally, refuelling, then concise, specific information supported by visuals, followed by re-warm-up. Devlin discusses reading the room, the risks of anger, declining player voice as coaching becomes more controlling, and how his team runs intrusive game-day reviews measuring 154 factors to provide comparative insights and recommendations. If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eamon is the founder of Minute9, a consultancy that works with some of the world’s elite teams and coaches in helping them improve their half time talks and preparation.

This discussion is so rich in information, and useful to any of us that are leading sporting teams or work teams that have split into 2 parts.

Eamonn Devlin on Game-Day Leadership: Halftime Protocols, Culture, and Coach Control

In this episode, former financial services lawyer Eamonn Devlin explains how personal adversity and his daughter’s negative team-talk experience led him to research and advise elite teams on communication, culture, and match-day environments. He shares common traits of top coaches (welcoming others, curiosity, confident challenge, and clear problem definition), and outlines a halftime framework prioritizing players “landing” mentally, refuelling, then concise, specific information supported by visuals, followed by re-warm-up. Devlin discusses reading the room, the risks of anger, declining player voice as coaching becomes more controlling, and how his team runs intrusive game-day reviews measuring 154 factors to provide comparative insights and recommendations. If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

In this episode, rugby coach Mike Cron shares lessons from decades with the All Blacks and recent work with the Wallabies, emphasizing that great leaders are consistent, build alignment across coaches, staff and players, listen while making firm decisions, and stay willing to adapt. He explains how policing developed his prioritization, planning and people skills, and how better coaching comes from observation, confidence, and embracing silence when asking questions. Cron advocates learning from outside your field—sumo, netball, gymnastics, shot put—to convert insights into performance, and describes tools like “old way/new way,” the Ringelmann Effect to counter social loafing, and delivering brutal honesty with permission and care. If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

1.   Where am I being “firm” when I actually need to adapt—and what feedback would I need to hear (and accept) to make that change?

2.   When I lead or coach, do I rely more on a script or on observation—and what would improve if I became more comfortable with silence and listening?

3.   In my team (or work group), where might social loafing be showing up subtly, and what specific commitment can I make so that “it will not be me”?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is a recording of our book club.

The book we discuss is World’s Best by Ric Charlesworth, the iconic Australian Field Hockey Coach Ric Charlesworth. Ric led both the Australian and Men's Hockey teams to World Cup victories. He also ed the women to an An Olympic Gold. He has also worked in Cricket, Australian Rules Football, is a medical Dr and spent 10 tears as a federal politican.

Our discussion is led by Dr David Turner, a Senior Lecturer in Sports Coaching at Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom,

If you enjoy todays discussion and would like to join us for a future book club you can contact me on paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

Retired after 43 years of college coaching (39 at the University of Delaware), Bob Shillinglaw reflects on how early experiences in sports—including competing against Bill Belichick and attending a camp coached by Belichick’s father—shaped his desire to coach. He describes choosing UNC, breaking into college coaching through low-paid roles while earning a master’s in sports psychology, and jump-starting Delaware’s program, including building alumni support and helping grow lacrosse statewide. Shillinglaw shares leadership lessons on integrating daily mental training (goals, visualization, reframing negative thoughts), applying consistent discipline, managing emotion on game day, communicating with players and staff, being empathetic and available off the field, and striving to be present with family despite the “coaching stare.” If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it. In this episode, Paul speaks with Dr. Gavin Weeks and Dr. Brendan Meany about burnout as an occupational phenomenon marked by prolonged exhaustion, cynicism or disengagement, and reduced felt effectiveness, often driven by stress, lack of control, weak support, and high-performance pressure. They discuss how burnout spreads through an organization via a leader’s “vibes,” eroding trust, cohesion, and productivity, and how presenteeism and obsessive passion can worsen it. Key lessons include building systems and guardrails that normalize recovery, delegating to trusted staff, planning for setbacks, developing clear leadership identity and values, seeking mentors, increasing self-awareness under stress, and practicing self-forgiveness and repair to sustain high performance. If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

I am joined for the discussion by Dr Gavin Weeks. Gavin is a Doctor of Psychology and Associate Fellow at Oxford Sayyid Business School and director of innovation and development at the consultancy Thompson Harrison.

And Dr Brendan Meany. Brendan Meany is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant and His work focuses on implementing high-performance skills to optimize human potential in both sport and the corporate space. He is also the Chief Performance Officer of LiveFirstAI.com, he applies sport

psychology principles that manage burnout and elevate functioning.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

Eddie O’Sullivan reflects on coaching from grassroots to Ireland and the USA, arguing that great coaches separate themselves through relentless attention to detail, innovation, and an uncompromising commitment to giving players their best chance to perform. He describes how his PE teaching background and mentors shaped his ability to analyze skill and make sessions both enjoyable and educational, and how American sports influenced him to maximize limited training time with multiple specialist coaches delivering rapid, real-time feedback to steepen the learning curve. As Ireland coach, he prioritized expanding staff, building clear communication systems, and driving consistency by winning expected games and some unexpected ones, highlighted by beating Australia in 2002. O’Sullivan emphasizes shared leadership via a captain supported by a leadership group, honest two-way feedback, and emotional engagement balanced with control, including apologizing when messaging was wrong. If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Q: What role does leading innovation play in my leadership?

Q: Am I too unemotional as a leader?

Q: Is the idea of one voice at a time, the right idea for my organization?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

John Aloisi shares that great coaches stand out through clarity of identity, standards and message, making complex tactics simple and consistent so players know their roles. He explains how elite performance is often decided by mental strength and belief, reinforced through repetition of basics, aggressive “play without fear” attacking intent, and supportive team cohesion built through relationships and selection. Aloisi reflects on learning from difficult club environments at Melbourne Heart and Brisbane Roar, using media experience to communicate succinctly, and rebuilding belief at Western United by setting values and standards before tactics, adding experienced winners, and creating a hard-to-play-against base that led to an A-League championship. He also describes coping with coaching loneliness through trusted support networks and using affirmations, journaling and meditation to stay resilient.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

And it left me with these questions to reflect on:

• Do I verbalise gratitude enough?
• How can I better refine failure for my team?
• What mental strength training can I instigate for the team?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

Sam Bird shares how seven knee operations ended her England netball playing career early, pushing her into a legal career with the Met Police that shaped her leadership through service, listening, and navigating high-stakes international negotiations—often as the only woman in the room. She explains how she rebuilt London Pulse from a last-place finish by recruiting “people before players,” prioritizing kindness, humility, hard work, loyalty, and a club-first mindset, while creating a supportive environment where athletes feel valued and can handle tough conversations. Taking on CEO duties in 2020, she learned to surround herself with trusted, capable people and grow the organization like a startup. Bird describes Lisa Alexander’s impact in raising standards, simplifying performance foundations, and strengthening “proud to be Pulse” identity across the pathway, while aiming to make Pulse the best club in the world and change lives through opportunity in London’s diverse community.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

3 questions the interview with Sam challenged me with were:

•Is my organization the type of place where people know somebody will have their back if they are having a bad day?

•Am I engaging with me mentors enough to frame challenging questions of myself

•Am I calling out example of ambition and bravery enough?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

Mickey Arthur reflects on coaching across multiple countries and says great coaches stay ahead of trends, set clear structures, and build teams around roles, standards, and “non-negotiables.” He explains that trust-based relationships enable honest challenge, balancing care with professional distance, and that players thrive when given security, clear communication, and positive affirmation alongside targeted feedback. Arthur describes learning from early setbacks, including being sacked by Australia, and how reflection helped him adapt by first observing an environment before making change. He shares how stability and belief unlocked young talent in Pakistan, and why he prefers long-term development work over short franchise stints, aiming for sustainable brands that create reference points for performance.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Q: I don’t use non-negotiables as a leader and it made me wonder whether I should?

Q: This challenged me to consider whether there are times that I overtalk as a leader?

Q: This made me reflect on who I should be challenging more in my team?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Key Ideas

•Cohesion predicts performance: Teams succeed when people understand each other, their roles, and the system they are operating within.

•Connection requires emotional commitment: True connection involves care, honesty, hard conversations, and the willingness to support one another.

•Authenticity builds trust: Leaders strengthen connection by sharing stories, being honest about challenge and care, and creating space for others to do the same.

•Small moments matter: Visibility, daily check-ins, shared meals, and simple acts of acknowledgement can reinforce connection over time.

•Everyone needs to see their impact: Strong leaders help every person understand how their work contributes to the team’s larger purpose.

•Connection can be observed and evaluated: Leaders can look for behaviours that show whether people are trusting, supporting, and influencing each other effectively.

Leadership Takeaways

1.Prepare connection before people come together. Leaders can build stronger teams by encouraging support, contact, and shared investment even when people are apart.

2.Make authenticity practical. Connection grows when people understand each other’s stories, motivations, hardships, and aspirations.

3.Be present and visible. Leadership connection is often created through brief but meaningful interactions that signal care and attention.

4.Show people how the work connects. Every role matters; leaders should make the links between visible and invisible contributions clear.

5.Ask what each person is willing to do for the team. Sacrifice is not only what people give up, but also what they are prepared to do for others.

Reflection Questions for Leaders

·     What are you doing when you are apart, to prepare for the times when you will come together?

·     What can you do to be more authentic with each other?

·     How can you share more information about yourself with each other in a way that deepens your understanding of what drives each of you?

·     How can you use daily, small moments to stay connected?

·     What more could you do to understand the linkages between the people who support you?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

Anders shares how Mjällby’s rise from relegation struggles to cup finalists and champions was built on club-wide structure, kaizen-style continuous improvement, and teamwork rather than one coach’s decisions. He explains creating conditions for intrinsic motivation, training with maximum intensity and game-specific opposition, and obsessing over small efficiencies that compound. He describes using a small staff effectively through delegation, trust and regular feedback surveys, plus monthly meetings with a player council. Adversity—financial constraints, player sales, and his leukemia diagnosis—strengthened resilience and sharpened his process focus on solutions. He emphasizes clarity on core values, selecting good people, staying calm, being fair, and making hard decisions without being harsh.

Q. Do you truly know who you are and what you stand for?

Q. When adversity hits, do I focus on the problem or the solution?

Q. What energy am I bringing to the people around me?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first is Mike Dunlap. Mike is a basketball coach who has led teams in US Colleges, the NBA and in Australia. He was also an assistant with the  Milwaukee Bucks when then they defeated the Phoenix Suns to win their first NBA Championship in 2021.

The second is Rugby Union coach Franco Smith. As a player Franco represented South Africa as well as playing for clubs in South Africa, Italy, France and Wales. As a coach he has led teams to National Championships in Italy and South Africa and is presently the head coach of the Glasgow Warriors.

Q: How do you mitigate the loneliness you might feel as a leader?

Q: What philosophy guides you as a leader

Q: What did you do today to lead by example?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we sit down with legendary rugby union coach John Connolly, affectionately known as "Knuckles". From his early days jumping into boxing rings and playing cricket, to leading elite clubs like the Queensland Reds, Stade Francais, Swansea, Bath, and the Australian Wallabies across 500 games, John shares his raw, deeply honest philosophy on what it truly takes to build a winning culture.

We explore the concepts of single-minded toughness, the practicalities of giving players a 12-month advance warning when their time in the jersey is coming to an end, and how he famously moved rule-breaking players into his own home to reinforce team standards. John also opens up about his life-altering accident in 2021 that left him a quadriplegic. He discusses how he found the mental strength to accept his new reality, stay positive through family support, and use his extensive network to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for spinal injury research and patient comfort.

Key Takeaways:

• Pride in the Jersey: Why a coach's job is to make players realize they aren't just representing themselves, but the legacy of the team shirt.
• Enforcing a Vision: How true team toughness stems from absolute single-mindedness toward a shared goal.
• Authentic Leadership: The critical importance for young coaches to remain true to their own personality rather than copying others.
• Resilience Beyond Sport: How John refused to let his spinal injury define him, leveraging his leadership skills to support the Perry Cross Foundation.

Q: What role does pride play in your teams identity?

Q: How do you find the balance between single mindedness and being open to new ideas?

His adventures are captured in his book Bare Knuckles it’s a terrific read and all the money raised from it go to the Perry Cross Foundation

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: The Great Coaches Newsletter

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Georgia State Head Football Coach Dell McGee shares his deeply reflective approach to leadership, culture building, and talent identification, drawing from his extensive experience across high school powerhouses and championship-winning SEC programs.

Key Highlights:

• The 4 C's of Team Culture: Coach McGee breaks down the cultural blueprint he instituted at Georgia State: Connection, Commitment, Competitiveness, and Composure.
• Eliminating the Gray Area: The vital importance of creating distinct, black-and-white expectations to foster deep organizational buy-in and prevent commitment from eroding.
• Uncovering the "Why": How vulnerability serves as the ultimate catalyst for genuine connection, allowing coaches to understand their players' true motivators and know exactly "what buttons to push."
• The "WIN" Acronym: Staying firmly anchored in the present moment by prioritizing "What’s Important Now" rather than looking too far into the future.
• Holistic Recruiting: Why looking beyond surface data—and even interviewing the high school cafeteria staff—uncovers the core character traits essential for maintaining the right type of program.
• A Lifeline Forever: Reflecting on the profound responsibility of mentorship and the bold promise to remain a supportive anchor for players long after their football careers conclude.

Q: What are the pillars that define your teams’ culture?

Q: What are some of the purpose’s that drive the people in your team?

Q: How well are you able to regulate emotional ups and downs during tough times?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: The Great Coaches Newsletter

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first is Lisa Alexander.

Lisa was the coach of the Australian Netball team, known as the Diamonds, from 2011 to 2020. During that time She oversaw gold medal successes at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2015 Netball World Cup, as well as silver medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2019 Netball World Cup.

And the second is John Kessel

John was the Team Leader for the 2000 USA Olympic Beach Volleyball Teams in Sydney, which brought home one gold medal, and for the 2004 USA Paralympic Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team in Athens, which came home with the bronze medal.

He is the author of over 12 books, including the IMPACT coaching manual, which is now in its 33rd edition. in 2024, he was inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame and today travels around the world talking about coaching, particularly in the youth space.

Q: how do you describe great team work?

Q: How often do you catch people doing good; versus calling out areas for improvement? 

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we sit down with world-champion player and renowned international field hockey coach Jamilon Mülders. From beginning his coaching journey at the age of twelve to leading national programs across Germany, China, and the Netherlands, Jamilon shares a deeply reflective perspective on what it means to lead with humility, empathy, and authentic connection.

