How Soccer Explains Leadership Podcast

In Episode 52, Paul and Phil recall some of the highlights of the first half of Season 4 and continue their conversation about the leadership genius of Ted Lasso, Coach Beard, and Nate the Great, covering Episodes 7 & 8 of the show. Specifically, they discuss:   Highlights from the interviews we had with Diego Bocanegra, Lance Key, Will Russell, and Tracy Hamm in the first half of Season 4 (2:47)...

In Episode 51, Tracy Hamm, Head Coach of UC Davis Women's Soccer, talks with Phil about her incredible journey to obtaining her UEFA A license and the documentary made about it ("Coach"), crashing big wheels and "pool sharking" as a kid, mentoring, creating and maintaining healthy culture, preventing toxic teams, understanding "the other" and other perspectives, integrity, and how pressure is a pr...

In Episode 50, we are continuing our Fan Favorites series by recasting our interview with Lee Baker, Owner of uScore Soccer and Director of Legacy Soccer Club, who talked with Phil about overcoming hardships, knowing and sticking to your "why," setting and pursuing goals, using soccer as a classroom for life and leadership, modeling ethics and integrity, perspective, mentoring, and sacrificial liv...

In Episode 49, we continue our Fan Favorites Series with our interview with Amanda Cromwell, Head Coach of UCLA Women's Soccer, Former National Team member and coach, former pro footballer, and Olympic Gold Medalist, who talked with Phil about vulnerability, recruiting, pursuing justice, and infectious influence. Specifically, she discusses: Her experience in soccer and leadership from her club ca...

In Episode 48, we are continuing our fan favorites mini-series with a re-cast of our interview with Cori Close, Head Coach of UCLA Women's Basketball, who talked with Phil about lessons she learned from her mentor, John Wooden, her personal "Why," what a broom and a shovel have to do with leadership, her Close Conversations, healthy conflict, gratitude, Championship Level Habits, doing the next ri...

In Episode 47, we are re-casting our episode with Brad Miller, Founder of Soccer Resilience, Clinical Psychologist, and former Wake Forest soccer player, who talks with Phil about the four pillars of soccer resilience, how we can address anxiety and depression in sports, resetting and retraining our brains, fixed vs. growth mindsets, and whether we actually do play like we practice. Specifically,...

In Episode 46, we are re-casting our conversation with Don Williams, Head of Operations for the Americas for Sports Recruiting USA and former coach at all levels of soccer, who talked with Phil about the #1 tool college coaches use to find recruits, how soccer players can find the "right fit," the recruiting implications of the small world of college and pro soccer, "punching coaches in the nose"...

In Episode 45, Will Russell, Founder & CEO of Russell Marketing and Executive Director of Russell Gives Foundation, talks with Phil about his work with Street Soccer USA, lessons he has learned from soccer and Premier League managers, success measures, his "why," and the sacrifices needed to reach elite status. Specifically, Will discusses:   How he developed his passion for soccer and leadership,...

In Episode 44, Lance Key, Head Coach of University of Louisiana at Lafayette Women's Soccer, talks with Phil about overcoming adversity and resilience, his personal "why," stewarding family and team, prioritizing our platforms, creating, communicating, and reinforcing values, and reversing the trend of entitlement. Specifically, Lance discusses: How he developed his passion for soccer and leadersh...

In Episode 43, Diego Bocanegra, Head Coach of University of Houston Women's Soccer, talks with Phil about how his childhood shaped his love for soccer, specialization, how we can give youth sports back to the kids, the state of soccer in America, what elite players have in common, his personal "Why," his new podcast, and what he has learned from the beautiful game that he uses in other areas of li...

In Episode 42, our co-host, Phil Darke, finishes off this offseason's talks by sharing five life lessons we can all learn from the beautiful game and apply in every area of our lives: 1) Maximum effort; 2) Always be on your guard; 3) Be able to make decisions on the fly; 4) Your work is important even if nobody sees it; and 5) Rest is a critical component of success.  Resources and Links from this...

In Episode 41, our next Offseason Talks series has our co-host, Paul Jobson, continuing his conversation with Marci Jobson, former USWNT, professional player, and Division 1 Coach, and mother of 4 boys (and Paul's bride), about the final three pillars of the Warrior Way program: skill, mental toughness, and body readiness.   Resources and Links from this Episode Uncut Video of the Episode HSEL Fac...

