Building Excellence

#49: Charlie Saxon is a professional golfer currently on the Korn Ferry Tour.  Charlie grew up around the game, as well as playing other sports. His parents were tremendous role models that supported and encouraged him every step of the way. Once Charlie committed himself to playing golf competitively he focused his time on getting better every day.  This enabled him to be recognized as one of the...

#48: Dr. Nathan Baxter and his wife Dianne are the founders of Real Coaching Success and authors of the book Real Coaching Success: What it Takes to Be An Excellent Coach and Build Your Business . and they enjoy equipping others in order to help them further develop in their coaching and mentoring skills and knowledge.  Nathan has been coaching professionally for over 15 years and carries a full l...

#47: Lee Cockerell is the former Executive Vice President of Operations for the Walt Disney World® Resort. “As the Senior Operating Executive for ten years Lee led a team of 40,000 Cast Members and was responsible for the operations of 20 resort hotels, 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, a shopping & entertainment village and the ESPN sports and recreation complex in addition to the ancillary opera...

#46: Chris Lofton is former Kentucky Mr. Basketball, Tennessee Volunteer, SEC Player of the Year, All American, and professional basketball player.  It is easy to see all of the accolades, however what you don't always see is the work put in and the adversity that was overcome to help Chris achieve all of that. Even though he worked hard and was named Mr. Basketball in the state of Kentucky C...

#45: Andrew Denton is a successful business owner, long time elder at Hillsong Church, and founder of Kingdom Builders, who has circled the globe sharing a simple message: inspiring pastors and their congregations to live life on a different level and finance the Kingdom. He's also raised three wonderful, God-fearing children alongside his beautiful bride, Susan. As a kid he wanted to be a pr...

#44: TJ Saint is the Associate Head Coach of the Birmingham Squadron, the affiliate of the New Orleans Pelicans.  TJ grew up in Indiana. From an early age he knew he wanted to play basketball and eventually become a basketball coach. In college he went on to play at Mercer University and eventually Belmont University in Nashville, TN. At Belmont he was able to learn from one of the best coaches in...

#43: National Champion coach and current Baylor men's golf coach, Mike McGraw, shares insight from his experiences, leadership, lessons in excellence, and much more.  Mike grew up in Ponca City where he became an avid student of the game. His parents instilled in him at an early age to always do the right thing and work hard at whatever you do. With a strong work ethic and determination to su...

#42: Co-host of the Dream Big Podcast with Bob Goff and friends and CEO of the You School, Scott Schimmel is focused on helping others build a life of meaning and purpose. He is a speaker, writer, curriculum designer, and consultant, and has spent 20 years studying human flushing in young adults.  Scott grew up in Southern California and went on to attend the University of San Diego. He was on the...

#41: As a NFL player with the Buffalo Bills Jerry started 102 games, but there is much more to the successful stats and accolades he achieved during his football career. It is the story of toughness, commitment, and perseverance. All qualities he learned at a young age from his parents. It is the positive impact he has made on the many players he has coached and also the relationship of being a gr...

#40: Mike Buddie leads the athletic department of the best leadership institution in the world at Army West Point. A former New York Yankee, World Series champion, and 13 year professional baseball player, he has been a part and seen what it takes to lead and build a culture of excellence.  Here are some key points: - Work your but off so that you have no regrets - Priorities & balance (Where...

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. We just wanted to share a few quick questions as we move into the new year and you look to make your New Years resolution and goals.  3 Questions: - What do you want? - Why do you want it? - What are you going to do to get it? - What type of person do you want to be and become in 2022? - What are you thankful for and what have you learn in 2021?

#39: Justin Games ATC, SCAT, is the athletic trainer for the Furman University Paladin men’s basketball and tennis teams. Prior to coming to Furman in 2014, Games served as an outreach athletic trainer for ATI Physical Therapy in Chicago, Ill., for three years, providing athletic training coverage for the athletic teams of Harper College.  He has additional experience as a Clinical Instructor and...

#38: Rob Walton is the Oklahoma State University baseball pitching coach. During his time at OSU Coach Walton has coached 23 All-Big 12 pitchers, three first-team All-Americans, two Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honorees and a first-round Major League Baseball Draft pick. Prior to returning to Stillwater, Walton spent the previous 14 years at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, where he was the Golden...