We explore the profound shift from a traditional, hierarchical "joystick coach" model to a truly player-centered approach where the human being is kept firmly at the center of attention. Jamilon opens up about his personal "aha moment" in 2022 when he finally learned to coach authentically, shedding the rigid expectations of what a head coach "should" look like in favor of a calm, casual, and supportive presence.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The Coach as a Servant: Why the greatest leaders act as servants to the group, focusing entirely on what the athletes and organization need to thrive.
• Learning from the Future: A powerful framework for setting an overarching vision years in advance, then reverse-engineering individual development plans to guide personal and tactical progress.
• Building Psychological Safety and Trust: The critical importance of establishing a strong personal relationship and common ground before delivering challenging or critical performance messages.
• Embracing Vulnerability: Moving past perfectionism to create environments where showing weakness, admitting mistakes, and learning from failure are actively respected.
• Beyond Wins and Medals: Why true coaching success lies in nurturing social competence, mental health, and personal growth, ensuring athletes walk away as more complete human beings long after their competitive careers end.

Q: What routines do you have in place to deliver tough messages?

Q: To what extent do you agree with the idea of being a servant to the group as the leader?

Q: Has there been times when you have been ‘blind-spotted’ by a goal

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: The Great Coaches Newsletter

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we dive deep into the concept of Thriving—a term that has seen its popular interest and media relevance double since 2016. Host Paul Barnett sits down with two exceptional guests to break down what it means to move past mere survival and truly optimize both individual performance and collective growth.

Our Guests:

• Valorie Kondos Field ("Miss Val"): Legendary former head coach of the UCLA gymnastics team, 7-time NCAA Champion, and PAC12 Coach of the Century.
• Dr. Gavin Weeks: Doctor of Psychology, Associate Fellow at Oxford Saïd Business School, and author of an integrated model of individual thriving.

Key Takeaways from the Discussion:

• The Anatomy of Thriving: Thriving is defined as the joint experience of development and sustained success. While "flow" is often a fleeting, momentary experience during an athletic performance, thriving is long-term and sustained.
• Resilience vs. Indomitable Mindset: Miss Val shares how her athletes felt "indomitable"—a state of being so thoroughly prepared mentally, emotionally, and physically that fear and concern vanish entirely.
• The Team Leader’s Blueprint: Facilitating a thriving culture requires a delicate balance between granting individual autonomy and maintaining a shared connection to a larger purpose. It involves celebrating the distinct individuality of each person rather than forcing rigid compliance.
• Silencing the Noise: True long-term growth requires building a personal sanctuary and anchoring choices to a strong moral foundation, entirely independent of external validation or others' opinions.
• The Power of Everyday Practices: Shifting focus away from unpredictable end-of-season outcomes and toward "controllables"—such as a daily 1% improvement mindset and starting with collective gratitude—unlocks a team's true brilliance.

Q: How does your organization experience thriving? What can you do to facilitate this?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: link

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we sit down with legendary NBA assistant coach Ron Adams to explore his deeply impactful philosophy of "people building."Drawing from his unique childhood growing up on a farm in California's Central Valley, Ron compares the continuous, daily cultivation required in agriculture to the dedication needed to unlock human potential in sport and business.

Ron shares invaluable insights from his illustrious career, spanning over five decades across major universities and elite NBA franchises—including his current championship run with the Golden State Warriors.He dives deep into the evolution of coaching from a rigid, dictatorial model to today's collaborative, relational environment where an athlete's voice is highly valued.We also unpack the heavy crown of being an authentic "truth teller" for high-pressure head coaches, the transformative power of leading a team with true joy, and why he views defensive strategy as a form of altruistic giving.

Key Highlights:

• The Agriculture of Coaching: Why real leadership requires a seven-day-a-week commitment to nurturing, fertilizing, and patiently watching your team grow.
• Painting a Greater Picture: How to help your team members see a grander vision for themselves that exceeds their own self-imposed expectations.
• The Three Mantras of Golden State: A look inside the culture of the Warriors and how Steve Kerr leverages joy, mindfulness, and fierce competition to build an environment that bends but never breaks.
• Leading From the Bottom Up: A powerful lesson on how developing your bench or lower-level employees can shift an entire organization's ecosystem.
• The Lifelong Journey of Formation: Why a growth mindset means accepting that no one is ever truly "fully formed"—whether they are an 18-year-old rookie or a 70-year-old veteran.

Q: What role does Joy play in your organisation?

Q: What support do you have to help you discern well?

Q: To what extent does fealty exist in your team?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: link

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we connect with Shane Jurgensen, former first-class cricketer turned elite international coach. From his early playing days across multiple Australian states to his time guiding the national teams of Bangladesh, Fiji, and New Zealand, Shane has developed a deeply reflective and human-centric approach to high performance. Currently serving as the Head Coach of the Wellington Firebirds, Shane reflects on his journey and the core principles that define his leadership strategy.

Key Takeaways From the Episode:

• The Battle of Boring: Shane discusses the necessity of embracing the daily grind to establish rock-solid fundamental skills before attempting to innovate.
• Servicing People Through Empathy: Discover how a genuine interest in a player's life outside of sport serves as the ultimate differentiator, building a "sandcastle" of trust that supports tough conversations.
• Dispersed Leadership: Insights into the New Zealand Black Caps' environment during their inaugural ICC World Test Championship run, where long tenures and player-led accountability shared the leadership load.
• Your Job Description is the Minimum: Why going above and beyond your defined role is crucial for fostering a collaborative, elite team environment.
• The Power of Connection Over Strategy: How intentional team rituals—ranging from personal icebreaker questions to breaking bread—can dismantle egos and build collective selflessness.

Key Questions:

·     What routines do you use to open team meetings? How they can be used to deepen seflessness within the group?

·     What is the level of dispersed leadership across your team?

·     How are your development plans spread across improving base capabilities versus growing new ones?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we sit down with Scott Roth, the inaugural head coach of the Tasmanian JackJumpers, who famously led a newly formed expansion team to the NBL Grand Final in their first year and to a championship title by year three. With over two decades of experience in the NBA as both a player and coach, alongside a rich history in international basketball across Europe and China, Scott brings a deeply reflective and unconventional philosophy to modern leadership.

We explore his evolution from a high-intensity sideline strategist to a calm, people-first mentor who prioritizes character, emotional transparency, and deep cultural alignment over tactical complexity. Scott opens up about how profound personal loss and navigating the pressures of elite sport reshaped his definition of success, prompting him to completely block out external noise to focus on what truly matters: human connection and long-term legacy.

Key Takeaways:

• The Power of Vulnerability: Why leading with empathy and allowing your team to see the authentic "you" unlocks next-level commitment and mutual trust.
• Building Culture from the Ground Up: The story behind the JackJumpers' first practice at a local apple orchard, and how embedding a team into the blue-collar identity of its community builds an unbreakable bond.
• Managing the Mindset: Overcoming the "death walk" of comparison and ego, and shifting focus toward winning the day rather than chasing the next job or scoreboard result.
• The Reality of High Accountability: How setting clear, uncompromising boundaries—promising only to coach hard and make people uncomfortable—attracts individuals with high character and a collaborative drive.
• Connecting Heritage to the Present: Establishing structural cultural elements like the administrative "bloodlines" group to connect regional sports history and drive organizational sustainability.

Question: How do you manage the outside influences that can, in Scotts words “drag dirty feet through your mind?”

Question: How do you find the balance between telling people the truth, but also exhibiting care?

Question: What routines do you use to connect your team to the identity that shaped it?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: link

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Canadian National Championship-winning basketball coach and author Chantall Vallée discusses her book Dare to Win and shares her unique perspective as a researcher who transitioned directly into a highly successful sports practitioner. She unpacks the four foundational categories of coaching excellence discovered through her years of academic research and field experience: developing a core vision, maintaining meticulous organizational skills, fostering individual athlete growth, and expanding a leader's personal character traits.

Chantall opens up about the demanding realities of a 100-hour work week during the competitive season, detailing how she preserves her personal well-being and team performance through structured boundaries and a dedicated weekly rest day. She highlights the strategic use of mental performance tools, such as metaphors and visualization, to significantly reduce nervous system stress and enable athletes to focus strictly on execution.

The conversation delves deeply into the personal evolutions required of high-performing leaders. Chantall reflects honestly on the moments she realized she was the limiting factor for her team's success, explaining how seeking external mentorship and establishing a "one voice" protocol under pressure transformed her coaching. She explores the psychological dynamics of athletic performance, introducing her "traps versus truth" exercise to combat athlete negative self-talk, and emphasizes the critical importance of choosing truth over harmony when defining team roles. Finally, Chantall outlines her inspiring shift toward business investment and advocacy aimed at creating professional parity, financial stability, and visibility for women in sports.

She has captured her learnings from that journey in her new book Dare to Win.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Paul Barnett and Jonathan Cole sit down with legendary mental skills and performance coach Gilbert Enoka (Bert) to unpack the core philosophies behind his historic 23-year journey with the New Zealand All Blacks. Drawing from his book, Become Unstoppable, Gilbert shares profound insights on what truly separates good teams from historically dominant ones across sport, business, and life.

Key Takeaways from the Conversation:

• Personal Before Positional: Great coaches lead from who they are, not where they sit. People buy into the leader long before they buy into the vision, making consistent authenticity a stabilizer across all seasons.
• Vulnerability as a Strength: Expressing internal battles and establishing honest language is essential for growth; as Gilbert notes, you cannot train what you won't talk about. Performance is fundamentally powered by the depth of vulnerability a team is willing to show.
• Psychological Freedom: Moving beyond surface-level psychological safety, true psychological freedom allows individuals to speak openly and without judgment. Gilbert shares his "dripping tap" analogy—creating dedicated windows for raw honesty before turning the tap off to pivot back to action.
• The Power of Co-opetition: High-performing longevity relies on combining fierce internal competition with radical cooperation. By shifting the focus to a shared cause where "me serves we," individual skill sets are unlocked, and a rising tide lifts all boats.
• The "Emotional Detective": Grounded in his own upbringing within an orphanage, Gilbert discusses his lifelong drive to build a sense of connection and belonging. True leaders proactively observe their people to anticipate and meet unexpressed needs.
• Preserving the Core and Disrupting Edges: Longevity in excellence requires guarding a team's core identity—such as the All Blacks' jersey and the collective re-authoring of the Kapa o Pango Haka—while continuously iterating and disrupting marginal edges like nutrition, technology, and training structures.

He has just captured his learning and insights from this career in a book called Become Unstoppable.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest on this episode is Professor Adam R. Nicholls from the Department of Sport, Health, and Exercise Science at the University of Hull, UK. Adam is a leading researcher in stress, appraisal, and coping among athletes, having published 3 books and over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles. In this conversation, we explore the core principles of his latest book, Psychology in Sports Coaching: Theory and Practice, and discuss how coaches and leaders can effectively integrate psychological insights into their leadership style.

Key Takeaways:

• Mastery vs. Performance Climates: Discover how a mastery climate—which rewards effort, individual improvement, and mutual support—fosters higher well-being, increased enjoyment, and lower anxiety compared to a performance-focused environment.
• Building Authentic Confidence: Learn how confidence is directly linked to competence and how coaches can reinforce this by consistently reminding athletes of their strengths and accomplishments.
• Fostering Team Cohesion: Understand the crucial factors that build a cohesive team, including shared goal acceptance, high environmental standards, and perceived fairness or justice from leadership.
• Transforming Negative Self-Talk: Insights into how leaders can intervene to help individuals stop disruptive, negative internal dialogue and pivot toward positive, actionable self-statements.
• Reframing Perfectionism: Identifying the warning signs of perfectionistic tendencies—such as overcompensating and excessive reassurance seeking—and how to pivot the focus toward a healthier pursuit of excellence.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: Subscribe to Newsletter

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we sit down with Colm Nally, an experienced Gaelic Football coach and designated GAA Master Coach Tutor. Colm shares his rich journey across youth and senior teams at both club and county levels, offering a profound perspective on what truly sets great leaders apart.

Key highlights from the conversation include:

• The "Insight Hook": There is a transformative opportunity to optimize player performance by focusing on the person first. Colm explores his guiding principle that when you genuinely affect the individual, you inherently elevate their performance.
• Cultivating Positive Team Culture: A standout reflection on why the best team environments prioritize development and positive reinforcement over analyzing failure.
• Team vs. Individual Coaching: An analytical breakdown of the unique strengths of team-oriented strategists versus individual development mentors, and how both are critical to building cohesive teams.
• Bespoke Development: Colm details his structured approach to Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) across different ages and stages, highlighting how to organically plant seeds for growth and empower self-solving decision-making on the pitch.
• The Evolution of Training: A deep dive into transitioning from rigid, linear drills to open, games-based activities that embrace the creative chaos of real-match scenarios.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: The Great Coaches Newsletter

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kathy led the Harvard Womens Basketball team for 40 years. During her tenure she led the team to over 600 career wins, 11 Ivy League championships and six NCAA Tournament berths. She is the winningest coach in the history of the Ivy League — any sport, men’s or women’s.

Kathy has just written a booked called Grit and Wit: Empowering Lives and Leaders. The book is co-authored with one of her players, Laura Barnard who is now a sought after leadership consultant.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at thegreatcoachespodcast@gmail.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we sit down with legendary Australian basketball coach Tom Maher. As the most successful coach in the history of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) with nine championships, and a veteran who has guided four different nations across six consecutive Olympic Games, Tom brings an unparalleled depth of leadership experience.

We dive deep into his humble beginnings, from traveling around Australia with thirty dollars and a tank of petrol to layout out courts in the Northern Territory and working as a handyman for the iconic Lindsay Gaze. Tom shares transparent reflections on his career timeline, including the pivotal leadership lessons learned from being sacked in Hobart, and how his wife and former Australian captain, Robyn, helped shape his approach to championship team chemistry.

Key highlights from this conversation include:

• The 7 Themes of Success: A comprehensive breakdown of Tom's framework—Great Physical Shape, Handle Adversity, Be Assertive, Relentless Persistence, Great Defensive Team, Multi-Skilled, and a Great We Team.
• Redefining Winning: Shifting focus away from the scoreboard to discover the hundreds of micro-ways a team can win through effort, communication, and attitude.
• Clarity as Kindness: Why he chose a path of radical, un-emotive truth with his players rather than relying on artificial motivational speeches.
• The Courage to Fail: Creating a psychological safety net where players have the freedom to make mistakes as a natural pathway to learning.
• Coaching for Self-Actualization: Helping athletes maximize their potential to become the best versions of themselves both on and off the court.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: link

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

He then transitioned into off field leadership roles in soccer, starting with Hoffenheim in the third tier of German soccer. He was part of the transformation of that club which took them all the way to the top German league in 2008.

