Way Of Champions Podcast

In Part II of our Masterclass with Mark Bennett, founder of Performance Development Systems, we build upon last week's session and cover how to implement the PDS needs centered approach, how to avoid common mistakes, and how to engage fellow coaches and parents in the process. If you have come here first, we highly recommend starting with episode 267 or some of what we speak about will not make much sense.  Mark Bennett (@PDScoach) has been one of our most popular guests over the years, and has been training, coaching & mentoring individuals and teams since the early 90s, including world and Olympic champions, professional rugby teams, the Cleveland Indians of MLB, and Oklahoma Thunder of the NBA. He joined the British Army in 1983 and passed the world famous Commando course in 1990, and while serving with 29 Commando Regiment as the senior instructor, running the Commando Training Wing, Mark was the first person to initiate structural change to the way soldiers were trained for the commando course. His w

This week we bring you Part I of a two episode masterclass with Mark Bennett (@PDScoach). Mark has been one of our most popular guests over the years, and has been training, coaching & mentoring individuals and teams since the early 90s, including world and Olympic champions, professional rugby teams, the Cleveland Indians of MLB, and Oklahoma Thunder of the NBA. He joined the British Army in 1983 and passed the world famous Commando course in 1990, and while serving with 29 Commando Regiment as the senior instructor, running the Commando Training Wing, Mark was the first person to initiate structural change to the way soldiers were trained for the commando course. His work in this field culminated in the design of the Performance Development Systems; a holistic and robust approach to maximize real world performance for organizations, coaches and athletes. Following several years of running, designing and quality controlling “train the trainer” courses for the Military, Mark turned down promotion in order

This week on the Way of Champions Podcast, we dive into the archives from episode 162 and welcome Chris Armas, currently the assistant coach at Manchester United in the English Premier league. Previously Chris has been the Head coach of Major League Soccer clubs Toronto FC and New York Red Bulls, winning the MLS Supporters Shield with the Red Bulls in 2018. As a player, Armas made 66 appearances with the US National Team,  and was US Soccer’s Player of the Year in 2000. He was named to 6 MLS All Star games and five times was named MLS Best XI. He won the 1998 MLS Championship and 4 US Open Cups with the Chicago Fire. He played 14 professional seasons. John and Chris have known each other nearly 40 years, so this conversation is an invitation to sit in on a dinner between two long-time friends as they talk about dealing with major disappointment, developing athletes that can solve problems, and building a strong culture. Chris shares some incredible stories of coming back from injury and what he admires about

Rob O'Neill (www.RobertJONeill.com) is one of the country’s most highly decorated Navy SEAL combat veterans, involved in our nation’s most strategic military campaigns, including the mission to kill Osama Bin Laden. By the time he was honorably discharged after almost 17 years of service, O’Neill held combat leadership roles in over 400 missions across four different theaters of war. Among his 53 decorations are two Silver Stars, four Bronze Stars with Valor, a Joint Service Commendation Medal with Valor, Joint Service Achievement Medal with Valor and three Presidential Unit citations. O’Neill is the author of The Operator, his New York Times bestselling account of his years as a SEAL and the hunt for Bin Laden. Today, he is a public speaker, security consultant, philanthropist and FOX News contributor. Through his charity, the Special Operators Transition Foundation, O’Neill works to raise awareness and financial support for special operations military personnel making the difficult transition from the battl

Ed Coughlan (@DrSkillAcq) qualified as a sport scientist before specializing on the concept of practice-transfer in his PhD and subsequent research. He is a senior lecturer in applied sport psychology, expertise and coaching science at Munster Technological University, where he is a research lead in the domain of skill acquisition. Edward's work is published in peer-reviewed journals and several coaching science books. He is a regular guest on podcasts, radio & television and national media as a recognized expert in the field of skill acquisition. His consultancy work as a skill acquisition specialist with athletes and coaches reflects his coaching philosophy to coach to the environment and interact through question and challenge to stimulate lasting, successful, robust change in behavior. He is a founding member of Movement & Skill Acquisition Ireland, and has worked with organizations such as UEFA, Chelsea FC, European PGA Tour golfers, rugby and more. In our conversation today we discuss the import

