Sport and the Growing Good

Jeff Staus is a highly successful varsity soccer coach at Arrowhead High School in Wisconsin. He is also the leader of “Let Kids Fly” (LKF), a unique youth soccer program that is rooted in choice, accessibility, limited travel, character development and fun. In the contested space of youth sport, LKF presents an appealing model from which communities throughout the U.S. can learn. In this SGG epis...

Brian Bott is the founder and leader of SportsadvantEdge , a leading athlete development business with multiple locations throughout southern Wisconsin. Brian was previously the strength coach at Wisconsin and he’s worked with elite athletes at multiple levels. In this episode we discussed: 1.  Key influences on Brian: his father, Coach Shelton, Dean Matsche. “You need people you can trust.”...

Jason Wahlers , is Vice President of Communications for the Green Bay Packers. He joined the team in 2011. In addition to overseeing communications, he heads up public affairs and community outreach. Jason joined SGG to share about his background and his leadership work with the Packers. We discussed: 1.  The value of working in minor league baseball. “I had an opportunity to do a little bit...

The long and distinguished leadership story of Fred Glass is well documented. He is widely credited as one of the best athletic directors in Indiana University history. In his forthcoming autobiography , he describes the importance of rooting leadership in clearly defined values. Similar to the great Packers coach Vince Lombardi, Fred’s leadership principles are closely tethered to his Jesuit educ...

Paul Baniel is the Vice President of Finance and Administration of the Green Bay Packers. He’s a veteran of over 35 years in the sports and entertainment industry. Having joined the Packers in 2009, he’s one of the key leaders in guiding the franchise to new heights. Paul joined SGG as we continue our “Running a Championship System” series. We discussed: 1.  The role of sports in his life as...

Gabrielle Valdez-Dow is vice president of marketing and fan engagement for the Green Bay Packers. Her career in sports is long and distinguished, including work with the Baltimore Ravens, Florida Panthers, and AEG. As we continue learning about the multi-level leadership of the Packers, her perspective helps us to better understand the broader organizational context. We discussed: 1.  How liv...

Continuing our Running a Championship System (RCS) series, we are joined by one the key leaders in the Packers organization, Russ Ball . Russ has a long and distinguished record in football – at both college and professional levels. His wise perspectives on leadership, collaboration, and negotiation are honed from years of experience with some of the top coaches and executives in the country. We d...

Since his childhood, Rudy Banyai’s life has been touched by the Packers and other Wisconsin sports teams. His father took him to his first game in 1952. Rudy has worked for the Brewers since 1974 and has been a Packers season ticket holder for 45 years. He also used to work the sidelines when the Packers played at County Stadium. Rudy's son Quinn and the rest of the Banyai family has continued the...

Brian Gutekunst is the general manager of the Packers. A longtime member of the organization, he was named to his current role in 2018. He is one of the team’s key leaders. Brian joined SGG to contribute to our focus on Running a Championship System . We discussed: 1.  Learning the value of competition from his father, who coached at the collegiate level. 2.  His father as a teacher: “He...

Running a Championship System (RCS) continues. Matt LaFleur has served as head coach of the Packers since 2019. Known as a top innovator, Coach LaFleur learned about leadership from his parents and many other top coaches over the years. In this episode of SGG, we discussed: 1.  Core values that he learned from his parents. Integrity. Honesty. 2.  Mike Shanahan: “I’ll never lie to you.” 3...

Continuing our Running a Championship System series, Packers President Mark Murphy, joined SGG to discuss leadership in the Packers organization and beyond. A former NFL all-pro and college athletic director, Mark has led the Packers since 2007. In this SGG episode, we discussed: 1.  Learning from his father’s “pearls of wisdom.” 2.  The value of unstructured play for kids. 3.  A co...

Pat Richter is a legendary athlete and leader in Wisconsin and beyond. While many people first recall his exploits as a multi-sport star and trail-blazing athletic director at the University of Wisconsin, he also has deep ties to Coach Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers franchise, where Pat served on the board of directors . Continuing our Running a Championship System series, Pat joined SGG...