He hads gone on to build a successful career helping clubs transform themselves into high performing organisations, most recently with the start up club St Louis FC in the American Major League.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at thegreatcoachespodcast@gmail.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special episode, host Paul Barnett sits down with veteran basketball coach Mike Dunlap and football manager Gareth Taylor to explore the essential building blocks of high-performing, winning team cultures. Together, they break down how to establish uncompromising behavioral standards, manage the delicate balance of collaboration, and guide teams through the crucible of competitive adversity.

Key Takeaways from the Discussion:

• The Foundations of Culture: Mike Dunlap shares his "Holy Trinity" of team standards—respecting time, shepherding individual desires from "me to we," and deep human connectivity driven by empathetic leadership.
• Shared Ownership over Dictatorship: Gareth Taylor highlights how collaboration in setting standards builds shared ownership, particularly noting how vital it is for players to feel connected to the underlying game model and process.
• The Limits of Collaboration: Both coaches discuss finding the right "dose" of collaboration, emphasizing that players do not want vacillation or involvement in disciplinary decisions; high-stakes moments require leaders to be bold and brief.
• Talent vs. Behavior: Reflecting on insights from iconic coach Paul Roos, the guests analyze why talent-based teams collapse under pressure, whereas behavioral-based teams sustain excellence because every player relentlessly executes their role.
• Flipping the Narrative in Defeat: Learn how top-tier environments keep energy levels consistent after a loss by leveraging objective data to show players they are closer to success than they realize.
• The Strategy of Leadership: A deeper look into operational alignment, maintaining emotional stoicism on the sidelines, and executing disciplined After Action Reviews to evaluate progress objectively.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: Subscribe to the Great Coaches Newsletter

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

She played in the Australian National league for the Queensland Firebirds, Perth Orioles and Westcoacg Fever before retirning in 2009. She transitioned as an Assistant for the legendary Norma Plummer in 2012. In 2014 she was appointed head coach of the Westcoast Fever, guiding them to their ever grand final. In 2020 she was appointed as the head coach of the Australian National Team and led them to a gold medal at the 2022 Commenwealth Games and the 2023 Netball World Cup.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I am joined by Dr David Turner, who is a Senior Lecturer in Sport Coaching Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge in the United Kingdom and some of his students and a fellow teacher. David takes the lead in this episode and we share learning we have all taken from Great Coaches as well as how some the students intend to apply what they have learned in the world. The tables were turned at times as the students and David asked me questions as well; something which I found enjoyable but also quite challenging!

A special thanks to Wleed Mazhar, Kye Buckle, Becky Marshall, Beth Parsons and Eloise Pemberton for taking part.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at thegreatcoachespodcast@gmail.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tara is a retired American basketball coach who led the Stanford Womends bascketball team for 38 years. In that time she led the Cardinals to NCAA championships in 1990, 1992 and 2021 and 13 final fours. In 1996 she also led the US national team to the gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics. In january 2024 she surpassed both Path Summit and Mike Mike Krzyzewski as the winningest coach in college basketball history. Eventually retiring with a record of 1218 wins at a ratiopn of 81.8%.

Tara was voted the Naismith National coach of the year on 3 occaasions and the Pac 12 coach of the teas on 18 occasions. She was unducted into the Womens Basketball Hall of fame in 2002.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at thegreatcoachespodcast@gmail.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ken played college football as a quarterback at the University of Hawaii. After graduating he became an assistant at his alma mater , eventually becoming an offensive coordinator at the Naval Academy in 1995. His career progressed and he eventually became the Head Coach of Navy in 2007 and would lead them for 15 years, accumulating the most wins of any coach in the programs history. Along the way, he won 6 Commander-in-Chief trophies, 4 bowl game trophies and 3 AAC West Division titles.

In 2023 he left Navy and spent a season as the Director of Leadership at UCLA, and then in 2024 took on the head coach role at San Jose State.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at thegreatcoachespodcast@gmail.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

John Kessel joins Paul for a wide-ranging conversation on coaching as “relationship counseling” between athletes and their love of the game, and how his philosophy evolved from telling players what to do to guided discovery that makes athletes solve problems and retain learning. He argues for small-sided play, “grills not drills,” training in reality, and teaching athletes to make “good mistakes” that transfer to competition. Kessel shares lessons from motor learning research, perception-action coupling, and the importance of curiosity, joy, and creating environments athletes want to return to. He reflects on supporting his son Cody after being the last cut for the US Olympic squad, the value of “yet,” and the idea that growth is about pursuing “-er” rather than “-est.” The episode closes with Kessel’s quote: “When life opens one door, it closes another, but it’s hell in the hallway,” and discussion of future interviews and volleyball leaders.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

From Wales, netball coach and researcher Dr. Anna Stembridge discusses what sets great coaches apart: connecting with players and staff, harnessing talent to a clear strategy, knowing strengths and blind spots, and creating high support/high challenge environments. She recounts Lyn Gunston urging her toward coaching early, her transition through Bath and the Welsh Netball Academy, and leading England to win the 2011 World Netball Series by building fearlessness, learning from losses, and demystifying Australia and New Zealand. Stembridge outlines reflective routines (journaling, mentors, critical friends), building belonging by celebrating difference with tough love, sustaining culture as a season-long “golden thread,” and PhD insights on cumulative stress and better organizational support for coaches. She emphasizes checking assumptions, “clarity is kindness,” care, trust, and aspiring to be remembered for investing in people while pursuing bold goals.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Then in 2014 he was appointed as Head Coach of the Western Bulldogs and led them to the premiership in 2016. For the way he condusted himself on the day they won the premiership he was awarded the Spirit of Sport at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Awards.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

Brian Goorjian shares how Lindsay Gaze shaped his view of great coaching through passion, humility, learning, and genuine care, and how those lessons carried into his first head-coaching role at Ballarat where he built advantage through relentless work ethic. He explains that earning respect starts with competence in your craft, a strong circle of influence, and the ability to connect personally rather than “hiding behind the computer.” Reflecting on rebuilding the Boomers after mass retirements, he describes culture as standards in the non‑controllables and shows why empowerment works best when players set values and leaders develop successors, creating continuity through “gold standard” habits. He also discusses balancing obsession with renewal by compartmentalizing intensity and sharing leadership with staff and captains, and he defines true legacy as improving people beyond basketball through lasting relationships.

Q. Are you investing enough in your own craft to earn genuine respect?

Q. Have I created a culture that survives without me — or does it all depend on my voice?

Q. Am I balancing my obsession with an awareness of what my team needs from me — including rest?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rocco is a swimming coach from South Africa. He started out coaching in 1988 and by 1997 was the national coach director with the brief to develop internationally competitive swimmers; his first success came when Terence Parkin won a silver medal at the Sydney Olympic Games. He then coached the dual Olympic Gold medallist and world record holder Tatjana Schoenmaker. These days, he leads the Tuks Swimming Club in South Africa, including world junior champion Pieter Coetze.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you; please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

He began coaching in the early 1990s and went to lead the German women's Team to gold at the 2004 Olympics and the German Men to gold at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. This made him the first person in field hockey history to win gold with Men and Woemns teams. He also led the German Men's team to the 2011 and 2013 European Championship and twice led the Men's Indoor team to world and European championships.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please get in touch with us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

In this episode, Guy Molloy reflects on learning from great Australian coaches, arguing there’s no single formula—just strong conviction, the ability to influence people, and the humility to “figure it out” through uncertainty. He shares how early coaching taught him people and culture problems outweigh tactics, why he prioritizes essentialism (“three things done well”), and how mentorship—especially after being fired—can restore confidence and drive growth. Molloy explains balancing stubborn principles with player empowerment, building identity and chemistry in national teams through clear vision and simplicity, and using feedback loops over emotional reactions to wins and losses. He also discusses self-awareness, surrounding yourself with complementary personalities, and improving communication via mic’d-up video review, aiming for brevity, autonomy, and better training design.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the 2024 season draws to a close I was doing a review and reflecting on some of the things the coaches I have interviewed over the last 4 years have said that have stayed with me afterwards.

As I was scribbling them down, I thought I would turn it into a short podcast. And so here are my top 10 and a short description of why this resonated with me.

For some of you, listening to these audio grabs might not be so surprising, but for me, coming from the corporate world, they challenged my thinking and, in some instances, altered my behavior.

They are not in order of impact. I tried to rank them like that, but it was too hard.

I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know how you feel about it and, if you are a regular listener, whether there is a sound bite or particular interview that resonated with you. I will gather these and do a listener version of this podcast format next season.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you; please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you; please get in touch with us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we sit down with legendary Australian sports journalist and former rugby league football coach, Roy Masters AM. From his early days as a country school teacher to coaching the Western Suburbs Magpies and St. George Dragons, Roy shares his profound evolution from leveraging raw, negative underdog motivation to embracing a culture of sustained positivism and structural accountability.

Key discussion points in this episode include:

• The Communication Secrets of the Greats: A breakdown of how icons like Jack Gibson, Tim Sheens, and Craig Bellamy approach communication with entirely distinct yet highly successful styles.
• The Transition from Negative to Positive Motivation: Why negative motivation (proving the critics wrong) has a strict shelf life, and how celebrating genuine athletic prowess delivers long-term championship results.
• The "Club First" Detriment: A deeply reflective look at the historic 1985 St. George season, where prioritizing collective club ethos over individual first-grade optimization cost a premiership but left a lasting legacy.
• Incremental Honesty vs. Demeaning Critique: Understanding the delicate boundary between a demanding coach and a demeaning one, and how using "increments of truth" preserves the critical trust needed to engage athletes.
• The Crisis of Personal Accountability: An analysis of the modern sporting landscape where strong relationships with managers can inadvertently dilute a player's willingness to look in the mirror and own their performance.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: The Great Coaches Newsletter

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, former Australian No. 1 tennis player and leading coach Nicole Pratt shares her profound insights into athletic development, systemic change, and high-performance psychology. Drawing from her unique background growing up on a sugar cane farm in Queensland to her current role leading the charge for female coaching representation at Tennis Australia, Nicole unpacks what it truly takes to build trust, instill resilience, and guide athletes to the absolute peak of their sport.

Key highlights from the interview include:

• The Core of Great Coaching: Building elite relationships rooted in deep care and demonstrating an unwavering belief in an athlete's potential.
• Farm-Built Foundations: Learning early lessons of discipline, hard work, and accountability that formed the bedrock of her professional career.
• Systemic Impact: Strategically increasing the number of women tennis coaches in Australia by 45% through targeted confidence-building and robust structural support.
• The Athlete as a CEO: Empowering emerging professionals to manage their careers as a business, build strategic support teams, and invest directly back into themselves.
• Protecting Mental Energy: Establishing strict digital boundaries and shutting down social media prior to events to combat overstimulation and preserve critical focus.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: Subscribe to Newsletter

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we sit down with world-renowned authority Dr. Sophia Jowett to discuss why interpersonal dynamics serve as the absolute foundation of effective coaching. Moving beyond traditional coach-centered or athlete-centered frameworks, Dr. Jowett introduces a holistic, coach-athlete-centered paradigm where relationship quality acts as a direct barometer of overall success and personal fulfillment. We analyze the psychological underpinnings of the renowned 3+1 C Model—Closeness, Commitment, Complementarity, and Co-orientation—and explore how these elements function together to support an athlete's development and mental well-being.

Dr. Jowett also details the operational mechanics of the COMPASS model, highlighting seven critical communication strategies designed to proactively sustain long-term partnerships. From managing inevitable conflict with constructive curiosity to navigating the unique advantages and pitfalls of atypical or remote coaching relationships, this conversation provides a definitive blueprint for anyone looking to optimize collaborative output, manage group hierarchies, and drive performance achievements.

Key Topics Covered:

• The Evolution of Sports Psychology: Transitioning from individual, intrapersonal metrics like personal anxiety to systemic, interpersonal dynamics.
• Deconstructing the 3+1 C Framework: Understanding the specific roles that mutual trust, shared goals, role execution, and direct vs. meta-perspectives play in defining relationship health.
• The COMPASS Model Unleashed: How communication acts as the physical fuel that moves a relationship toward its performance targets.
• A Productive Approach to Conflict: Shifting the narrative away from avoidance to utilizing conflict resolution as a mechanism to establish a closer emotional bond.
• Managing Biases and Group Cohesion: Practical strategies for head coaches to recognize personal partiality, enlarge common ground, and scale connectivity across team sports.
• The Modern Coaching Frontier: Navigating the subcultures of performance environments alongside the unique well-being expectations of Gen Z athletes.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this conversation with Rob Tarr, the lessons are grounded in connection, purpose and culture: great leaders create environments where people feel welcomed, understood and eager to return; they build trust by involving the team in defining its own identity; and they sustain performance by linking clear behaviours to shared values such as legacy, communication, impact and relentlessness. Rob’s story also shows that leadership is often shaped by lived experience, resilience and the willingness to turn personal adversity into service for others. His approach reminds us that before correction must come connection, and that the best coaches develop not only athletes, but communities of belonging where people can see what is possible for themselves.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dean Smith is an American Basketball coach who led the the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill men's team for 36 years. When he retired in 1997 he had 879 career victories, which was the NCAA Division I men's basketball record at that time. During his tenure as head coach, North Carolina won two national championships and appeared in 11 Final Fours.

This is a posthmous interview and I used these books to create it.

The Carolina Way: Leadership Lessons from a Life in Coaching

It's How You Play the Game: The 12 Leadership Principles of Dean Smith 

Dean Smith

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we sit down with legendary Icelandic discus thrower and world-renowned throws coach, Vésteinn Hafsteinsson. Having participated in 55 international championship events as either an athlete or a coach, Vésteinn brings an unparalleled depth of strategic experience to the conversation. He shares powerful leadership frameworks built around transparency, long-term multi-cultural collaboration, and elite execution.