Brad Stevens is the current President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics of the NBA. Prior to that he was head coach of the Celtics, leading them to seven straight playoff appearances and building one of the top teams in the league. He rose to fame as head coach of Butler University, where he led the team to two NCAA Final Fours and set records for most wins in the first three years of coaching, and won numerous coaching accolades along the way. He is widely hailed as being a transformational coach for his players, and our interview certainly supported that belief as we discussed vulnerability, authenticity, and so much more. This interview was recorded as part of our 2021 Way of Champions Virtual Conference, and this week we are opening registration for our 2022 event, to be held June 25-26. Whether you watch it live or watch the recordings, this is going to be an incredible event, as we have lined up the following presenters: Steve Kerr: Golden State Warriors and Team USA Head Coach Acacia Wal

Cara Cocchiarella is a professor in Health and Physical Education at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington and the author of the brand new book Winning Well.  She has a Doctoral degree in Educational Leadership, a Master’s degree in Health and Human Performance, and a Bachelor’s degree in Health and Human Performance and Spanish.  She earned all of her degrees from the University of Montana where she competed as a member of the women’s basketball team.  She is also the founder of Win Win Consulting (www.winwin-consulting.com) Cara’s coaching experience is also extensive and diverse. She has coached basketball, volleyball, track, cross country, football, and golf.  She started her career at the high school level where her teams won numerous district and divisional titles and 6 state championships. At the collegiate level, Cara served as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Gonzaga University and spent three years as the head women’s basketball coach at University of Montana Western. While working with

Ex-Manchester United football player Luke Chadwick played over 460 professional games for clubs such as United, West Ham, Stoke and others before retiring and beginning his coaching journey. Luke was a young boy who dreamed of running out at Old Trafford. But the reality of the pressure of being a professional and everything revolving around winning created an environment that took its toll. His own personal experiences within professional football have served to reinforce his approach to making youth football(soccer) a better experience for kids. He joined the Football Fun Factory as a director in 2019, and his goal is to ensure Football Fun Factory coaches place the emphasis on fun and enjoyment, over technical development and progression and ensure that the children develop a healthy and positive relationship with football that will last a lifetime. In our discussion today we speak about the genius of leaders such as Sir Alex Ferguson and Roy Keane, the dangerous mentality on professional sports in terms o

Dr Martin Toms is a senior lecturer in Sports Coaching in the School of Sport & Exercise Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Birmingham (UK). He has has been involved in sport coaching and development for a number of years, and has experience of teaching in schools, as well as coaching (Professionally) prior to undertaking posts at University. He has researched, presented and published in the area of the sports experiences of young people, and talent and participant development. As a sports ethnographer, he has experience in educational, coaching and club settings.   Dr. Toms also works on the European and International scale with sports organizations (currently leading the UoB partnership with the Sports Authority of India), as well as having worked alongside the PGA for the past 18 years in golf education and development. Dr Toms has maintained his links with grass roots sports clubs in the UK as well. As well as playing, officiating and coaching, he is also active

Juan Gonzalez Mendia is a well known rugby coach and founder of Sudamerica Coaching (@sudcoaching), whose goal is to develop coaches, educators, professionals and volunteers through  education and mentoring programs within their sporting or educational organization, and bringing increasing awareness on  the importance of conscious, caring and people-centered environments. His organization works in 17 countries and with over 90 organizations including  Schools, Clubs, Universities, Regional Unions and National Federations.   Juan's current roles include Director of Rugby Performance at the Ukraine Rugby Federation, Head Coach for the Turkey Rugby Federation,  Coach Developer at the Development Player Pathway at Northampton Saints, Coach Mentor (Level 3 & 4) for the RFU, and World Rugby Coach Mentor. In our discussion today we discuss his coach development work, but then dive into a fascinating talk about engaging parents, building trust, an dhow at his club they do not have coaches, only Facilitators of Lo