In the first episode of our Running a Championship System (RCS) series, Pulitzer Prize winning writer and Washington Post associate editor David Maraniss joined us to discuss the life and leadership of Vince Lombardi. In this SGG episode, we discussed: 1.  What David knew of Coach Lombardi before beginning the book project. “I wanted to study that tension between his traditionalism and the world t...

Jordi Diaz Gibson is a respected professor at Universitat Ramon Llull in Barcelona, where he teaches and conducts research on leadership, schooling, and social networks. Growing up, he was an elite soccer player, competing at some of the highest national levels. From his office in Barcelona, Jordi joined the SGG podcast. We discussed: 1.  Growing up playing soccer in Barcelona, including the...

Tracy Krueger was a beloved husband, father, teacher, coach, and referee whose impact could be seen throughout the state of Wisconsin. He was widely known to use sports as a vehicle for “growing the good” in the world around him. In this SGG episode, Tracy’s son, Brendan, joined us to reflect upon some memories of his father. We discussed: 1.  The role sports played in Tracy’s life growing up...

Rick Polk is the athletic director at Vincent High School in Milwaukee. He also started the OWN IT mentoring program that aims to support young people in the community and beyond. He’s positively impacted thousands of young people and families over the years. In this SGG episode, we discussed: 1.  Learning life virtues from his parents and other adults. 2.  Growing up on 23rd and Locust...

Ryan Hoover was a wildly successful college and professional basketball player. His career spanned over 20 years in the US and Europe. After retirement, Ryan went on to play a critical role at a leading sports technology company and he still serves as an AAU basketball coach on the Under Armour circuit. In this episode of the SGG podcast, we discussed: 1.  His sports experiences playing growi...

Karissa Niehoff is the executive director of the National Federation of High School Associations. She is a key national leader in promoting robust education-based sports and activities. Karissa is a former athlete, teacher, and coach – with tremendous insights to share. In this SGG episode, we discussed: 1.  The people who influenced her development: parents, coaches, and teachers. 2.  M...

Victor Barnett started the Running Rebels over 40 years ago on an outdoor basketball court in Milwaukee. Today, Victor and Dawn serve as co-executive directors and the Running Rebels has flourished as a robust community organization that includes sports and much, much more. They joined the SGG podcast to discuss: 1.  The origins of the program. Victor: “I always knew I wanted to change the wo...

David Bell is a professor in Kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a leading expert on injuries in youth sports. In this re-edit as part of the special SGG series on youth sports, we discussed: 1.  What should parents and youth coaches know about sport 2.  The impacts of physical activity in youth and young adulthood years. 3.  Why more and more kids are dropping ou...

Derrick Mayes was a great college and NFL football player. But today, much of his energy is directed toward parenting an elite young basketball athlete. He joined the SGG podcast to discuss: 1.  His sports experiences as a youngster—including playing contact football starting in 2nd grade. 2.  “Hindsight (into his own sports experiences) gave me 20-20 vision on how to do things with my s...

Estella Moschkau excelled at basketball at Edgewood HS, Stanford University, and UW-Madison. Her sports journey also included years of AAU basketball at regional and national levels. Reflecting on the lessons she learned across diverse teams and settings, Estella joined the SGG podcast to discuss: 1.  Being placed on the “B” team during her first AAU basketball experience – and the lessons sh...

Devin Cannady starred as a basketball player at Princeton University and is now a pro, with experience in the NBA and G League. Devin is also known for developing Isowdev , an simple yet innovative training platform that aims to increase access to skill development for young people. In this episode of the SGG podcast, we discussed: 1.  Playing multiple sports growing up. 2.  The local AA...

Intro to SGG special series on youth sports. 

Kevin Bullis is the head coach of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s football team, one of the most successful programs in the country. Beyond leading his team to many victories, Coach Bullis has impacted hundreds of lives in a positive fashion. In this episode of the SGG podcast, we discussed: 1.  The impact of his parents who were always “helpers.” 2.  The coaches who influenced...