Library · Topic
Character
Everything in the library on Character — across booklets, articles, videos, and podcasts. Not sure where to start? Ask Bruce.
Video
Walk Away Drill
On practicing — not just preaching — composure under provocation. Topics covered: the realization that coaches explain how to behave when tempers flare,…
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Video
Thematic Approach to Teaching Character - #1 - Character Traits & Quotes
Recorded on a spring day at his Camano Island, Washington home overlooking the bay toward the Cascades, where Proactive hosts its coaching retreats — the…
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Video
Thematic Approach to Teaching Character #3 - Spotlighting
The final segment in his three-part series on teaching character through sport with themes of the week or month (part one: choosing traits and bombarding…
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Video
Thematic Approach to Teaching Character #2 - Presenters
Second in a three-part series on teaching character through sport using a thematic approach (part one covered identifying the character traits your sport…
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Video
Shared Joy
On the two kinds of pride — drawn from the Life Lessons booklet and the Captains and Coaches workshop. Topics covered: the bad kind of pride (arrogance,…
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Video
Overview of Shaping
On shaping — the third stage of teaching a character trait (define, model, shape, reinforce) and the one where coaches start to lose their effectiveness.…
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Video
Life Lessons for Athletes
Recorded in the Proactive guest house on Camano Island, where coaches, team leaders, and athletes come for retreats — introducing the presentation and…
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Video
Life Lessons and Trust
The closing video of a four-part Proactive Coaching mentoring series for teachers, coaches, and school athletic programs (the speaker is not named in the…
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Video
Defining Athletic Attitude
Drawn from the booklet Teach Attitude First and the Power of Your Words presentation — on actually defining the word coaches preach most. Topics covered:…
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Video
Teachable Spirit
Recorded on a beautiful fall day on Camano Island — on one of the first character traits taught in the Life Lessons booklet and presentation, following…
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Video
Selflessness
Selflessness (Short Clip)
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Video
Givers and Takers
On the concept of givers and takers — a presentation he recently delivered to a Division I football team so players could examine themselves, their…
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Video
Discipline
On one more character trait from the booklet, presentation, and DVD Life Lessons for Athletes. Topics covered: why every kid has his own definition of…
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Podcast
Basketball at Its Purest
Trice Ham, national champion wheelchair basketball coach and Team USA staff member, on the day his program’s words stopped matching its results, and building a culture where it’s safe to fail.
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Podcast
Building Protectors
Tim Corbin, head baseball coach at Vanderbilt and 2014 national champion, on why conversations with his daughters reshaped what he asks of his players, and working a team from the inside out.
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Podcast
Sports Doesn’t Teach Character. People Do.
Rob Miller on the research most coaches have never seen — and the four-step model that makes life lessons intentional instead of accidental: define, model, shape, reinforce.
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Podcast
I Joined the Dark Side
Mike Cashman, high school and Division I coach turned basketball official, on the officials shortage, what makes a great one, and the player whose “you’re a liar” changed how he coached.
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Podcast
I Coached Out of Fear of Losing
Kent Shelley, 1,000-plus wins in 34 years at Johnson County Community College, on the season his best talent lost, recruiting heart instead, and using captains as a lifeline.
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Podcast
What George Washington Taught Me About Hiring
Jud Damon, athletic director at Flagler College, on five core covenants across a whole department, the Student Athlete Experience commitment, and hiring for character and competence.
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Podcast
Their Hardest Day, Our Warm-Up
Josh Stewart, head basketball coach at Lodge Grass on the Crow Reservation, tells his own story: Chief Plenty Coups, the name Twice a Leader, his brother’s suicide, and a state title with no timeouts.
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Podcast
Tell Me Who I Am
Jerry Gaines, Virginia Tech’s first African American scholarship athlete, on integrating a high school in 1965, his father’s homemade ballpark, and the question every kid is really asking adults.
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Podcast
So What? The Next Pitch Is Coming.
Heather Tarr, head softball coach at Washington, on losing her starting catcher two weeks before a 23-0 start — and the language that keeps a team playing pitch to pitch.
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Podcast
From the Sidelines to the Sidewalk
Bob Wilson, Hall of Fame athletic director at Vanguard University, on the Gold Pride initiative, a freshman character class, and athletes who compete for something beyond the scoreboard.
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Podcast
I Will Never Forget How Hard This Game Is to Play
Blake Hawksworth, former Cardinals and Dodgers pitcher, on the manager’s line that let a clubhouse exhale, rehab one day at a time, and editing your life to stay on the narrow path.
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Podcast
Talent Sets the Floor, Character Sets the Ceiling
Angus Reid, 13-year CFL center and two-time Grey Cup champion, on durability, dependability, and the 200-plus handwritten letters from his coach that he still keeps.
