The Highest Level Podcast with Evan Burk

Brian Decker is the Director of Team Development for the Indianapolis Colts and was previously Commander of Special Forces Assessment and Selection for the U.S. military.  In this conversation, Evan Burk talks to Brian about his model for talent assessment, how character is the bridge between talent and performance, and how the Colts' see the culture of their team as a competitive advantage.  Get...

Kelvin is an 11-year NFL player currently playing for the Arizona Cardinals, and is also a two-time Walter Payton Man of the Year Award nominee for his volunteer and charity work. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Kelvin about his success in professional football despite being an "undersized" NFL Offensive Tackle, the great leadership ability of Mike Tomlin and Todd Bowles, and leaving a...

Steve Mellor is a performance coach, former college swim coach , and host of the Career Competitor podcast. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Steve about his competitive swim career, his transition to becoming a career and executive coach, and setting a minimum standard to achieve sustained success. https://careercompetitor.com/ Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles , to learn about how hi...

Mitch Ford is a former basketball coach with experience working as an NBA player development coach with the Dallas Mavericks and a Front office assistant with the Charlotte Hornets. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Mitch about how a NBA coaching legend helped him get his start in the NBA, working first-hand with great NBA players Dirk Nowitzki and Luka Doncic, and the commonalities among...

Brittni Donaldson is a former NBA assistant coach and data analyst with the Toronto Raptors and currently serves as the Director of Coaching Development for the Hamilton Honey Badgers, and co-founder of Strata Athletics. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Brittni about coaching across genders as a female NBA coach, the factors that are ignored when evaluating NBA talent, and winning an NBA...

Alan Stein Jr. is a speaker, author, and performance coach who spent 15 years working with the highest-performing basketball players on the planet, including NBA superstars Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Kobe Bryant. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Alan about how he embraced being "the warm-up guy" to set the foundation for his career, how great athletes raise their game by focusing on...

Kevin Eastman is an author, speaker and former NBA coach. Kevin has coached the game at the college and professional levels over a career spanning 35+ years, and recently published his first book, Why The Best Are the Best. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Kevin about what he learned working for with Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett's "silent work ethic", the team concept that separated the 200...

Yogi Roth is a storyteller, a Pac-12 Networks college football analyst, former college coach, Award-Winning Filmmaker, Best-Selling Author, World-Traveler and podcast host. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Yogi about what he learned working for Pete Carroll at USC, what separates the great athletes he's worked in his career, and how he elicits a wide-range of emotions through his storyte...

Dr. Rick Sessinghaus is a Mental Performance Coach, Author, Speaker, and Flow Trainer for high performance golfers. He has been a mental performance coach for some of the top amateur golfers and teams in college, and is currently the Swing and Mental coach for one of the top golfers in the world, PGA Tour winner Collin Morikawa. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Rick about his coaching jo...

Ryan Larsen is the head football coach at Carnegie Mellon University. Coach Larsen also worked at Indiana University, Wabash, Rhodes College, and Columbia University. In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Ryan about how his elite organizational skills, creating a culture that is all about the team, and how he evaluates both the person and the player in the recruiting process. Get Evan's book...

Josh Boyd is the Assistant General Manager of the Texas Rangers, where he oversees all functions of pro player evaluation and the R & D department. Boyd has been with the Rangers since 2008 serving in roles within Player Personnel and Pro Scouting, and spent 4 seasons as an area scout with the San Diego Padres. Photo: John Gilchrist (Rotary Club of Park Cities) In this conversation, Evan Burk spea...

Dickey Simpkins is an NBA Scout, TV Analyst, and 3-time World Champion as a former NBA player. He led Providence College to a Big East title his senior year in college, played on 3 championships teams with 4 Hall of Famers on the late 1990's Chicago Bulls, and has served as an NBA scout for the Charlotte Hornets and currently for the Washington Wizards. In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with...