Bill Beswick is recognized as a world leader in the field of applied sports psychology and especially renowned for his work with professional elite soccer teams. With an academic background to Masters degree level and experience as Head Coach to England Men’s Basketball Team (Commonwealth Games Gold Medal Winners), Bill was ideally placed to become the first sports psychologist operating fully in English professional soccer. In soccer,  Bill has worked at Derby County, Manchester United, Middlesbrough & Sunderland in the English Premier League and contributes to UEFA Pro Licence award courses for a number of European Football Associations. He has international experience with the England U18 and U21 squads and as Team Psychologist with England Senior Men, FC Twente, and England Rugby.  He also provides mentoring and support to senior rugby union coaches, including supporting England Women’s Rugby coaching team through their 2010 World Cup campaign and is unique in having England international experience a

Wim Van Zwam (www.TwoWayCoaching.com) is the former lead instructor for United States Soccer Federation Pro license, and currently is back in the Netherlands teaching the UEFA A Youth license. He works in a mentorship and instruction role with coaches at the professional academies in the Netherlands such as Ajax, AZ Alkmaar, Go Ahead Eagles and others. He is preparing to teach the UEFA B course for ex-pro players who want to start a coaching career, and since July 2021 he has worked as a coach of coaches for a professional coach and his staff who work at the second tier of pro soccer in the Netherlands. Wim is a wealth of knowledge on mentorship, creating optimal learning environments, and the X's and O's of football (soccer). But more so, he understands the human element of teaching and leading athletes, and is dedicated to helping coaches to see the person in front of them before they see the athlete. We also talk about why every coach needs a mentor, and how powerful it is for a coach to be coached! Connec

Joe Towne (@MeJoeTowne) is an actor, producer, writer and performance coach and mentor for numerous athletes, actors, broadcast professionals and more. His professional journey has taken him from coast to coast and across the Atlantic. He graduated with a BA in Theater from The University of Southern California and interned at 20th Century Fox. Joe then headed back east, where he pursued a career in theater and embarked on a 30-year journey that took him to the UK and back. Along the way, he studied at NYC’s Stella Adler with June Stein and with Gary Austin, founder and creator of The Groundlings. Some of Joe’s most acclaimed roles include an “unfailingly imaginative!” 30-minute Star Wars Trilogy recap that was featured on BBC radio and performed live for George Lucas at Skywalker Ranch, Mr. Pink in Edinburgh Fringe Fest’s highly rated production of Reservoir Dogs and opposite Rebel Wilson in the New Line feature film Isn’t It Romantic. We brought Joe on the podcast because athletes and those who lead them ha

Jack Leggett is currently the head coach of the Team USA 18U National Team baseball coach, and is best known as the former head coach of the Clemson Tigers from 1994 to 2015. While at Clemson his teams made 21 NCAA appearances, 9 Super Regional appearances, and 6 trips to the College World Series. Leggett also  served as head coach for five years at the University of Vermont and nine years at Western Carolina University before arriving at Clemson. His career record as a head coach was 1,332–770 with 26 NCAA Tournament appearances. His 1,332 wins ranks 9th all time for Division 1. Leggett was named Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Coach of the year in 1994, 1995 and 2006. In 1994, his team won 57 games, a record for the second most single-season wins in ACC history. In his career, Leggett coached over 140 professional baseball signees, 9 first rounders, and 25 players who have played in the Major Leagues. Oh yeah, he is also the author of The ABC's of Excellence, his guide to being great at being great. In o

2021 was a tough year for all of us. 2022 is not starting out any easier. So many coaches have told us that they feel exhausted, at wits end, burned out, frustrated, and more. That's why Jerry Lynch and I decided to kick off 2022 with one of our Fireside Chats and to discuss avoiding burnout, finding balance, and not just resetting but re-firing in 2022.  If you are new to our podcast, Dr. Jerry Lynch is our sometime co-host and Founder of Way of Champions. He is the author of 14 books and one of the leading sports and performance psychologists in the world. His teams have won 39 NCAA and Professional sports championships across a variety of sport, and we always love these conversations as they provide such insight and wisdom. This week’s podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sprocket Sports.  Sprocket Sports is a new software platform for youth sports clubs.  Yeah, there are a lot of these systems out there, but Sprocket provides the full enchilada. They give you all the cool front-end stuff to make yo