Key Takeaways from the Conversation:

• The "Happy Camper" Philosophy: True elite performance is structurally built on social and mental balance. Athletes who cultivate a happy, stable life off the field possess the core calm required to execute under intense pressure on it.
• The Power of a "Normal Day": In highly technical environments, chasing a lifetime personal best during a major event often introduces critical errors. By relying on statistical historical data—specifically an athlete's top 10 performance average—true leaders learn that strategic victory comes from simply executing an "average, normal day" exceptionally well.
• Stepping Back to Let Preparation Work: Twelve weeks prior to a major championship, the technical framework is locked in. A great leader stops over-coaching and shifts strictly into a supportive role of inspiration and motivation, allowing the human brain to focus entirely on executing a single, pre-established objective.
• Prehab Over Rehab: Injuries and operational failures are rarely bad luck; they are almost always the direct byproduct of flawed planning, excessive load distribution, or a failure to follow the program. Success requires 100% compliance with a meticulous long-term plan that incorporates specialists early to protect the asset before a breakdown occurs.
• Leading Multi-Cultural Teams: Having coached elite athletes from over 10 different countries, Vésteinn emphasizes that high-performing diverse groups thrive when problems are addressed directly, everything is put on the table immediately, and absolute code of conduct standards are maintained.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: link

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we sit down with double Olympian, World Champion, and gold-medal-winning rowing coach Tony O'Connor. Tony shares his unique dual perspective as both an elite sports coach and a high school mathematics and physics teacher in New Zealand, revealing why he believes coaching and teaching are fundamentally the same discipline.

Key Discussion Points:

• Teaching Self-Reliance: Tony breaks down his core philosophy: "You teach the person to teach themselves." The goal of a great leader or educator is to leverage the collective experience of the team to the point where the coach becomes redundant.
• The Power of a Blank Canvas: Discover the radical decision Tony and his crew made just four weeks out from the Tokyo Olympics, testing over 2,000 seating permutations to find the mathematically perfect line-up that secured gold by a mere 0.9 seconds.
• Normalizing and Embracing Failure: Learn how Tony deliberately rigs equipment incorrectly or forces his athletes to train badly to strip away the fear of making mistakes, shifting their psychological focus to pure growth and awareness.
• An Irish Calm Under Pressure: Tony recounts the harrowing, behind-the-scenes story of discovering a shattered rudder on the New Zealand boat just 30 minutes before the Olympic final—and why he chose to keep it entirely a secret from his crew.
• The Individual Within the Team: A deep dive into human motivation, establishing trust, and why true caliber lies in a person's moral fiber and decency rather than the accolades they accumulate.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And I'm joined in the discussion by two great coaches.

The first is Valorie Kondos Field. Ms. Val, as she is known, led the UCLA gymnastics team from 1991 to 2019, collecting seven National Championships along the way. She now leads the course "Transformative Coaching: Introduction to Philosophies of Coaching and Leadership" at UCLA.

Kirk Walker, the Associate Head Coach of the UCLA Bruins softball team, has a career that started in 1984 and has contributed to six Women's College World Series championships.

We cover a lot of ground in this podcast, and some of the highlights for me were:

The alter-ego coaches can let their worst side come to the fore. This alter-ego is the person who thinks they have to have all the answers, is black and white on issues, and does not encourage discussion. Keeping this person in check requires you to focus on what success is, and that is Coach Woodens' success: the piece of mind that comes from knowing you did your best and grounding your team in fun.

Using sport as a metaphor to educate people about life supersedes the importance of the X's and O's and wins or losses. Therefore, your role as an educator is your "major mission."

Influencing people is perhaps the fundamental role of leadership, and when you do this, you are educating people.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you; please get in touch with us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website, thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

In this episode, Florida Atlantic University head football coach Tom Herman joins the podcast to unpack the core philosophies that have defined his rapidly rising career. From his early days earning $5,000 a year with a cafeteria meal card to winning a national championship at Ohio State, Herman shares his deep conviction that leadership is rooted in authentic human connection.

He breaks down the "three C's" of trust—character, competency, and connection—and explains why connection is the most critical element for reaching a player's heart. The conversation explores the heavy burden of shifting from an assistant coach who makes suggestions to a head coach who must make hard choices for the greater good of an organization. Herman and the hosts also dive deep into the differences between genetic talent and real culture, sharing powerful insights on why culture will always eat strategy for lunch.

Finally, Herman discusses the necessity of compartmentalization and emotional control in high-pressure environments, arguing that emotion is the enemy of great decision-making. He closes with a powerful reflection on bringing a parental model of unconditional love into his program to hold young men to elite standards.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: link

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, elite swimming coach Fred Vergnoux shares his insights on leading high-performing athletes, the transition from copying others to cultivating intuition, and the realities of guiding individuals through the demanding "tunnel" of Olympic preparation. With a career spanning multiple national programs, Vergnoux reflects on the evolving nature of communication, the importance of holistic athletic development, and why true mentorship requires continuous personal learning.1

Key Leadership and Coaching Insights

• The Role of a Coach as a Guide: Leadership in elite sports requires moving beyond rigid planning to build deep, direct connections with athletes. Vergnoux defines a guide as someone who helps transform an athlete's dream into a concrete, daily reality while clearly explaining the precise choices required to deliver performance at the highest level.1
• Developing Coaching Intuition: True coaching intuition is built through a slow, deliberate accumulation of experience across seasons, training camps, and diverse athlete personalities. This seasoned perspective allows leaders to make critical, human-centric adjustments that software or data spreadsheets cannot predict.1
• Commitment to the Macro Framework: While daily operational adjustments are necessary, leaders must possess the discipline to stick to their broader strategic framework. Deviating too early from a primary plan prevents an accurate, structured analysis of whether eventual success or failure was a result of the strategy itself or the reactive changes made along the way.1
• Holistic Athletic Development: Effective coaching looks beyond immediate specializations. Vergnoux advocates for varied physical education—incorporating weightlifting, running, and cross-country skiing—to build robust capability and overcome the physical limitations of training solely within one's comfort zone.1
• Managing High-Expectation Teams: Leading elite performers means managing individuals who each want undivided focus. Successful leaders learn how to balance these highly driven personalities within a unified team structure, ensuring every individual is pushed outside their comfort zone.1
• The Necessity of Lifelong Mentorship: Great leaders never stop seeking knowledge. Reflecting on advice from legendary mentor Bill Sweetenham that "you don't know what you don't know," Vergnoux emphasizes that coaches must actively pursue guidance from other leaders to protect the integrity of their sport and continuously refine their own style.1

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: link

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And we put this episode together because we wanted to hear from you. If there is a coach who had had an impact on your life then we would like to hear from you. Grab your phone and send us a recording explaining who they are and what they did it that resonated with you and we will put them together into a listener episode.

Send your audio to paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com

 And just before we go the podcast, this episode is dedicated to John Rea who recently passed away. John is the father of Caitie who works with us in the podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shaun is a former Rugby League player and now coach. He started coaching with his old club Wigan in 2003, leading the youth academy team to 7 Academy Grand Finals and 6 League Leaders’ Shields. Then in 2011 he became the clubs Head Coach and went on to win three Super League Grand Finals, a Challenge Cup and a World Club Challenge. In 2020 he was then appointed as the England Rugby League team.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After graduating he spent time as an Assistant at Stony Brook before becoming Head Coach at his alma mater the University of Massachusetts in 1993.

Since then, he has gone to achieve eight NCAA Tournament berths, Eight New England Championships, 4 ECAC Championships, five New England Coach of the Year honors and was named National Coach of the Year in 2006, when he guided the Minutemen to the program's first NCAA Championship Game appearance.

In 2019 he was inducted int the USA Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at thegreatcoachespodcast@gmail.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

On the Great Coaches podcast, Franco Smith speaks from Glasgow during Glasgow Warriors preseason about what separates great coaches: clear beliefs, adaptability, and knowing limitations, drawing on experiences with Rassie Erasmus, Nick Mallett, and Conor O’Shea. He links his early sacrifices as a teacher commuting long distances to a philosophy of discipline, hard work, and avoiding complacency. Reflecting on his first head coach role at Benetton, he describes the challenge of introducing professionalism, intensity, and modern S&C and medical systems in a less professional environment. Smith explains his deliberate “sideways” career moves to learn across cultures and help teams outperform perceived limits by setting big dreams with practical pathways. He discusses using DISC-style personality profiling to communicate under pressure, and outlines values rooted in faith, service, honesty, respect, and shared responsibility. He hopes his legacy is significance—developing better players and people beyond wins and losses.

Q. Do I truly understand my own limitations — and am I strong enough in my beliefs to follow through anyway?

Q. Am I helping the people I lead see that they are better than they think they are — or am I accepting their self-imposed limits?

Q. Am I building people of character — or just producing results?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at thegreatcoachespodcast@gmail.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Book Review: Coaching Lessons on Listening, Communication, and Vulnerability

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it. Jonathan shares his positive review of Owen’s book, praising it as a compelling, quote-filled volume worth keeping on a shelf for wisdom on coaching and leadership. He highlights the strongest takeaway as the connection from sport into teaching, particularly the emphasis on listening, listening and watching, noting this as a fundamental change in Sir Alex Ferguson’s approach as he matured. Jonathan also points to recurring leadership themes drawn from top coaches worldwide—being open to new ideas, communicating well, and showing vulnerability—and admires how the author distilled key insights from many sources into a coherent narrative, suggesting it reflects years of reading and a clear passion for coaching.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shaun Caven joins the Great Coaches podcast from the Gold Coast after a World Cup in Hungary where his athletes won two golds, a silver, a bronze, and multiple A-finals, outlining the high global standard needed to qualify boats for the Paralympics. He shares what distinguishes great coaches—deep athlete connection, relentless learning, and selfless service—and traces his coaching beginnings at 16 in a Scottish club, formal qualification at 18, and a career shaped by UK lottery funding and mentors who emphasized perseverance, individualized planning, and meticulous detail. Shaun discusses building a hybrid club/university/national program in Oklahoma with minimal resources, his entry into para canoe ahead of Rio 2016, and moving to Australia in 2019. He argues trust is similar across para and non-para sport, highlights the Paralympic movement’s perspective, teamwork, and resilience, and defines his legacy as helping athletes in sport and life.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at thegreatcoachespodcast@gmail.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the Great Coaches podcast, Lisa Alexander discusses what surprised her in CODE Sports interviews with elite coaches, especially their willingness to share backstories, off-court lives, and coaching philosophies. She highlights how netball’s volunteer roots foster balanced lives and gratitude, and how modern coaching increasingly prioritizes athlete wellbeing, care, and off-court development as a pathway to performance. Alexander explores unlocking potential through humility and support teams, and explains why top coaches must be politically astute with stakeholders and boards without becoming collateral damage. She argues coaching and leadership skills are increasingly transferable across sports and industries when leaders build strong expert support and mentors. She describes effective decision-making as informed consultation without consensus paralysis, and emphasizes culture narratives like “Sisters In Arms” and season themes as authentic, revisited foundations. Her key leadership lessons: possibility thinking and consistency between words and actions.

You can follow Lisa here:

X

Instagram

LinkedIn

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at thegreatcoachespodcast@gmail.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sjoerd Marijne joins the Great Coaches podcast from the Netherlands, reflecting on his 20+ years in hockey and how he now applies sporting lessons to entrepreneurship, profiling, hockey camps, and events. He says great coaches share three traits: a long-term vision they stick to, authenticity, and making players and staff better through relationships. After being fired by the Dutch federation in 2014–15, he learned to self-reflect, protect his plan, and grow. Taking over India’s women in 2017, he built performance by working backward from an Olympic vision, setting behavior-based goals, confronting players with consequences, and building confidence through small steps. He emphasizes player decision-making via questioning and psychological safety, and describes a Tokyo turning point where he pushed players to take responsibility, refocus on task over outcome, and use ideas like “circles of attention” to stay in the moment, aiming to inspire a broader legacy beyond medals.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at thegreatcoachespodcast@gmail.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

She was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of fame in 1999, was named the Naismith Basketball coach of the century in 2000and in 2012 was awarded the Presidential medal of freedom in 2012. After 38 years leading to Tennessee, she retired from coaching at the age of 59 due to a diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s disease. She would eventually pass away in 2016 at the age of 64.

She is mentioned so frequently by the Basketball coaches that we interview that I have decided to learn more about her life and this led me to put together a posthumous interview with her based on her words. I used 3 books to create this discussion all of which she wrote.

Sum It Up: A Thousand and Ninety-Eight Victories, a Couple of Irrelevant Losses, and a Life in Perspective

Reach for the Summit: The Definite Dozen System for Succeeding at Whatever You Do

Raise the Roof: The Inspiring Inside Story of the Tennessee Lady Vols' Groundbreaking Season in Women's College Basketball 

This episode was fascinating to put together, Pats coaching style was, by her own admission, very challenging and but in the context of her background and the times in which she was coaching I can also understand why it was this way. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at thegreatcoachespodcast@gmail.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alf Galisteo, co-founder of Coerver Coaching, reflects on lessons from elite coaches and mentors including Gerard Houllier (consensus-building and the “I don’t know” learning mindset), Kristine Lilly (the women’s game’s value), Jürgen Klinsmann (the mental component), and Arsène Wenger (emotional intelligence, resilience, and scanning). He recounts how knee injuries ended his playing ambitions, how Stanley Matthews and others pushed him into coaching, and how Bobby Robson’s introduction of Will Curver at Lilleshall shaped Coerver’s focus on the ball and individual development ages 8–14. Drawing on work across many countries—especially Japan—he emphasizes communication through respectful language, silence, body language, and demonstration. He explains small-group play as the real “game where the ball is,” the Coerver Box Trap and possession idea, and how neurologist Dr. Peter Bain validated repetition-to-pressure skill learning and decision-making processes. Galisteo outlines “graduated pressure training,” age-appropriate coaching, talent identification’s luck, and prioritizing game intelligence, redefining youth “winning” as improvement, valuing mistakes, and sustaining love of the game as football’s global language.

 If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

Nell Fortner, head women’s basketball coach at Georgia Tech, reflects on what separates great coaches—competitiveness, detail, and consistent accountability—and how coaches sometimes must normalize competition with athletes. She recounts how moving from Mississippi to Texas after Title IX unlocked team sports, strong female coaching, and a University of Texas scholarship under Jody Conradt, leading to a long coaching career including training with Tara VanDerveer for the 1996 Olympics and coaching Team USA to 2000 Olympic gold in Sydney. Fortner describes the pressure of that role, the power of a clear shared goal, and why pro coaching with the Indiana Fever wasn’t a fit versus college impact. She discusses balancing encouragement with toughness, the difficulty of changing poor attitudes, managing energy through love of the work, lessons from the 2021 NCAA weight-room inequity, mentoring influences, music as therapy, and the legacy of helping players thrive beyond sport.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

In this episode, Alistair McCaw explains leadership identity as how you see yourself and how you want others to perceive you, arguing that leadership growth begins with self-knowledge and that many leaders can describe culture and standards but struggle to define how they lead. Using examples from Pete Carroll and Steve Kerr, he highlights the importance of clarifying principles (like joy) and ensuring they are lived. McCaw outlines five elements of leadership identity—values and beliefs, vibe/energy, interpersonal skills (balancing being liked and respected), communication (the need to over-communicate), and problem-solving/decision-making—and connects decision-making back to values and trust. He recommends self-reflection, seeking feedback, and focusing on 2–3 guiding keywords such as consistency.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the Great Coaches podcast, legendary UCLA volleyball coach Al Scates reflects on influences from Bill Rankin (making practices fun), Colonel Burt DeGroot (discipline and elevating the sport, including prompting Scates to form a college league in 1963), and John Wooden (a teacher’s approach to fundamentals, repetition, and execution over complexity). He discusses Doug Beal’s leadership of the 1984 Olympic gold-medal team and Scates’ own “blue curtain” practice structure, where players competed to move up courts through scored, serve-initiated drills and demanding conditioning, creating performance pressure and preventing entitlement even during championship three-peats. Scates explains keeping distance to stay objective, using one core team rule (“don’t embarrass the team or university”), communicating tactics via hand signals, and helping grow volleyball by drawing 5,000 fans to Pauley Pavilion, contributing to volleyball becoming an NCAA sport in 1970, while building a wide coaching tree and writing nine volleyball books.

