Way of Champions Podcast

This week on the Way of Champions Podcast, John talks with Jay Dicharry, one of America's leading physical therapists and a board-certified Sports Clinical Specialist. The conversation explores many great topics, including how we shouldn't be teaching running to young children, why cutting volume short but keeping intensity high is a more effective practice strategy, and the importance of understa...

iTunes   -  Spotify   -  Stitcher This week on the Way of Champions Podcast, John talks with Sport Sociologist Jay Coakley, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. The conversation is full of great topics, including why we should punish our kids with conditioning, the three models of youth sports, and the emergence of alternative sports. Highlights from t...

This is a replay of episode 023 . It is so good, we wanted to share it again! What if one of the best basketball coaches in the world told you that doing what you think is best for the culture and the program is more important than winning an NCAA title? Would you be willing to let go of the fallacy of winning for creating a culture that matters? This is exactly what Roy Williams told Jenny Levy i...

We have a treat for you this week!!! This week on the Way of Champions Podcast, John and Jerry have a discussion with 8x NBA Champion player and coach, Steve Kerr. What makes a great coach? How do you build a championship culture? Why should a coach ask their team, "How can I be better for you?" These questions and so many more are answered in this fantastic episode with one of the best coaches in...

This week on the Way of Champions Podcast, John talks with Chris Ritter of Ritter Sports Performance. The conversation is full of great topics, including how to effectively motivate young athletes, bully coaching, and how a coach evolves over time.    Chris Ritter has been coaching and inspiring others for over a decade. RITTER Sports Performance was created out of his desire to empower others to...

This week on the Way of Champions Podcast, John and Jerry talk with Al Huang about how Eastern philosophy meets Western psychology and how it relates to athlete performance. All shares stories about going to work with professional coaches and sports teams, bringing this this message of athleticism and movement and balance. Al and Jerry have written multiple books together, including  Thinking Body...

In this week's episode we are changing it up a little bit. John and James go back a few episodes and discuss some of the major points from each interview. Some of the topics they dive into include what drives kids out of sports, if shaming bd sideline behavior is appropriate, and how to be a great parent/coach. Highlights from the Discussion: How making mistakes and showing vulnerability are valua...

This week on the Way of Champions Podcast, John and Jerry talk with San Jose Earthquakes' Chris Wondolowski on building a warrior culture and becoming the all time leading scorer in MLS history. It is a great episode you are not going to want to miss! Highlights from the Discussion: Jerry and Chris discuss how quickly things improved over the past year How Chris accepted different roles at differe...

"What is the difference between an artist and a coach? At the end of the day, an artist can throw their work away, but a coach cannot." You do not want to miss this interview with Women's National Wrestling Team Head Coach Terry Steiner. We discuss the difference between coaching men and women, how important culture and direct communication is to performance, and how to make a positive influence e...

This week's podcast guest is J.P. Nerbun, mentor, writer, coach, and sports consultant. We dive into the difference between transformational coaching and transactional coaching, why labeling an athlete as "uncoachable" is more of a reflection on the coach than the athlete, and why every coach should be intentional about their "non-negotiables."   JP has coached basketball in Ireland, Lithuania, Te...

How does picking values make us better coaches? What are ways coaches can increase influence? How do we find life balance as a coach? All this and so much more as we welcome back sports psychologist Dr. Jerry Lynch fresh from the 4th annual Way of Champions conference. Jerry has a new book out, culminating five decades of work into one of the bet best on coaching you will ever read. Highlights fro...

This week's podcast guest is Brian Barlow, Oklahoma father and soccer referee Brian Barlow. On his facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/youreoffside/ , Barlow calls out parents who are caught on tape displaying poor sportsmanship and offers $100 to people who submit the videos to bring attention to the pervasive problem of parents acting badly at youth sport games.   Whether you agree with the...

This weekend, US men's national team star Christian Pulisic began his EPL career with Chelsea after his $73 million transfer from Borussia Dortmund to London.   In today's podcast, we speak with his father Mark, a former collegiate and professional player and coach, about a variety of topics, including what it was like to raise Christian, how many times they said no to great opportunities, how the...