This special edition episode of The Highest Level features a keynote speech I delivered recently at a national leadership conference entitled "The NFL Approach to Building Winning Teams". This speech was the closing keynote at the American Society of Crime Lab Directors national leadership symposium on August 26, 2021 to an audience of leaders and directors in the forensic science community. In th...

Cody Royle is an author, speaker, podcast host and football coach. He served as the head coach of AFL Team Canada, the men's national program for Australian Rules football, and author of the books "The Tough Stuff" and "Where Others Won't" In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Cody about his work as a coach for head coach's, developing traits on high performing teams, and his podcast and boo...

Coach Mark Richt served as the head football coach for the University of Georgia and the University of Miami, as well as a longtime assistant coach for the Florida State University Seminoles under his mentor, Bobby Bowden where he was part of 2 National Championship teams. In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Coach Richt about learning under Hall of Fame coach Bobby Bowden, impactful relati...

Coach Matt Doherty served as the head basketball coach for 4 college programs: Notre Dame, his alma mater North Carolina, FAU, and SMU. He played at the University of North Carolina under legendary head coach Dean Smith and is the author of the book "Rebound: From Pain to Passion". In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Coach Doherty about learning under Dean Smith and Roy Williams, the need...

Jared Sandler is a play-by-play announcer and studio host for MLB's Texas Rangers. Before commentating in Major League Baseball, he broadcasted in the minor leagues and for USC athletics as a college student. In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Jared about his path as a broadcaster, his front row seat on the Pete Carroll era of USC football, and the unique perspective broadcasting gives hi...

Taylor Jenkins is the head coach of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies. Before becoming a head coach, Jenkins cut his teeth as an assistant for the San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks, and Milwaukee Bucks. In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Taylor about developing his coaching voice as a young NBA coach, earning trust and respect in the locker room, and developing relationships that challenge growt...

Michael Lombardi is a former NFL executive, author, and podcast host. His football career spans over 3 decades, where he served as an NFL executive with the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, and Oakland Raiders. He is the Author of the book Gridiron Genius , co-founded and writes for the daily newsletter "The Daily Coach" , and hosts his own podcast "The GM Shuffle" . In...

Blaine Scully is a recently retired professional and international rugby player. His comprehensive leadership experience includes being captain of the United States Rugby team from 2016-2019, co-founding the US Rugby Players Association, working as a broadcast analyst with NBC Sports, and advising a number of sport technology companies. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Blaine about the f...

John Thomas is an executive with the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves, where oversees basketball development for both Minnesota's NBA and WNBA franchises. As a former NBA player, he played for the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Atlanta Hawks, and his hometown Timberwolves, and was a part of the University of Minnesota's Final Four run in the 1997 NCAA Tournament his senior year in college. In this c...

Ronnie Vinklarek is a football coach that has coached at every level of football: NFL, college, and high school. He now works as a speaker and coach, teaching audiences his success principles through the story of his own coaching journey. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Ronnie on his unique family circumstance that influenced his decision to become a coach, what he learned from working...

Jonathan Van Horn is a National Soccer Director for Athletes in Action, where he currently works with college and professional teams on character and team development, and also hosts the SHIFT Podcast, which focuses on assisting athletes through successful transitions in sport and in life. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks to Jonathan about how he started working with athletes early in his car...

Jamey Rootes served as President of the NFL's Houston Texans for 20 seasons. Before joining the Texans, he was president and general manager of the Columbus Crew in the MLS, and recently published his book, "The Winning Game Plan". In this conversation, I talk to Jamey about how to create an identity as a new NFL Franchise, the habits that helped form the winning culture in Houston, and the great...

Brendan Burger is the Director of Equipment for the Los Angeles Rams, and has spent a career working in NFL and college locker rooms with the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Rutgers University, and UCLA. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks to Brendan about leaving college early for his 1st NFL opportunity, developing relationships with Hall of Fame players and great coaches, and the equipment sta...