Q. Where is the line between being close enough to inspire and far enough to be objective?

Q. Are you overcomplicating something that only needs to be done well?

Q. What would it look like to build a culture where standards carry themselves?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at thegreatcoachespodcast@gmail.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bill is an Australian swimming coach, who first started training athletes in the 1970’s in the rural Australian town of Mount Isa. His coaching career progressed quickly and he coached at his first Olympian in 1976. His swimmers have delivered 27 Olympic and World Championship medals and have broken 9 world records.

I first interviewed Bill in early 2022, and the discussion was a complete masterclass. He talked about meeting Nelson Mandela and the Great Boxing coach, Angelo Dundee. As well as sharing insights from his long and successful career. We stayed in contact after that interview, and Bill would occasionally add me to emails that he sent to friends containing his observations on sport and life. There was one particularly special one he shared which was a book he had written for his grandchildren after visiting Africa.

I recently had the opportunity to visit the part of Australia where Bill lives and I asked him if he would be open to another interview, where we could discuss some of the ideas he had shared in those emails with me. Todays podcast is that conversation recorded in June 2024. We cover mental health, team collaboration and the value of volunteering. Bill was very open and introspective as he was in the throws of finishing a book called ignorance screams whilst wisdom listens. It was agreat experience for me to spend this time with Bill and I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did,

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at thegreatcoachespodcast@gmail.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

On the Great Coaches podcast, Paul speaks with Olympic gold medal–winning hockey coach Barry Dancer from Queensland about what separates great coaches: strong athlete relationships, deep sport knowledge, clear vision, purpose, work ethic, courage in hard decisions, and continual learning. Dancer explains how his Ipswich sporting community shaped his values, how teaching and early coaching led to full-time roles, and how his first head-coach job exposed gaps in management, culture-building, staff recruitment, and “managing up.” He describes the head coach as a facilitator focused on helping individuals and teams grow and become self-directing, balancing history and belonging with a “look forever forward” mindset. He reflects on not undermining athlete confidence in competition, and shares lessons on stress, burnout, delegation, breaks, and life balance.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alistair McCaw joins Paul on the Great Coaches podcast to discuss his seventh book, Mindset Is Your Superpower, and the leadership lessons behind elite performance. McCaw shares how an early school experience fueled his belief in self-worth, clarifies he finished second at the duathlon world championship, and argues consistency is the “secret sauce” separating good from great, including consistency in words that builds trust. He recalls Serena Williams practicing at 6:30 a.m. as an example of commitment, and highlights Nick Bollettieri’s passion, authenticity, people skills, optimism, motivational impact, and habit of making siblings feel valued. McCaw outlines focusing on controllables vs uncontrollables, improving self-talk with a five-second reset (“forget and focus”), Coach K’s emphasis on adapting to change, three nightly reflection questions, and Erik Spoelstra’s rise through discipline, work ethic, and enthusiasm.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shane is an American Football Coach. He started as a coach in 2000 after finishing as player with Virginia Tech. He then held positions with the University of Tennessee, Mississippi State, the University of Georgia and then University of Oklahoma where they won 3 Big 12 Championships. He was then appointed head Coach for the University of South Carolina In 2020. IN his first year he won the Duke's Mayo Bowl and is the first South Carolina coach to back-to-back games against top 10 teams.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

In this episode of The Great Coaches Podcast, legendary tennis coach Rick Macci and neurologist Dr. Nivedita Uberoi Jerath discuss their book A Billion Dollar Mind: A Practical Guide to the Game of Life and why mental strength, self-talk, and environment shape performance in sport and life. They explore how Macci coaches beyond technique by building courage and confidence, using consistent positivity, motivational “Macisms,” journaling, gratitude, and visualization, and by helping athletes handle pressure and key moments. Dr. Neva translates these principles into patient care through reframing, humor, gratitude, and techniques to interrupt negative thinking loops, including affirmations, smiling, and journaling. They emphasize parents supporting kids as “kids first,” the importance of self-awareness and time alone, and legacies rooted in changing lives rather than accomplishments.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

On the Great Coaches podcast, Gail Goestenkors (speaking from Michigan while consulting for the University of Kentucky) reflects on lessons from elite coaches she worked with—Marsha Reall, Lynn Dunn, Van Chancellor, and Anne Donovan—and opponents Pat Summitt and Geno Auriemma, emphasizing that winning can come from very different styles but teams must reflect the head coach’s authentic identity. She describes early struggles at Duke trying to coach like her mentor before learning to be herself, and shares mentoring principles of trust, clear communication, and delivering hard truths in a way people can hear. Goestenkors explains using mission statements (including “play harder and play smarter”), empowering staff and players through delegation, questions, player-led drills and scouting reports, and modeling accountability by apologizing after mistakes. She discusses building deeper relationships via one-on-one conversations and journaling prompts, managing pressure and energy with balance and planned time off, game debrief routines, discomfort with individual awards, and a legacy of love, care, and integrity.

Q. Am I leading as my authentic self, or am I trying to be someone I'm not?

Q. Where am I holding on too tightly, and what would happen if I empowered others more?

Q. What is the pressure I put on myself costing me — and the people I lead?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Great Coaches podcast interviews Australian rules football coach Alan McConnell, emphasizing that leadership has no algorithm and exploring how coaches lead through people, fundamentals, and shared purpose. McConnell reflects on lessons from working with Kevin Sheedy (innovation and loyalty) and Mark Thompson (teaching ability, belief, and patience), and traces his journey from country football to playing and then coaching, shaped by an influential under-19s mentor and a desire to be genuine, challenging, and supportive. He describes coaching Fitzroy’s final AFL games amid dysfunction, limited resources, splintered player interests, and political stakeholder pressure, highlighting the importance of connection, standards, and the symbolic power of the jumper as representing people and community. He discusses developing elite youth at the AIS by tailoring opportunity and safe learning to individuals within teams, building the GWS Giants through strong early list decisions and long-term leadership, adapting programs when coaching AFLW, and the need for belonging to enable performance. McConnell also shares insights from coaching Cora Staunton’s transition and the tragic death of player Jacinda Barclay, noting systemic gaps in mental-health support and the importance of proactive check-ins. He concludes hoping his contribution made others’ lives better, despite frustration at limited trophies, and is recognized with the 2022 Neil Danaher Lifetime Achievement Award.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David at Senior Lecturer in Sport Coaching at ARU in Cambridge in the UK. We unpack the background of both coaches and how it shaped who their style, critical incidents in their careers and the key lessons that come out of their journeys. We have had Dr David on before and he always brings an interviewing perspective to the aer ans science of elite level coaching. And to that end, listen out for his thoughts on hubris syndrome towards the end of the podcast.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

On the Great Coaches podcast, Andrej Lemanis joins from Chiba, Japan, where he is in his third season coaching Altia Chiba, a new club aiming for promotion to Japan’s B1 after winning B3 and falling short in the B2 semifinals.

Lemanis reflects on lessons from coaches like Brian Goorjian and Brett Brown, emphasizing that great coaches are authentic, consistent, and trust-building rather than imitative. He describes how his father’s WWII refugee journey shaped a process-focused, resilient leadership style, and explains the New Zealand Breakers’ multi-year strategic plan under owners Paul and Liz Blackwell, including academy investment and improved recruiting, that helped underpin later championships.

He outlines why coaching is fundamentally influence and connection, how “giving up control” through player engagement increased accountability, and how skill acquisition principles led him to design game-relevant, adaptive practice environments. He also discusses the drawbacks of win-at-all-costs pressure, communication challenges in Japan, and the legacy goal of making a positive difference in players’ lives.

Q. Are you being who you truly are, or who you think you should be?

Q. What could you gain by letting go of control?

Q. When pressure mounts, do you focus on the process or the outcome?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And I am joined for the discussion by my friend Murray Noble who is the President of the Melbourne Baseball club and Dr Troy Urdhal who has just written a terrific book called Chasing Influence. The books is half story and half reflection on his learning as an educator and coach, with a deep-rooted passion for inspiring positive change in the lives of others. Troy has a doctorate in Educational Leadership and boasts over two decades of experience in leadership and coaching in the U.S. 

Troy's details are:

Substack: www.chasing-influence.com

X: @TroyUrdahl

X: @chaseinfluence

email: troyurdahl@chasing-influence.com 

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

In this Great Coaches podcast episode, Wellington-based cricket coach Glenn Pocknell discusses what sets great coaches apart: quickly reading an environment and adapting style to what the group needs. He shares how a 10-year plan—kept visible and shared for accountability—helped him move from factory work to coaching at Wellington, and how leaving his comfort zone overseas strengthened his calm, considered leadership. Pocknell explains transitioning from long-time assistant to head coach by staying authentic, and bringing team values to life through player-led examples, past-player stories, and Basin Reserve history. He recounts being called up to coach the Black Caps for Bangladesh and Pakistan tours. Key themes include intentional language (avoiding “why,” reducing judgment), pressure-based training for mind management, balancing data with observation, vision and peripheral-awareness drills with an optometrist, tools to counter batsmen’s negative self-talk, and his legacy focus on enjoyable experiences and adapting to individual needs.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I have been looking forward to getting Dr David and Ms Val together for a long time now to talk about the Great Coaches they lecture on in their programs and today is a master class in what they have learnt on their teaching journeys.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

He was the first manager of an English team to win the European Cup which he did in 1968. As a player he won the FA cup with Manchester City and as Manager, won it twice. He also won the League title on 5 occasions. But as you will hear in this podcast, it’s not necessarily the titles that make him a Great Coach.

It’s the way he helped Manchester rebuild after the second world war. And then, the way he and his team responded to the tragic events of 1958. When the team were traveling home from a European Cup match when their plane crashed on the runway. In total 23 people died, including 8 Manchester United payers, while 2 other players were injured so badly they never played again.

Matt Busby died in 1994, and in this episode, I am going to create a posthumous discussion with him based on his words as read by a voice actor. I used 3 books to create this discussion, 2 of which he wrote.

Sir Matt Busby by Patrick Barclay

Soccer At The Top: My Life in Football by Matt Busby

Matt Busby My Story as told to David R. Jack

This episode was challenging to put together, but it was also fascinating given the present state of his beloved Manchester United in 2024 season and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And I am joined for the discussion by 3 Dr’s.

Dr. Michael Mantell who among many things has been the Chief Psychologist for San Diego’s Children’s Hospital and the San Diego Police Department, as well as working with elite athletes.

Website:

https://drmichaelmantell.com/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmichaelmantell

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/drmichaelmantell/

Email:

drmantell@me.com

Dr. Darin Davidson, an Orthopedic surgeon who also coaches professionals in high demand, high pressure environments.

Website:

www.darindavidson.com

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/darin-davidson-md-mhsc-frcsc-1478a974

Email:

darin@darindavidson.com

And Dr. Brendan Meany a sport and performance psychology, whose work focuses on optimizing individual and group performance

Website:

UpDocYoga.com

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendan-meany-edd-54a99393/

Email:

brendanmeany44@gmail.com

Together they are known as the performance doctors and pool their talents to help teams and individuals improve their emotional control.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

She coached for 25 seasons at the college level, winning 447 games and going to the NCAA championships on 7 occasions. She then went on to be first coach and GM of the Seattle Storm in the WNBA, bringing superstars Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird into the team. In 2009 she was then appointed head coach of the Indiana Fever, and in 2012 that team go on to win the WNBA championship.

She has also coached at the Olympics and World Championships with the USA women's team. Has been named coach of the year on 4 occasions and is a member of seven different athletic halls of fame.

At 74 years of age she has now returned to the Indiana Fever as the GM.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

This episode of Lessons from the Great Coaches distills insights from 200+ coaching interviews into four groups of leadership traits: people, culture, learning, and performance, introduced through clips from coaches including Thomas Frank, Rick Charlesworth, Jenny Boucek, Alan Knight, Sean Dyche, Jeff Traylor, Doug Beal, Frank Dick, Pokey Chapman, Steve Ban, Neil Craig, and Helene Wilson. The traits emphasize care and challenge, meeting people where they are, using questions, and reframing thoughts; building culture through shared vision, team-created values and behaviors, role modeling, and regular reviews; learning faster than change via curiosity, networks, development plans, and self-reflection without rumination; and improving leader performance through a written philosophy, values clarity, and mentors. The episode also shares a free, anonymous 20-question diagnostic linked in the show notes to compare leadership style with great coaches.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

On the Great Coaches podcast, Ante Milicic joins from Zagreb, Croatia, discussing his ongoing consultancy work and reflecting on lessons from coaching under figures like Ange Postecoglou, Toni Popovic, Bert van Marwijk, John van ’t Schip, and Jan Versleijen. He says great coaches are defined by consistently high standards, especially during long, high-pressure tournaments like World Cups. Milicic links his leadership to an immigrant upbringing centered on hard work, and explains how unfulfilled playing potential shaped his approach to mentoring players through motivation, mentorship, and environment. He describes learning cross-cultural communication abroad, developing calm decision-making through experience, and adapting to differences between coaching men and women, emphasizing belonging with female teams. He details building Macarthur FC’s culture from scratch through recruiting “good people,” and describes taking over the Matildas close to a World Cup via intensive preparation and staff alignment. He also explains resigning from Macarthur after 14 years without a break, COVID disruptions, and his father’s death, prioritizing recovery and balance, and notes Croatia’s sporting success despite modest facilities due to mentality and patriotism.