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Booklet
Teach Attitude First
Developing an “Attitude of Gratitude” in Your Athletes
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Booklet
Daily Character Lessons - Youth Coaches
Daily Character Lessons for Youth Coaches (NAIA Champions of Character)
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Booklet
Life Lessons
This booklet by Bruce E. Brown defines what it means to choose to become an "athlete" — a great teammate — rather than simply being athletic. It works…
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Article
Ethics in Action
The theme is "Ethics in Action" — application, not just theory. When people are on a list applying for a job, or in competition with others for…
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Article
Partnering With Officials Athletes And Parents
This article from Proactive Coaching, written by Mike Morgan of Proactive Coaching LLC, discusses the vital role officials play as "Guardians of the…
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Article
Parents Role In Athletics
This article by Bruce E. Brown, from the Proactive Coaching "Parents and Coaches Working Together" collection, is the first in a series on the parent's…
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Article
Father's Day Message
This article by Bruce E. Brown of Proactive Coaching, titled "A Father's Promise," presents a Father's Day message on parenting an athlete. It shares…
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Article
Are You A Pushover
This article from Proactive Coaching, written by Tim Driver, addresses parents who may be pushovers with their children. Drawing on more than 20 years of…
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Article
A Parent's Wish
This article by Bruce E. Brown of Proactive Coaching, from the "Parents and Coaches Working Together" collection, is a letter written in the voice of…
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Article
21 Rules Of This House
This article from Proactive Coaching, written by guest author Gregg Harris, presents a list of 21 household rules for families. The rules cover obedience,…
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Article
Who Is In Your Team Picture
This article by Bruce E. Brown, from the Proactive Coaching Intentional Coaching collection, reflects on looking back at old team pictures and realizing…
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Article
Whatever It Takes
This article by Bruce E. Brown and Rob Miller of Proactive Coaching LLC cautions leaders about telling athletes to "do whatever it takes to win." It…
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Article
Teaching Character Courage
Teaching Character Through Athletics (Using Themes)
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Article
Sportsmanship
This article by Bruce E. Brown of Proactive Coaching, from the Life Lessons collection, explains how coaches can teach sportsmanship using the same…
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Article
No Refs Now What
This article by Bruce E. Brown and Rob Miller of Proactive Coaching tells the story of a college volleyball match between Wayland Baptist University and…
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Article
Loyalty Story Of Old Man And His Dog
This article from Proactive Coaching tells the story of an old man and his dog walking a country road after death, used as a lesson on loyalty. The man…
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Article
Look Within And Find A Way
This article by Bruce E. Brown of Proactive Coaching, from the Leadership collection, shares a two-step approach to handling challenges that a wise person…
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Article
Key Phrases Life Lessons
This article by Bruce E. Brown collects the key phrases from Proactive Coaching's Life Lessons presentation, delivered to athletes and coaches together.…
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Article
Job Career Or Calling
This article by Bruce E. Brown, from the Proactive Coaching Intentional Coaching #2 collection, challenges coaches to be the coach they would have liked…
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Article
Integrity Justice And Honor
This article by Bruce E. Brown of Proactive Coaching, subtitled "Live and Lead with Honor," explores integrity as a choice of behaviors displayed in…
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Article
Finish What You Start
This article by Bruce E. Brown and Rob Miller, from the Proactive Coaching Life Lessons #1 collection, makes the case that finishing what you start is one…
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Article
Boys, Guys and Men
Boys become men by standing close to a man and having a man walk with them in the transitional stages of their life.
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Article
A Thematic Approach to Teaching Character
Athletics offer the best opportunity in a young person's life to learn honesty, positive discipline, good work habits, confidence, teamwork, and…
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Article
4 Kinds Of Cheering
This article by Bruce E. Brown of Proactive Coaching describes the four kinds of cheering he has observed as a spectator at high school sporting events:…
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Article
10 Thoughts On Character Building
This article by Bruce E. Brown of Proactive Coaching, from the Life Lessons #1 collection, gathers ten thoughts on character building drawn from recent…
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Article
Stand Strong
This article by Bruce E. Brown of Proactive Coaching, from the Leadership collection, shares an extended passage from author Joseph Marshall III in which…
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Article
Service
This article by Bruce E. Brown of Proactive Coaching LLC presents the championship principle of service. It shares Swen Nater's story about 92-year-old…
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Article
Pride
This article by Bruce E. Brown of Proactive Coaching LLC, from the Life Lessons collection, explores the championship principle of pride, titled "Shared…
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Article
Loyalty
This article by Bruce E. Brown of Proactive Coaching, from the Life Lessons #2 collection, presents the championship principle of loyalty, with excerpts…
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Article
Endurance
This article by Bruce E. Brown of Proactive Coaching, from the Life Lessons collection, explores endurance as a character trait required to achieve almost…
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Booklet
Daily Lessons
A Game Plan for Character Development: Daily Character Lessons for High School and College Coaches," written as an NAIA Champions of Character resource.…
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Ask Bruce can point you to the exact piece — describe your situation and he’ll name the source.