Dr. Kristen Dieffenbach (@DrDCoachScience) is an associate professor of Athletic Coaching Education, director of the Center for Applied Coaching and Sport Science at West Virginia University and president of the United States Center for Coaching Excellence. She is an Association of Applied Sport Psychology certified consultant, public relations and outreach head on the AASP e-board and president of the United States Center for Coaching Excellence. Dieffenbach is a professional coach with a category 1 (elite) USA Cycling license and Level II endurance specialization from USA Track and Field. She has coached for more than 20 years at the high school, collegiate, recreational and elite levels and works with coaching education at all levels of performance. Dieffenbach's teaching interests include coaching techniques, professional development and professionalism in coaching, ethics and moral development in coaching, coaching theory, training theory, long term athlete development, long term coaching development, co

Nate Baldwin (@NBaldwin75) has nearly 20 years of recreational sports industry experience as an entrepreneur, program administrator, and advocate for inclusive, high quality sport experiences. Nate’s diverse career has spanned from the creation and management of a successful adult recreation organization in Denver, CO, to the revitalization of the Appleton (WI) Parks & Recreation youth sports program, and as a client consultant in technology deployment and program management with registration management platform provider, LeagueApps (NY). He is the Founder of Red Ball Nation, which provides a range of complementary services and programs to help promote systemic change in the delivery of recreational sports programming in the United States and beyond. This episode is a replay of our interview with Nate in 2018 when he was the Sports Director for Appleton, and we discuss how he and his team transformed the programming there, grew participation by leaps and bounds, established core values, and educated paren

Nick Buonocore started The Reformed Sports Project to provide a platform for coaches and athletes from the highest levels to share their perspective and experiences with parents and kids. What started as a a few interviews and some social media posts with quotes from these athletes and parents has turned into a movement, a podcast, and a social media giant. Nick uses his experiences as a former NCAA National Champion baseball player, his adventures coaching and parenting his own children, and his connections in the sports world to bring wisdom from the highest levels of sport down to your local town league.  In our chat today, we discuss sports specialization, finding balance, redefining success, and overcoming the "NCAA D1 or bust" mentality that leads to poor sports experiences, and even worse college athletics choices. Nick is thoughtful, engaging, and passionate about his mission as you will hear.  You can follow their work at: https://reformedsportsproject.com/ Twitter: @reformedsptproj Instagram: @refor

Rob Gray (@ShakeyWaits) is a professor at Arizona State University who has been conducting research on and teaching courses related to perceptual-motor skill for over 25 years. He is also author of the incredible new book How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach and Practice Sports Skills.  He received his MS and PhD from York University in Canada with a focus on the visual control of movement. An important aspect of his work has been applying basic theory to address real-world challenges which he has done in positions with Nissan Motor Corp, the US Air Force, serving as an expert witness for driving accident cases, and consultant roles with several sports teams and organizations. In 2015, he started the Perception & Action Podcast (www.perceptionaction.com) to help bridge the gap between theory and the field. With over 350 episodes and 2 million downloads, it has become a critical resource for individuals working in areas including coaching, talent development, training and rehabilitation.

Raymond Atteveld is a retired professional soccer player, enjoying a long career at stops such as Everton, West Ham and Bristol City in the UK, along with Haarlem, Vitesse and FC Groningen in Holland. He began his coaching journey as an assistant coach at ADO Den Haag, and has since enjoyed head coaching roles in Holland, Cyprus and Israel. He has also spent time as an Academy Director, Technical Director and Performance Director at various clubs, and has been influenced by mentors such as Johann Cruyff, Louis Van Gaal, and many others top coaches. In our conversation today, we discuss his coaching and playing influences, his passion for integrating young players into the first team of professional clubs, and the importance of authenticity in coaching. Atteveld is a coach who has played and coached at the highest level and his insights into the player/coach relationship are fascinating.  This week's podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sprocket Sports.  Sprocket Sports is a new software platform for yo