Q. Where am I letting inconsistency undermine the standards I claim to hold?

Q. Am I genuinely acting on the advice of the people around me — or just collecting opinions?

Q. Am I running on empty somewhere, and what's stopping me from admitting it honestly?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

On the Great Coaches podcast, Kennesaw State head coach Brian Bohannon discusses leading large teams through a clear, repeatedly communicated vision, emphasizing relationships, alignment through staff, and continual learning. He reflects on his background growing up around his father’s coaching and 16 years working under Paul Johnson, and explains that the biggest head-coaching shock is the constant volume of decisions. Bohannon recounts launching Kennesaw State football from scratch in 2013 and building it into a record-setting startup program, crediting intentional hiring, recruiting, and culture over scheme. He describes the program’s EAT mantra—effort, attitude, toughness—and defines toughness as primarily mental, built through adversity and focus regardless of circumstances. He outlines goals like protecting home field, pursuing championships, fostering unselfishness, adapting communication post-COVID, and leaving a legacy of doing things the right way on and off the field.

Q. Am I a "have-to" leader or a "want-to" leader — and which am I creating around me?

Q. When was the last time I celebrated a win instead of immediately moving to the next thing?

Q. Is my leadership built on culture or on scheme?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

On the Great Coaches podcast, Mike Blomgren joins Paul and co-host Hugh McCutcheon to discuss lessons from coaches he has worked with, emphasizing that great coaches are genuine, know their strengths, and create environments where people want to be. Blomgren shares why he entered coaching after a transformative high school experience, and how he sustains energy through passion, enthusiasm, and intentionally “making the weather.” He explains leading smart athletes through questioning and empowerment, and unpacks “intellectual brutality” as real-time decision-making paired with physical play. The conversation covers setting clear standards, building connectivity across a large program through meals, cross-staff small groups, and player-led “skill sessions,” and recruiting for smart, tough, competitive people who fit the “submarine.” Blomgren outlines Rice’s mission—play great football and graduate with a world-class degree—along with resilience, optimism, mentorship, and handling external criticism by focusing on those inside the building.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kevin is an American Basketball coach.

He started coaching in 1978 progressing through assistant roles to become the Head coach of Belmont Abbey College. He then went on to lead the lead Washington State University and then the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

In 2003 he was Nike’s Basketball National Director of Skills and through that role met Doc Rivers who invited him to become an Assistant with the Boston Celtics. That team went on to win the 2008 NBA championship. These days Kevin is an in demand public speaker and the author of the terrific book: Why the Best Are the Best: 25 Powerful Words That Impact, Inspire, and Define Champions

Some of the key highlights are:

• How he believes that the most important question great teams challenge themselves with is, what are you willing to sacrifice for this group? And how sacrifice is not just about what you give up, but rather what you choose to do for someone else.
•  The acronym TIPS he uses to illustrate what all Teams whether in the sporting or corporate world need to do to be at their best. T stands for Truth which is the most important element, next is Intentional which he expands to describe as, what we do intentionally to fulfil our purpose, P stands for Preparation and S for Standards.
•  The way he talks about the concept of Ubuntu which is an African word that embraces 2 key ideas, People are people because of other people and second tenet is, I can only be all I can be if you are all you can be. And the way this idea formed the foundations of the connections within the team.

You can learn more about Thriving Teams at https://thegreatcoachespodcast.com/thriving-teams/

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shane is a former New Zealand hockey player and now coach.

He transitioned into coaching while still playing, and coached teams in Europe before becoming the Belgium Women’s team coach in 2002.

In 2007 he moved back to New Zealand and led the Men's team at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. He then moved back to Belgium winning 2 National titles before becoming the Men's National team coach in 2015, and took them from a world ranking of 15 to #1. Along the way they won silver at the 2016 Olympics, the 2017 and 2019 European Championship, the 2019 and 2020 FIH Pro League. As well as gold at the 2018 Men’s Hockey World Cup, and the 2020 Olympic Games

Some of the key highlights are:

• How the feedback he was given as a player, which was that the selectors thought he liked the idea of playing for New Zealand more than you actually wanted to play for New Zealand, has gone on to to inform the way he gives feedback now in a way that doesn’t deter someone from wanting to be better.
• The processes they have in place to encourage the athletes to develop their self-leadership.
•  The exercise he used to get the players themselves to select the team, and he used this to identify the strengths of each individual and the players within the team who were the glue that kept the group connected.

To find out more about Thriving Teams visit https://thegreatcoachespodcast.com/thriving-teams/

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

On the Great Coaches podcast, Paul and Professor Eric Knight speak with Ben Darwin in Melbourne about why teams succeed or fail, arguing that cohesion—measurable shared understanding built through repeated experience in roles and systems—is more predictive than individual skill. Drawing on his playing and coaching experiences (including the Brumbies and Suntory), Darwin says effective teams can feel like closed shops early, while poorly built teams overly welcome “saviors” and decline. He links stress to ambiguity, emphasizes learning and unlearning under fatigue, warns against excessive change, and distinguishes cohesion from culture as normative behaviors shaped by continuity. He critiques quick-fix team building, highlights attribution bias in judging individuals, discusses internal development versus external hires in succession planning, and explores how stability enables performance and innovation.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

On the Great Coaches podcast, Jill McIntosh joins Paul and Professor Eric Knight from her home in Canberra after returning from Cardiff, where she is coaching the Cardiff Dragons in the UK Super League. Jill reflects on what sets great coaches apart—having a clear plan, a growth mindset, and the ability to execute over multi-year cycles—and explains that elite teams are often separated by psychological strength, respect, and cohesion more than physical preparation. She discusses measuring progress through adherence to standards, low unforced errors, and a “rule of excellence” in training and behavior, plus the importance of clear values and consequences. Jill shares her approach to starting new teams, captaincy qualities, mentors like Joyce Brown, learning through observation and body language, maintaining balance, and why she continues coaching as a challenge and reassurance she can still perform at the top level; Paul and Eric then reflect on excellence, purpose, learning loops, and reading the room.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was an interesting idea that stayed with me afterwards and in early 2023 I found some time to do this.

I looked at models from Coaches, Academics and Consultants. I printed them off and laid them out on a table and started to compare them against the insight database that we have built up. That database has 1500 one to two minute videos from the coaches and is coded into buckets like culture, communication and mental skills. You can find it here: https://thegreatcoachespodcast.com/individual-insights/

The model that I thought best reflected the messages I was hearing from the Great Coaches , was the Thriving Teams model developed by the consultancy Thompson Harrison in conjunction with Oxford professor Robin Dunbar. Their model builds from the idea that organisation only thrive when people do. And they identify six dimensions that enable this; Belonging, Purpose, Connection, Culture, Values and Learning.

In this podcast I will talk about their model and use audio from the Great Coaches to bring it to life.

If you would like to know more about Thriving Teams you can find the information here: https://thegreatcoachespodcast.com/thriving-teams/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Liam played 13 senior games with Tipperary over 10 years. He retired in 1999 and in 2002 began coaching Tipperary youth teams. In 2007 he was appointed senior coach, and in 2010 he led to team to their 26th All Ireland Victory. Liam then took a year break from coaching at the highest level to spend more time with his family, as well as to coach local teams. In 2018 he returned to coach Tipperary and in his 2nd year won the All Ireland final again.

• His challenge on whether you focus on the setback or the bounce back and how this idea flows through his story and the championship teams he has led.
• His belief that a perfect day is when you give to somebody who might never be able to repay it. And his focus as a leader on creating an environment where the person gets to flourish.
• How the great coaches are innovators and focused on creativity so that they can get to the future before anybody else.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

He started coaching in 1975 while teaching at Auckland Grammar school. His coaching and teaching continued and in 1993 he was to win the first of 4 consecutive Provincial Championships with Auckland. In 1996 he resigned as a headmaster to take up full time coaching with the Auckland Blues, leading them to back to back Super 12 titles in 1996 and 1997. He then took on the role as Head Coach of Wales and In 2000 led them to the 6 Nations Championship and the Grand Slam.

While coaching Wales he also led the British and Irish Lions on a tour of Australia. In 2003 he was appointed coach of the All Blacks and went on to lead them to the 2011 World Cup. In 2012 he was awarded a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (KNZM) in services to rugby.[17]

In this terrific interview some of the key highlights are:

• The way the teams culture was built from its purpose which was to be the best sporting team in the world. And the role that humility played in bringing this to life. 
•  How by the time he was appointed All Blacks Coach he had learnt the importance of empowerment and moving from a coach driven environment to a team driven environment. And how this was the catalyst for the leadership groups he put in place.
•  The way the difficult decision he has made in his life have gone on to benefit him in the longer run. And how in his words “’learning about yourself under pressure” has been a key part of his development as a leader.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

On the Great Coaches podcast, Tim Sheens discusses returning to Sydney after years in England, including an interim coaching role at the Wests Tigers, and reflects on what separates great coaches: managing individuals within a team, handling the 24/7 demands and politics of professional sport, and setting an environment players want to be part of. He credits disciplined Catholic schooling for early leadership experience, but explains his approach as being “consistent with treating everybody differently,” adjusting communication, expectations, and discipline by age and experience. Sheens emphasizes recruitment, versatility across positions under salary-cap constraints, and an attacking philosophy—score more points than the opposition—supported by competitive, ball-in-hand training. He also covers developing future coaches, club morale, managing internal factions, public perception, and the emotional toll of coaching across a long career.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some of the highlights of our discussion were:

• His view on the importance of his teams environment teaching life lessons at a critical time in peoples lives.
• The way he talks about balancing optimism and positivity against just cheerleading and the story he shares about rubber wrist bands to illustrate this.
• The importance of removing the worry the players may have about the coaches mood.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

Becky Burleigh joins Paul on The Great Coaches Podcast from Gainesville, Florida to discuss what sets great coaches apart, arguing that people matter more than tactics and that many successes or breakdowns are human issues. She reflects on building Florida’s program (arriving in 1994 and winning the NCAA title in 1998), advising leaders not to put ceilings on themselves and to keep learning to combat burnout by creating bandwidth and aligning self-interest. Burleigh explains the value of conflict for building trust, shares her “quit taking it personally” reminder, and explores emotional control through mindful detachment and the motto “get curious, not furious.” She emphasizes courage, fun, collaboration, alumni connection, and “person over player,” offering a practical way to invest in athletes beyond playing time. She also describes What Drives Winning’s evolving work, including online high-performance coaching courses at the University of Florida and leadership teaching tied to Brett Ledbetter’s books.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

Sean Quirk discusses coaching lessons from mentors like Paul Adams and Keith Bugbee, emphasizing that great coaches prioritize relationships, active listening, and long-term player development. He describes taking over a young Endicott program by writing each player a personal letter and questionnaire, building a “family” culture that helped elevate the team’s national standing. Quirk shares formative experiences including open-heart surgery at 12, becoming a lacrosse goalie, and the impact of losing the 1995 NCAA championship on resilience and coaching perspective. He explains his use of storytelling, defines thriving culture as respect, trust, and accountability, and highlights optimism as a catalyst for change. Quirk reflects on leading the Boston Cannons to a 2020 bubble championship, what he seeks in support staff, and Endicott’s leadership program built around communication, commitment, confidence, and character, aiming for a legacy of positively changed lives.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And Dr David Turner and I are joined for the discussion by Professor Cliff Mallett and Professor Sergio Lara-Bercial who have just written a book called Learning from Serial Winning Coaches based on their research interviewing 17 of these coaches across 10 sports and 10 different countries.

Cliff Mallett is an Olympic and World Championship medal winning coach. He is a distinguished Professor of Sport Psychology and Coaching at the University of Queensland, Australia. And has developed a world-renowned online program in sports coaching and consults nationally and internationally for many elite sporting organisations.

While Sergio is also an international basketball coach who led teams into 4 European Championships. He is a world-renown Professor of Sport Coaching at Leeds Beckett University, England and VP for the International Council for Coaching Excellence. He also conducts applied research in coach development and youth sport and consults globally for organisations such as FIFA, UEFA, FIBA, NIKE and the IOC. 

There are so many great ideas in the interview but a few that stuck with me afterwards were:

•  The idea of connection before correction when it comes to coaching, as you cant teach anyone until you have connected with them and they know you care.
•  The importance of a shared purpose, holding each other accountable and respecting the individual when it comes to building connection within the team.
•  And How the great coaches have a philosophy that contains clear values and principles that they use a framework to guide their work, particularly when they face dilemmas.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

On the Great Coaches podcast, wheelchair rugby coach Kevin Orr joins from Alabama after leading Japan to a bronze medal at the World Championships in Denmark, discussing how great coaches respect athletes, set expectations beyond perceived limits, and maximize human potential. He reflects on being raised alongside his brothers with an “I can” attitude, early sport experiences that focused on ability rather than disability, and founding the Lakeshore Demolition in 1992, building a high-performance culture that also drove players toward work, education, and independence. Orr describes his direct leadership style, being let go from Team USA after losses that helped globalize the sport, learning athlete care and mentorship in wheelchair racing under Peter Eriksson, evolving to delegate more as Canada’s head coach, and managing Japan’s decentralized program from afar while facing recruiting and language challenges. He highlights sport’s power to change expectations, shares a story of a power-chair user gaining independence through rugby, and defines his legacy as mentoring others, advancing the sport (including introducing shot-clock rules), and helping people with disabilities succeed in life as well as competition.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Damian started life as a teacher, but then in his words “took a gamble” and moved into professional coaching. He has now coached teams across multiple countries, in both rugby league, Rugby union, as well as Rugby sevens. He has coached at Club level with the Leeds Rhinos in England’s Super League and was England’s Assistant Coach at the 2000 Rugby League World Cup. In 2015 he became Head Coach of the Samoan National 7s team leading them to a Cup success in Paris. He then took over as Head Coach of the Canadian National 7s team leading them to a historic Cup success in Singapore. He also coached national Rugby 7’s teams of Germany and Kenya.

Damien McGrath: Can You Be Fluent in Success? People, Culture, Confidence and Coaching Across 40 Years

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

Damien McGrath returns to the Great Coaches podcast from the UK to discuss his third book, Can You Be Fluent in Success?, inspired by a friend’s remark about being “fluent in success” after working across continents. McGrath explains how his memories of success are driven by people, and outlines leadership as being a “man for all seasons”: a craftsman, salesman, journeyman, and a noble, authentic communicator. He contrasts followers, adopters, and innovators through the Herbie Flowers “Walk on the Wild Side” bassline story as an example of effective tweaking rather than radical change. He shares the “doubt percentage” idea using data to reduce uncertainty and unlock extra effort, credits Graham Murray’s “please and thank you” standard for building culture, reflects on the authenticity paradox and how confidence helped him lead globally, and describes a “mental highlights reel” for resilience after setbacks. McGrath also summarizes four coaching steps: paint a picture, illustrate how, secure participation, and turn up daily so the culture sustains itself, before advising younger leaders to forge their path through obstacles with support from mentors and friends.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In all she led the team to 9 final fours, 7 championship games and 2 NCAA champion ships in 2001 and 2018.