In Episode 40, we continue our Offseason Talks series with our co-host, Paul Jobson, talking with Marci Jobson (yes, Paul's bride), former USWNT, professional player, and Division 1 Coach, and mother of 4 boys, about The Warrior Way and its first three pillars: Worship, Work, and Serve.   Resources and Links from this Episode Uncut Video of the Episode HSEL Facebook Group The Warrior Way Program  

In Episode 39, we continue our Offseason Talks series with our co-host, Paul Jobson, talking about why a commitment to communication is a critical component of any healthy team.   Resources and Links from this Episode Uncut Video of the Episode HSEL Facebook Group Phil and HSEL on Clubhouse -- @phildarke Email Phil – phil@howsoccerexplainsleadership.com – to set up a call to discuss how DISC can h...

In Episode 38, we continue our Offseason Talks series with our host, Phil Darke, talking about the life and leadership lessons he learned from the seven rules for life that John Wooden learned from his dad and sought to live out during his time on Earth. We cover the last 4 of the rules in this episode: 4) Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible; 5) Make friendship a fine art; 6) Build...

In Episode 37, we continue our Offseason Talks series with our host, Phil Darke, talking about the life and leadership lessons he learned from the seven rules for life that John Wooden learned from his dad and sought to live out during his time on Earth. We cover the first three of the rules in this episode: 1) Be true to yourself; 2) Make each day a masterpiece; and 3) Help others. Resources and...

In Episode 36, we continue our Offseason Talks series with our host, Phil Darke, talking about the life and leadership lessons he learned from the movie, "Searching for Bobby Fischer." We all have a lot to learn from this movie about chess, as it speaks directly to our coaching, parenting, marriages, and other relationships, and also gives us a practical application for the first three offseason t...

In Episode 35, we continue our Offseason Talks series with our host, Phil Darke, talking about the importance of mentorship in your leadership and every area of your life, particularly how it is virtually impossible to flourish at your fullest without finding trusted mentors and mentoring others. We discuss the concepts of a personal advisory board, constellation mentoring, and 2x2x2 mentoring. Re...

In Episode 34, we continue our Offseason Talks series with our host, Phil Darke, talking about why he believes that understanding and implementing the DISC Model of Human Behavior will help you take a massive step toward a healthy team and healthier life, better understanding of yourself and your players, staff, and volunteers, learning how to resolve conflict, reducing turnover, working better to...

In Episode 33, we are taking a little break from our normal programming to have some offseason talks between Seasons 3 & 4. In these talks, Paul and Phil will be sharing some timeless leadership principles that will help you flourish by knowing and pursuing your purpose, honing your skills, taking your leadership to the next level. In this first offseason talk, Phil shares about how writing your o...

In Episode 32, Paul and Phil recall some of the highlights of the second half of Season 3 and continue their conversation about the leadership genius of Ted Lasso, Coach Beard, and Nate the Great, covering Episodes 5 & 6 of the show. Specifically, they discuss: Highlights from the amazing interviews we had with Cori Close, Greg Rubendall, John Yeager, and Clyde Best in the second half of Season 3...

In Episode 31, Clyde Best, MBE, former player with West Ham United, Feyenoord, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Portland Timbers, and Toronto Blizzard, former youth coach, former Manager of the Bermuda National Team, and member of the Bermuda Hall of Fame, talks with Phil about mentorship, self-awareness, the value of team sports in other areas of life, integrity and doing the "next right thing," the infamous V...

In Episode 30, John Yeager, Author of The Coaching Zone: Next Level Leadership in Sports , Positive Psychology Consultant, and Performance Coach, talks with Phil about his incredible new book, the 3 lenses of concentration, self-awareness and blind spots, harmonious vs. obsessive passion, PsyCap, polarity thinking, cultivating connections, providing effective feedback, overcoming confirmation bias...

In Episode 29, Greg Rubendall, Livermore Fusion Director of Soccer Development and US Soccer Grassroots Coach Educator, talks with Phil about "deep practice," college club soccer, the importance of fundamentals, developing healthy parent-coach communication, controlling the controllables, shaping the culture in a diverse club, overcoming entitlement, speaking the international language of soccer,...

In Episode 28, Cori Close, Head Coach of UCLA Women's Basketball, talks with Phil about lessons she learned from her mentor, John Wooden, her personal "Why," what a broom and a shovel have to do with leadership, her Close Conversations, healthy conflict, gratitude, Championship Level Habits, doing the next right thing, and how work done in the dark gets revealed in the light. Specifically, Cori di...