#37: Starting with the end in mind and what you accept is what you get are all a part of the questions Aaron highlights in today's episode.  Aaron has a unique perspective as he was around Gonzaga basketball in the early years as the culture was being established. From basketball Aaron transitioned into teaching where he ultimately landed at Oklahoma State University. Aaron is currently a  As...

#36: Nate Loenser shares what it means to maximize your abilities, make no excuses, and live life with grace.  Loenser is currently with the University of Nebraska basketball program. Loenser spent five seasons with the Bulls, including three seasons as an assistant coach for Hoiberg and Jim Boylen. He helped develop 2021 NBA all-star Zach Lavine as well as Kris Dunn, Ryan Arcidiacono, Justin Holi...

#35: Dave Owens was hired as the women's bobsled head coach in May 2010 to lead the U.S. team through the 2014 Games. After his collegiate football career at the University of Tulsa and a semi-pro football stint in Europe, Owens competed as an elite bobsled push athlete on the World Cup team for four seasons. He finished as high as fourth in the four-man bobsled 2000 World Championships.  Owe...

#34: Allison Sheffield is a Broker Associate with Chinowth & Cohen Realtors who has personally handled 884 transactions from contract to closing worth over 287 Million in sales volume.  Allison moved to Tulsa with her family when she was 7 years old, graduated from Union Public Schools, received an associates degree from Tulsa Community College, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the...

#33: Former ESPN producer & current host of the Sports Spectrum Podcast shares his story and some of the powerful lessons he has learned along the way.  For 17 years, Jason was an Emmy-Award winning Producer and Senior Manager at ESPN. He has created and produced content for shows such as SportsCenter, Monday Night Football, Mike and Mike in the Morning, Sunday NFL Countdown, College Gameday,...

#32: Jay McAuley is the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Wofford College. A proven leader, Jay talks in depth about what it means to be a great leader, as well as what it takes to build a culture.  Growing up in Georgia Jay grew up in a competitive household. Not only that, but he had two great examples in his parents. He shares what life was like growing up and how sports played an integral pa...

#31: Ben was Seattle Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll's right hand man. From a University of Southern California walk on to the NFL sidelines Ben shares his story of faith & purpose.  As a student at USC Ben wrote for the Daily Trojan. He was focused on pursing a career in journalism. What started as a good idea about documenting what it was like to go through walk on tryouts for the USC...

#30: OSU Baseball All American, Houston Astros draft pick, & 2015 Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, Michael Freeman, shares on developing consistency, building a routine, and just go do it. Many who followed Mike's story could easily believe that he was an overnight sensation, however Mike shares how that is simply not the case. Rather it was a culmination of ruthless consistency to get better...

#29: Keith Chesley is an assistant men's basketball coach at Army West Point. In this show he shares so much from leadership, building a culture, being ready, having a whatever it takes mentality, finding a way, and just figuring it out.  Before getting to West Point he came from James Madison, were he served as the Director of Basketball Operations for the 2020-21 season. In his role, he was...

#28: Jared Gallagher is a dedicated professional in the sports industry with more than a decade of experience across all facets of athletic events.  Jared got his start in the public address booth during his senior year of high school announcing grade school football and high school soccer in his hometown of Owasso, Oklahoma. In the following years, he gained experience in media relations, broadca...

#27: Current Furman Men’s Basketball Chaplin & Pastor of Freedom Church Nate Muse. Nate poses so many great questions to reflect upon. A key concept he focuses on is knowing yourself. Do you know who you are and where you keep your identity? If you don’t know the answer to that question then how can you expect to lead others well? Help dives into some real action steps to get you going and gro...

#26: Head Coach of the Greensboro Swarm, Jordan Surenkamp, on attention to detail, knowing yourself, and getting comfortable being uncomfortable.  Growing up in Indiana, basketball and competition was always a part of Jordan's life. He had the opportunity to play college basketball at Wabash. Upon graduation he went to start his coaching career at South Alabama and then on to the NBA with the...