She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011

and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Legends of Coaching award in 2017.

Some of the highlights include:

• Her thoughts on empowering young women and doing this through a mixture of listening and encouraging them to use their voice to talk about things that are important to them.
•  How believing in people after they fail at something is one of the most important things a leader can do.
•  Her view that women are often not taught that it is not OK to be competitive and ambitious, and the work she does to help women understand that it is OK to be like this on the court.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

Doug MacLean returns to discuss his book, Draft Day: How Hockey Teams Pick Winners or Get Left Behind, which has spent 10 consecutive weeks on Canadian bestseller lists and has gone to a second printing. He explains why winning the draft depends on front-office leadership and an elite global scouting staff, noting the GM rarely makes picks alone and typically follows the scouts’ list. MacLean explores the tension between traditional scouting and analytics, describing analytics as a tool that must be integrated through strong organizational leadership. He shares lessons from Sam Pollock about trading for “futures,” emphasizes that Stanley Cup winners since 1990 (except the most recent) had at least 10 of their own draft picks, and outlines how teams evaluate 18-year-olds by skill and deep character research. He recounts passing on Anze Kopitar for Gilbert Brule and describes the pressures and dynamics at the draft table, plus advice for young players about loving the game, hard work, and the role of parents.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

On the Great Coaches podcast, Paul interviews New Zealand cricket coach Mike Hesson, who shares lessons from coaching internationally and leading Otago and the Black Caps. Hesson says great coaches are authentic, values-led, and build adaptable relationships, using “subtle conversations,” good questions, and silence to help players find their own answers and to know when to intervene. He describes how his mother’s driven, empathetic, fearless approach influenced him to leave his comfort zone, including an ICC role in Argentina. He explains Otago’s turnaround by identifying passionate local talent, recruiting ambitious players, setting clear expectations, and embracing a “misfit” culture, including bringing Brendon McCullum back. With the Black Caps, he observed before making major changes, including changing captain to reset direction, selecting selfless fighters, and focusing on controllables rather than “must-win” pressure. Hesson highlights the value of a trusted peer support network through High Performance Sport New Zealand’s Coach Accelerator Program, discusses giving responsibility at the right time to leaders like McCullum and Glenn Maxwell, and says his desired legacy is creating environments people want to rejoin that make them better players and people.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

Coach Vern Gambetta joins the Great Coaches podcast from Sarasota, Florida, where he’s currently supporting 16-year-old Canadian swimming star Summer McIntosh with dryland and postural “core” work as she builds toward Paris. Reflecting on 50+ years of coaching across sports, Gambetta says great coaches pair deep technical knowledge with strong foundational beliefs and, most importantly, an ability to connect with people—coaching the person, not the event. He shares formative lessons from early success at La Cumbre Junior High, emphasizes raising expectations, focus, consistency, and “preparing the athlete for the path,” not smoothing it. He describes a pivotal movement-analysis insight—rhythm and tempo as the “big dance”—and advocates broad learning from arts and diverse fields. Gambetta reframes mental “toughness” as mental strength, built through daily practice, objective debriefing, and physical preparation, and recounts lessons from working with Monica Seles after trauma and loss. He explains GAIN as an immersive, generalist professional-development network centered on active learning, idea exchange, and deep investment in process, and he hopes his legacy is simply that athletes and colleagues felt he genuinely cared. If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

UNC women’s soccer coach Anson Dorrance joins the Great Coaches podcast from Chapel Hill during spring break to discuss how he built his coaching philosophy by adopting key qualities from mentors, including Dean Smith’s humility and training measurement. He recounts being introduced to soccer in Addis Ababa after a privileged sporting upbringing, and explains that his real expertise is competition: designing environments so competitive that athletes develop a “gift of fury” and the capacity to win. Dorrance describes the “competitive cauldron,” where every practice is recorded, ranked, and now analyzed in minute detail by a student analytics team, providing rapid feedback that drives deliberate practice. He shares a current leadership experiment pairing top and bottom culture performers, and emphasizes principle-centered living, peer-evaluated core values, and a human-development legacy that advances women’s leadership and ethical decision-making.

Q. What am I an expert in?

Q. Am I leading myself before trying to lead others?

Q. Have I built a principle center, or am I living on obedience and comfort?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of the Great Coaches podcast, gymnastics coach and consultant Aimee Boorman joins from Florida to discuss her global clinic work, a book in progress, and a project she believes will change gymnastics. She argues great coaches stay true to their values, remember athletes are humans, and include them in the process through open communication rather than intimidation. Boorman emphasizes protecting athletes’ emotional stability by reading body language, tailoring challenge levels to individuals, and “outsmarting” fear responses by shifting the narrative so athletes choose to engage. She shares strategies for competition calm (treat meets like practice), warns against perfectionism and score-fixation (including prohibiting young gymnasts from looking at scores), and recounts supporting Simone Biles’ decision to skip a camp to safeguard her wellbeing despite consequences. Boorman also discusses appropriate athlete independence, coach-athlete trust in a high-risk sport, handling separations, continual coach education, and the legacy of kindness and joy.

Q. Where in your life or work are you conforming to a "traditional" approach that conflicts with who you truly are — and what would it cost you to stay true to yourself instead?

Q. When you challenge the people you lead or parent, are you calibrating to their individual breaking point — or are you applying a one-size-fits-all standard that risks pushing someone past theirs?

Q. Are you willing to apologize to those you lead when your delivery doesn't match your intent — and what might that vulnerability build in your relationship? 

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, host Paul Barnett chats with former Australian NBL point guard and championship-winning basketball coach Brendan Joyce. With a storied career spanning 13 seasons as a player and decades of head coaching across the NBL (Illawarra Hawks), the Australian Opals, and internationally in Taiwan, Brendan shares hard-won wisdom on building trust, instilling accountability, and managing pressure at the highest level.

Key Discussion Points

• Characteristics of Great Coaches: Exceptional leaders display authentic passion, tactical competency, strong influence, and the courage to hold everyone accountable to avoid "slippage" in standards.
• The Holistic View of the Game: Honoring early pioneer Tom Penrose, Brendan explains the importance of seeing the game holistically to make real-time adjustments on the fly rather than waiting for video review.
• Balancing Process with Creativity: Maintaining a strict process around preparation and execution while empowering players to play to their individual strengths and make the extra pass.
• Rooted in Core Values: How personal upbringing, a strong work ethic, and his grandfather's story as a WWII prisoner of war shaped Brendan’s foundational rule: never give up.
• Building Trust through One-on-One Communication: Utilizing goal sheets and individual meetings to align player ambitions with team needs, establishing the mutual trust required to push athletes past their comfort zones.
• Overcoming Internal Demons: Helping athletes deal with self-criticism, social media noise, and self-doubt by stripping away over-analysis and refocusing on their proven strengths.
• The Illawarra Hawks Championship Journey: Transforming a team into the "Road Warriors" and "Cardiac Kids" by obsessed preparation for close games and handling hostile road environments.
• The Power of Five and Team Chemistry: Harnessing the exponential force of five players connected spiritually and culturally, transcending individual talent through shared international team values.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And we are joined for the conversation by Cody Royle. Cody is an author, podcast host and a Coach of elite level sports coaches and he has just written a fantastic book called a second set of eyes.

Some of the highlights from this interview with Cody are:

• The idea of helping the coaches he works with to in his words Coach free, a state where they can intuitively use their innate knowledge and not be distracted in a game situation.
•  The idea that Coaching high performance knowledge work and there are things you can di to facilitate a better environment for this work.
•  And his own purpose which he describes as wanting to rehumanize coaching

 You can find out more about Cody on his website. He is also very active on Twitter.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, host Paul Barnett sits down with legendary WNBA coach and executive Mike Thibault to unpack a masterclass in leadership, team dynamics, and culture building. Drawing from his storied career across the NBA, the WNBA, USA Basketball, and the CBA, Mike shares hard-won insights on what truly sets elite organizations apart. From managing massive rebuilds to achieving championship glory, this discussion explores the invisible mechanics of sustainable high performance.

Key Discussion Points

• The Anchor of Authenticity: Exceptional coaches identify and remain true to their own unique personalities. Whether lighthearted or serious, establishing an authentic, consistent face day after day is what builds real trust and alignment with your players.
• The True Joy of the Day-to-Day Grind: While winning serves as the final exam, the authentic reward of coaching lies in the quiet, daily process of teaching. True satisfaction comes from helping a player develop a new skill or watching the "light bulb" go on over a difficult concept.
• Cultivating a Family Dynamic: A successful team operates like a family bound by shared camaraderie. Mike shares a profound story of a former player calling him years after retirement from her back porch just to reminisce about the warmth and joy of their journey together.
• The Mandatory Role of Laughter: To prevent teams from becoming overly serious or losing their original passion for the game, leaders must cultivate an environment where people can laugh every day. Injecting humor keeps teams real and maintains an even keel through tense seasons.
• The Experimental Lab of the Minor Leagues: Reflecting on his eight years as head coach, GM, and president of the Omaha Racers, Mike details how running a franchise with limited resources taught him patience, time management, and the flexibility needed to handle constant roster turnover.
• The Reality of Talent and Chemistry: High-performing organizations understand that leadership is ultimately player-led. You cannot win without elite talent, and those great players must be the hardest workers on the team who are entirely willing to share the spotlight and fit the puzzle of team chemistry.
• Radical Radical Honesty: The top attribute for any leader is absolute honesty. Players instinctively know if they are being conned, making it vital to perform constant self-evaluation and deliver straightforward truths regarding skills and expectations.
• Incremental Off-Season Motivation: Pushing through a long off-season requires breaking goals down into marginal gains. By challenging every individual to improve just one specific skill by a few percentage points, the collective group returns significantly stronger.
• Remaining a Lifelong Sponge: True development demands curiosity. Even with decades of elite experience, top-tier leaders must constantly watch others, ask questions, and aggressively hunt for new drills and methodologies to evolve.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Allistair is that rare person who excels across disciplines and industries. In addition to being an author who has sold over 300,000 books, his podcast ranks in the top 1% in the world, and for the last 25 years he has also consulted and worked with Olympic Gold Marriage, Grand Slam Champions, Fortune 500 companies, NCAA Colleges, and Professional sports teams. And you will hear him mention some of the these in this terrific interview.

Allistair also has a fantastic social media presence.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this masterclass of high-performance leadership, Paul Barnett sits down with legendary rowing coach Noel Donaldson, who has guided crews across seven Olympic campaigns. From mentoring Australia's iconic "Oarsome Foursome" to steering New Zealand’s Eric Murray and Hamish Bond through an unmatched 69-race winning streak, Noel delivers a profound analysis of what separates historic coaches from the run-of-the-mill. Drawing from his background in physical education and sports sociology, he outlines the delicate balance between hard data and artistic intuition, the evolution of contemporary athlete management, and the architectural requirements of building a unified team culture.

Key Discussion Points

• The Architecture of Coaching Personalities: Elite coaches rarely fit into standard corporate boxes. Respect often stems from a distinct quirkiness and a strong internal identity, which provides the necessary influence to lead top-tier athletes who are actively searching for leadership.
• Redefining the Paradigm of Winning: Modern high performance requires a transition from the antiquated "win at all costs" methodology toward a contemporary focus on "winning well". While elite champions possess an inherent desire to avoid losing, leaders must navigate campaigns realistically to mitigate collateral damage and preserve mental health.
• Abstract Messaging for Contemporary Learners: The digital transformation of education has fundamentally altered how modern athletes absorb information. Leaders must pivot from direct dictation to becoming active partners in an athlete's learning journey, leveraging visual, abstract storytelling and relatable scenarios to unlock conceptual understanding.
• Data as an Instructional Tool: While metrics and biomechanical data inevitably serve an internal policing function for selection and accountability, they must be communicated to the athlete strictly as an instructional resource. High-resolution data points must be paired with an artful, diagnostic approach to fix technical deficits rather than demoralize the individual.
• The Deliberate Initial Pause: Entering a new high-performance ecosystem demands patience rather than immediate intervention. True strategic alignment requires a leader to sit back, evaluate the comprehensive context, and understand the people before executing critical structural adjustments.
• The "Switch On, Switch Off" Trait: Historic athletes demonstrate a rare ability to exhibit extreme, radical honesty during performance debriefs while maintaining a relaxed, fun-loving identity away from competition. Cultivating this internal behavioral switch protects individuals from the oppressiveness of monotonous elite regimes.
• The Challenge of the Common Good: Managing larger team sizes requires establishing clear, transparent messaging regarding roster rankings and selection priorities. Leaders must cultivate a culture where fierce internal rivals respect and elevate one another for the collective advancement of the program.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aaron a Mental Skills Coach presently working with the Chiefs Rugby and Scotland Rugby. Aaron has also worked  with Hockey New Zealand and New Zealand Football. He also coaches players from the San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks and NY Mets and New Zealand All Blacks. He also coaches corporate leadership teams on creating and maintaining a High Performance working environment. 

You can reach him here: linkedin.com/in/aaron-walsh-561690b0

The key parts of the interview were:

•  How a key part of developing someones mental skills is reshaping or reframing their relationship to pressure.
•  And how he describes his job as a mental skills coach to shrink the gap between someones capability and what they deliver under pressure.
• How a culture is the environment that people experience everyday within the group they belong to.
• Have great coaches and leaders creating social belonging within the team. And to achieve this have  what he calls 3C’s connection, consistency and competency.

If you are interested in improving your own leadership and would like to understand what Executive Coaching entails you can contact me on paul@elevatedleadership.com.au or visit our website elevatedleadership.com.au. We work with business exec's, sports coaches and do some pro bono work with emerging leaders.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

He is presently in his 41st year as coach of the University of California bears. IN that times he has led the team to 23 National Collegiate Championships in 15s, and five national titles in 7s

He has also been named a Living Legend by the Pac-12 Network is a member of U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame and Cal Athletics Hall of Fame.

Jack is a master coach with so many hard won insights. Just a few of them that stayed with me afterwards were:

• The way he talks about mental toughness as being the ability to focus on the next most important thing.
• The mindset he tries to bring into his team of grateful for everything entitled for nothing
• And How he views leadership as a skill not a rank.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Paul Barnett sits down with veteran international volleyball coach and administrator John Kessel. With over 50 years of experience across youth, Olympic, and Paralympic platforms, John unpacks his transformative journey from a "screaming coach" to a master educator focused on human development. He shares deep insights into the psychology of learning, why traditional punishment fails, and how leaders across any discipline can foster a culture that builds lifelong leaders and citizens.