In this week's podcast we welcome Dr. Fergus Connolly, one of the world's foremost human performance thought leaders and influencers. Dr. Connolly has applied performance science with leading sports, military, and business teams. He is the only coach to have full times roles in every major sport, including soccer (Liverpool, Bolton Wanderers), professional and college football (San Francisco 49s a...

In this week's podcast we welcome Travis Daugherty, a coach, teacher, speaker, and author of  Hidden Talent: Uncovering What Really Makes a Champion a Champion . We discuss how sports should bring families together, the importance of knowing your "why" as a coach, and why it is crucial to know the difference between talent and ability.   Other Highlights from the Discussion: Making mistake as a yo...

"It's difficult to be a great teammate if you are still focused on yourself," says Dr. Peter Scales, author of Mental and Emotional Training for Tennis . For more than 45 years, Dr. Peter Scales has been a developmental psychologist, researcher, author, and speaker, internationally recognized as one of the world's foremost authorities on the positive development of children and youth. Among other...

Coaches of the future need to be evidence based coaches, according to Dr. Ronald Quinn, our recent guest on the Way of Champions Podcast. Join us as we discuss many topics, including why he chose to focus on youth sports and not coaching professionals, teaching "positions" versus "positioning", and the importance of having a coaching philosophy.    As a coach, Dr. Quinn served as the Xavier Univer...

What does free play have to do with performance? Why does deliberate practice often fail to help a child reach their full potential? Let's find out! Join John and Ted Kroeten, founder of Joy of the People, as they discuss why free play before structure is the best way to help young athletes reach their full potential.    Our guest, Ted Kroeten, leads the way in rethinking and delivering player dev...

How can an Olympic Silver Medal be the greatest and worst moment of your life? This week on the Way of Champions Podcast , we welcome 5x Olympian and current Chair of UK Sport: Dame Katherine Grainger. Dame Katherine is British rower and with five Olympic medals and is Great Britain's most decorated female Olympian.   We dive into many different topics during our time together, including how a kar...

  Tom Byer is a former professional soccer player originally from New York but who is now based in Tokyo, Japan as one of the most decorated and admired grassroots soccer coaches in the Asian region. HIs official title is Tom is the Technical Consultant for the Ministry of Education School Football Campus Program".     In this episode, we discuss ideas about how to create a culture of ever-improvi...

Richard Cheetham MBE is Senior Fellow in Sports Coaching. He recently been awarded the 2018 UK Coaching Coach Developer of the year. Cheetham has worked at the University of Winchester since 2005, following three years spent teaching and coaching in New Zealand.  He has a reputation at national and international level in coach education and development with his work ranging from rugby union to tri...

Meet Trevor Ragan, the guest on this week's Way of Champions Podcast. Trevor is the founder of Train Ugly, and the host of a fantastic podcast called The Learner Lab [link] . This one goes a little over an hour, but we promise it is worth the time! Grab a notebook and a pen, and maybe some coffee or tea. This one is packed with incredible information!   Highlights from the Podcast: The most import...

In this bonus episode, John and Jerry discuss the Way of Champions Conference in Denver, CO on August 2-4.   Visit https://changingthegameproject.com/wocconference  for more information!  WOCERALYBIRD for $100 off ( good until June 15, 2019 ) Discounts for students from 1/2 off  Group discount, 1/2 off with 5 or more coaches Highlights from the Podcast: Why Jerry is learning Spanish Wining an "emp...

Rob is a motivational speaker for "Proactive Coaching". Along with Bruce Brown, Rob uses his speaking skills and "coaching" knowledge to promote the "Proactive Coaching" mission of helping coaches positively impact their athlete's lives. His experience gives him an amazing view at the status of modern day coaching and parenting.   Highlights from the Podcast: Teaching Leadership to Young Athletes...

David Epstein is the author of Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World , and of the New York Times bestseller The Sports Gene . He has master's degrees in environmental science and journalism and has worked as an investigative reporter for ProPublica and a senior writer for Sports Illustrated. He lives in Washington, DC.   Highlights from the Podcast: Min 2: The debate between Epstei...