Key Discussion Points

• The Power of Consistency: Reflecting on the greats like Marv Dunphy, Doug Beal, and John Wooden, John notes that elite leaders are defined by their absolute consistency of character and fairness. They are great storytellers who firmly anchor their team's culture.
• Friendships Over Outcomes: Highlighting a lesson from Chinese volleyball legend Lang Ping, John emphasizes that winning and losing are temporary, but friendships last forever. A healthy culture must prioritize human connection over scoreboard anxiety.
• The "Still Learning" Mindset: Adopting Michelangelo's motto at age 87 (Ancora imparo), John describes his evolution from "old John" to "new John". True leadership requires breaking down operational silos and remaining a lifelong learner.
• The Recess Rule and Training Reality: John challenges coaches to move away from rigid, isolated drills and instead let the game teach the game. By maximizing active play and functional contact time (like starting with spiking rather than form passing), coaches keep athletes engaged and joyful.
• Wounds into Wisdom: Drawing from psychologist Daniel Kahneman’s landmark research on Israeli fighter pilots, John discusses "regression to the mean". He explains how leaders are often fooled into thinking punishment works and praise fails, when in reality, human performance naturally fluctuates toward its statistical average.
• Demanding vs. Demeaning: John outlines his transition from a "carpenter" who tries to rigidly build and control players to a "gardener" who nurtures the soil and environment so the plants can naturally thrive.
• Guided Discovery: Real coaching means guiding discovery through thoughtful questioning rather than dictating micro-commands. When an athlete or teammate understands the underlying why, they possess the tool to solve complex technical problems independently.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Long Beach State head men’s volleyball coach Alan Knipe joins the Great Coaches podcast from the Walter Pyramid to discuss what sets elite coaches apart and how leadership shapes performance. He reflects on lessons from Al Scates’ innovation and in-game management, Doug Beal’s supportive, resource-rich leadership, and Karch Kiraly’s focus and culture-building. Knipe describes evolving from “captain” to coach by letting athletes “carry their own luggage,” and explains why rushing to head coach can be risky, emphasizing learning from strong mentors, communication, organization, multitasking, delegation, and saying no. He shares how coaching Team USA (2009–2012) deepened his commitment to intentional culture, rooted in communication, trust, and accountability, including a “bank account” trust model and “Mindset Monday” routines to reset weekly. He advocates focusing on the next point, managing aggression through preparation and restraint, handling conflict with direct honesty, and aims to leave a legacy of helping players “expect greatness” in life beyond volleyball.

Q. Are you carrying your team's luggage for them?

Q. Are you coaching the last point or the next point?

Q. Are you making more deposits than withdrawals in your trust account?

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Allistair is that rare person who excels across disciplines and industries. In addition to being an author who has sold over 300,000 books, his podcast ranks in the top 1% in the world, and for the last 25 years he has also consulted and worked with Olympic Gold Marriage, Grand Slam Champions, Fortune 500 companies, NCAA Colleges, and Professional sports teams. And you will hear him mention some of the these in this terrific interview.

Allistair also has a fantastic social media presence.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Paul Barnett sits down with former Brumbies head coach Dan McKellar to explore the core pillars of elite rugby leadership, culture building, and organizational evolution. From his early days as a young player-coach in Ireland to winning the Super Rugby AU Grand Final, Dan details what separates great leaders from the rest. He shares profound, hard-won insights into pushing through early-season adversity, implementing positional trademarks, and managing the intense demands of modern high-performance sporting environments.

Key Discussion Points

• The Traits of Greatness: The best coaches are defined by a deep curiosity, an insatiable thirst for continuous learning, and a genuine care and connection for their players and staff. At the same time, true leadership demands being direct, upfront, and willing to make unpopular decisions.
• Leading Through Actions: Reflecting on his sudden transition to a player-coach at age 25 in Ireland, Dan highlights why a leader must front up physically and tactically. Dictating standards by saying one thing and doing another instantly destroys the respect of the group.
• Sticking to the Vision: After a tough four-loss opening streak in 2018 with the Brumbies, Dan resisted the urge to revert to a structured, predictable style of play. By trusting the vision, empowering the players, and pushing through structural doubt, the team forged a balanced, championship-winning identity.
• The Pretoria Turning Point: Dan identifies a pivotal 14-man victory against the Bulls in South Africa as the exact moment his squad found its collective confidence and belief, illustrating how adversity can accelerate a team's development.
• The Architecture of Positional Trademarks: To remove ambiguity around selection, the coaching staff established five explicit trademarks for every single position on the field. Celebrating these non-negotiable efforts—like chasing kicks or setting dominant set pieces—keeps players directly accountable.
• The Delusion of Micromanagement: Recruiting high-character staff allows a head coach to delegate with absolute confidence. Escaping the trap of micromanagement frees up vital time to manage relationships with players, corporate sponsors, media, and executive leadership.
• The Broken Window Theory of Sport: Small, off-field corner-cutting—such as leaving dirty dishes or stray water bottles in the team room—inevitably transfers onto the field. Off-field discipline dictates the muscle memory and habits required under high-pressure Saturday night conditions.
• The Professional vs. The Paid Athlete: Dan draws a sharp distinction between individuals who merely receive a paycheck and those who adopt a true professional routine. The truly great teams are built on athletes who master daily preparation, prioritizing deliberate recovery and mental clarity.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr David Turner is a Senior Lecturer in Sports Coaching at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom, where he is a member of the Cambridge Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences. He has been a sports coach and an educator for around 40 years. His research interests are centred around expertise and learning in sports coaching and beyond. He is particularly interested in the use of storytelling to derive and represent the wisdom of great coaches, and has an ongoing project of public talks and articles entitled Learning From Legendary Coaches.

 If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some of the highlights for me were:

• How the great coaches are able to mobilize people and create an environment where people want to keep coming back.
• The importance of having strategic drivers that will drive the vision you have for the club or team,
• The importance of succession planning and proving the right experiences to everyone in the team so that they grow.
• And the story she shares about her daughters experience of not getting on court for the team she plays for, and how this illustrates the way the she approaches learning and helping people reach their potential.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Paul Barnett sits down with Nick Montgomery, former long-standing Sheffield United midfielder and championship-winning head coach of the Central Coast Mariners. Nick reflects on his 15-year playing career in the UK, his life-changing decision to move to Australia in 2012, and his subsequent transition into coaching. He shares profound insights into how he rebuilt the Mariners' academy from scratch, implemented a high-performance culture on the league's smallest budget, and engineered one of football's greatest underdog success stories.

Key Discussion Points

• The Core of Man-Management: Exceptional leaders set themselves apart through their capacity to manage staff, players, and the collective group. Understanding individual psychological profiles allows coaches to tailor their motivation to what makes each person tick.
• Learning From Hard Times: Defeats and relegation battles mold a leader's character far more than immediate success. True culture is tested during low periods, requiring a head coach to maintain rigid standards and avoid losing the locker room.
• Rebuilding From the Ground Up: Nick outlines his work stripping back the Mariners' academy to introduce sports science, sports psychology, and dedicated player support systems to accelerate youth development.
• The Underdog Siege Mentality: Operating with a minimal budget requires instilling an unshakeable belief system. Nick discusses how he challenged his players to reject intimidation when facing well-resourced opponents, reminding them that everyone is human.
• Radical Honesty as Motivation: True cohesion is built on transparent communication. Creating a family environment requires keeping players honest while remaining up-front with them about their performance, whether good, bad, or indifferent.
• Accelerating Youth Development: To prevent entitlement and push young players, leaders must expose them to elite environments early. Overloading their brains with problem-solving tasks forces rapid adaptation to physical and tactical demands.
• The Power of Visualization: Nick shares how he utilized historic imagery and sports psychology to help his team visualize winning the grand final, anchoring their daily work to a concrete ultimate goal.
• Managing the Emotional Rollercoaster: Football is a game of volatile highs and lows. Nick emphasizes the importance of staying emotionally stable, accepting defeats constructively, and moving forward quickly without dwelling on the past.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark is a Mindset coach and works with sporting teams across Australia and his homeland South Africa. His passion is Rugby and he has great energy

and some of the things he said that resonated with me were:

• How he defines mindset as your mental outlook, and how that either helps or hinders your performance in a professional or just a competitive arena.
• The analogy he uses to explain how your mindset is the software that powers your hardware.
• And The interesting link between the collective mantra a team might use and their mindset.

You can reach Mark at https://otmcoaching.com.au/

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

He grew up in England before moving to American for University. There he attended Cal State and was part of their 1992 Championship team and an All American.

He then became an Assistant and Cal State, before becoming a Head Coach at Fort Lewis College. He led that team to 6 Rocky Mountain Championships and the 2006 NCAA division 2 championship. He then moved to the Charlotte 49ers before becoming the Stanford Head Coach in 2011. He has since led the Cardinals to 3 NCAA Championships, as well as 5 straight Pac 12 conference titles.

Some of the key points are:

• How, when coaches hold back on challenging people for fear of over stepping a line they are in fact not helping the athlete become mentally fitter.
•  How the line to which you can challenge people changes with each individual, and so when you're a coach, or you're a leader, the big thing is to create agreed upon lines within the group you have, and then maintain standard to those lines
• How he believes that people are a product of their environment. And he sees the role of the coach to create an environment that shapes people towards the outcome that you want.
• 
  

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Jerry LYNCH received his doctorate in psychology from Penn State University, he is the author of 13 books on coaching, leadership, peak performance, and sports psychology. In the past 30 years alone, he has worked with teams that have been a part of 54 Final Four and 36 National Championship at the collegiate and professional levels.

John O’Sullivan is a former collegiate and professional soccer player and has coached for over 30 years on the youth, high school, and collegiate levels. John has written two bestselling books, he is also the host of one of the world’s top podcasts, The Way of Champions.

Together John and Jerry have written a new book called The Champion Teammate: Timeless Lessons to Connect, Compete and Lead in Sports and Life

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Paul Barnett sits down with UK boxing trainer Joe Gallagher to explore the raw realities of building world-class champions and driving community transformation. From the challenging streets of Wythenshawe, Manchester, to the pinnacle of world boxing, Joe shares a masterclass in work ethic, radical sacrifice, and the unwavering dedication required to lead under pressure. He pulls back the curtain on his unique "siege mentality" gym culture, the high-stakes risk of leaving stable employment for a coaching dream, and his profound mission to empower youth through the Joe Gallagher Academy.

Key Discussion Points

• The Instinct of the Horse Whisperer: Exceptional coaches possess an intangible attention to detail and an innate timing to speak the right words at the exact right moment. Joe highlights that true vision means seeing tactical adjustments and emotional cues that others completely miss.
• Never Write an Underdog Off: Reflecting on having to surrender his own competitive career at age 16 for a manual job, Joe explains why he refuses to judge a young person prematurely. True leadership requires recognizing "grit" and giving people the grace to mature through distractions.
• The High-Wire Walk of Sacrificial Commitment: Moving from a steady airport job with private healthcare to full-time coaching meant operating entirely without a safety net. Joe reflects openly on the heavy personal toll and financial strain required to build a world-class training environment.
• The Equalizing Month-Long Trial: To maintain absolute cultural integrity, every athlete—regardless of status—must complete a one-month trial. From elite world champions like Paul Butler and Natasha Jonas to unproven prospects, everyone is treated identically to protect the gym from destructive egos.
• A Siege Mentality Built on Accountability: Leading 14 to 15 professional fighters means coaching is a 24/7, year-round commitment that supersedes personal events. Success in a results-based business demands that the coach always protects the athlete's back, prioritizing titles over social popularity.
• The Joe Gallagher Academy Legacy: Launched in 2018, the academy creates a vital educational pathway for 16-to-19-year-olds to achieve core qualifications while training in combat sports. By exposing students to new environments, from Barcelona to Tenerife, the program intentionally flips an internal switch to expand their vision of life.
• Rebuilding Community Ecosystems: Joe advocates passionately for the return of local youth clubs to combat modern isolation and depression. True leadership means offering physical spaces where young people learn to communicate, socialize, and thrive through structured sport.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dean has worked with an amazing number of elite sporting clubs such as RUGBY AUSTRALIA, Japan Rugby and England Rugby, The Rugby league teams: Brisbane, Melbourne, Newcastle and Canberra and the Australian Rules Football teams, Essendon, and Adelaide, as well as the Australian netball team.

He has also written and published extensively on topics related to strength and physical conditioning. He is a true authority on this important element elite level sporting teams.

Dean can be reached through his website: https://www.atletico.com.au/

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us

through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, host Paul Barnett sits down with legendary University of Nebraska softball coach Rhonda Revelle to explore a career defined by longevity, self-reflection, and over 1,000 victories. Rhonda shares how her early days as a nine-year-old bat girl writing lineups on napkins blossomed into a 31-season coaching tenure built on empowering young athletes. She provides deep, actionable insights into her philosophy of leading from the inside out, leveraging sports psychology to navigate program down cycles, and the vital role of consistent, transparent feedback.

Key Discussion Points

• The Essence of Great Coaching: Reflecting on her time with mentors like Kathy Strahan and Mike Candrea, Rhonda highlights that exceptional leaders avoid micromanagement, empower their staff to grow, and embody a commitment to being lifelong learners.
• Mastery of Self: True leadership requires intense self-awareness. Rhonda outlines her daily check-ins across four distinct pillars—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual—to keep her internal equilibrium aligned in a high-stakes, scoreboard-driven environment.
• The "See It, Say It" Rule: Drawing from advice given by the late Dr. Hebner, Rhonda explains why leaders must stay within the 20% of people who provide 80% of the feedback. Embracing the mantra "if you see it, say it" removes mystery and prevents negativity from filling the silence.
• Building Player-Empowered Teams: The strongest cultures are player-empowered, not just player-led. Rhonda details how her athletes completely author their own "above the line" and "below the line" standards for competition, relationships, and social behavior.
• Resetting Culture with Fresh Eyes: Coming out of a program down cycle, Rhonda partnered with sports psychologist Dr. Maria Bullock to survey players, tackle hard conversations about embracing roles, and role-play exactly how athletes and coaches prefer to receive critical feedback.
• The Inside-Out Evolution of Leadership: Rhonda opens up about how she refined the three core questions she asks herself daily to ensure her focus remains entirely on helping others, building deep relationships, and choosing love over raw emotion.
• Developing the Person Over the Skillset: Rhonda's advice to young coaches is to prioritize developing themselves as leaders, mentors, and teachers. The sport is ultimately a vehicle to help people grow in life.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.