Podcast

Podcast Why Would I Need Anything Else? Skip Lord spent a career as a coach and athletic director at Houghton College — on mentors, turning points, and why he never needed anywhere else. Listen now Podcast The Kids Used to Pick the Teams GPAC commissioner Corey Westra on the biggest change in youth sports — it’s gone from peer control to adult control — and what parents hear in The Role of Parents in Athletics. Listen now Podcast The First Female Commissioner in NAIA History Lori Thomas, who hosts this series, on 30 years in sports administration — ten of them leading the Heart of America Athletic Conference, and building a pro volleyball club from the ground up. Listen now Podcast Twenty Years, Four Sports, Three States Scott Rosberg, athletic director at Park High School in Livingston, Montana, on two decades coaching basketball, football and soccer across Illinois, Montana and Washington. Listen now Podcast A Program That Had Never Won — Then 36 Straight Jon Frazier, head boys basketball coach at Summit High School in Bend, Oregon from 2011 to 2024, who inherited a program with no winning seasons and left it a state champion with an Oregon record. Listen now Podcast Pick One, Play Them All Rob Miller on the myths and realities of early specialization: 88% of college athletes played multiple sports, overuse injuries are up 70%, and the scholarship math almost nobody checks. Listen now Podcast Not a Teacher. Seven State Titles. Wiley Allred, a farmer who coaches football at Royal City High School, on nine championship games in 20 years, recruiting his own hallways, and the home visits that earned a community’s trust. Listen now Podcast I Committed as a Sophomore. I’m Glad the Rules Changed. Whitney Jones, former Husky pitcher now coaching at Washington, on calling her college coach every week at 13, the player-to-coach transition, and “who we are is why we win.” Listen now 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. Listen now Podcast Two Rival Schools, One Conversation Tom Bendt, longtime Oregon athletic director, on the ambassador program he built with a rival school’s AD, the summits that followed, and why everybody — including the AD — needs to be coached. Listen now 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. Listen now Podcast The Players Haven’t Changed. The Parents Have. Sue Doering, 39 years of volleyball and 25 straight top-four state finishes at Colfax, on high but reachable expectations, multi-sport athletes, and never tying success to winning. Listen now Podcast Two of My First Four Wins Came in the Mail Steve Ridder, 30 years and nearly 700 wins at Embry-Riddle, on inheriting an 0–22 team with no scholarships, the faculty vote that saved his job, and the three P’s that kept him in one place. Listen now Podcast Football Isn’t Complicated. People Are. Steve Morton, 40 years as a college and pro football assistant now coaching high school, on the coaching carousel, the toll on family, and why losing his college career turned out to be a blessing. Listen now 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. Listen now Podcast If All They Learn Is Baseball, We’ve Failed Them Scott Salow, 27 years without a losing season in a Michigan village of 1,800, on the national-record 75-game winning streak, three state titles, and a roster with fifteen captains. Listen now Podcast Winners Get to Run Scott Rosberg on positive conditioning: why punishing kids with sprints contradicts everything you tell them about fitness — and what happens when running becomes the reward. Listen now Podcast We Practiced at 9 P.M. in a Warehouse Scott Dulin, who built Fisher College’s entire athletic department in two months with no uniforms, equipment or field, on dodging pillars at night and the airport conversation that found him a ballpark. Listen now Podcast Accountability Is a Form of Love Scott Centala, former pro player and consultant to Olympic, MLB, NFL and special operations teams, on psychological safety, permission to fail, and “I got your back” versus “I gotcha.” Listen now Podcast Bigger, Stronger, Faster — and They Don’t Know the Game Rob Miller on why young athletes have never been more trained and less taught: speed camps for seven-year-olds, schemes over skills, and the youth coach’s actual job. Listen now Podcast When Cheering Becomes Harassment Rob Miller on the exact line fans cross — from yelling, to using a kid’s name, to something personal — and the officials crisis that follows when nobody names it. Listen now Podcast We Won State. It Was the Worst Experience of My Life. Rob Miller and Lori Thomas on why culture beats talent: core covenants instead of T-shirt slogans, what respect looks like in action, and creating leaders rather than waiting for them. Listen now Podcast Positive Demanding, Never Demeaning Rob Miller on the four keys to a successful season for youth coaches: commitment and planning, teaching real skills, motivating without demeaning, and building a team out of bodies that keep changing. Listen now Podcast You Get What You Allow Nick Brown, head basketball coach and award-winning English teacher at Arlington High School, on banning “we should have won,” radical honesty, and nights for custodians and the band. Listen now Podcast The 0–20 Team They Followed Anyway Mike Lowery, Marysville, Washington basketball coach from a family with three Hall of Famers, on the winless season he loved, the manager named Wheels, and finding out who you are as a coach. Listen now 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. Listen now Podcast We Never Fired a Coach for Losing Mick Hoffman, executive director of the WIAA, on changing the culture of four high schools and eight middle schools at once — covenants with action statements, and hiring aligned to them. Listen now Podcast First I Had to Get Over My Own Ego Michelle Sabourin, head cheer and stunt coach at Alma College, on building a program from nothing, defining passion, unity and tenacity in action, and redefining success before the wins arrived. Listen now Podcast The Three Touches That Changed Columbia Michael Aufrichtig, head fencing coach at Columbia and a three-time NCAA champion who had never coached before, on ending an 18-year drought, Moneyball recruiting, and customizing your communication. Listen now Podcast Permission to Speak Freely Matt Kincaid, Gonzaga walk-on turned professor and leadership consultant, on why leaders stop hearing the truth, what candor does for a team, and the ninth-grade coach who believed in him. Listen now Podcast Married to the Program Maggie Corbin, wife of Vanderbilt baseball coach Tim Corbin, on Omaha and Donnie Everett, caring for the staff’s families, and her advice to a young coach’s spouse: celebrate his passion. Listen now Podcast Coaches From Mars, Players From Venus Lori Thomas, former pro volleyball player and NAIA commissioner, on what coaches need to know about the female athlete — the six C’s, professional boundaries, and Anson Dorrance’s senior letter. Listen now 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. Listen now Podcast Can’t, Not Won’t Keith Orchard, mental health specialist for the Coeur d’Alene School District, on how chronic stress rewires a kid’s brain, behavior as communication, and teaching poise as a skill of the game. Listen now 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. Listen now 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. Listen now Podcast Twelve Words on a Business Card Josh Cordell, boys tennis coach at Summit High School in Bend with seven state titles in nine seasons, on building a program from scratch, grit and grind, and passion paired with compassion. Listen now Podcast The Zone Is a Skill, Not an Accident Jordan Lewis, founder of Headstrong Health and a former college basketball player, on mindfulness as trainable attention, the three keys to living mindfully, and why avoiding hard emotions backfires. Listen now Podcast After Practice, We Were Dad and Son Joe Harris, Hall of Fame Washington high school basketball coach for 31 years at two small schools, on coaching his own son — who went on to the NBA — and teams that outwork people and play together. Listen now Podcast Firm Hands and Open Hugs Jody Sears, head football coach at Sacramento State, on inheriting a talented but rudderless team, building identity through core covenants, and being demanding without coaching through fear. Listen now Podcast One Rule: Do the Right Thing Jim Clem, 1,100-plus wins and six Halls of Fame, on the four areas he trains behind a single rule, why nobody should care who gets the credit, and finding a mentor in a lonely profession. Listen now 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. Listen now Podcast Don’t Call Me Coach Jeremy “Sheets” Sheetinger, head baseball coach at Georgia Gwinnett, on dying to your ego daily, the unpaid years that cost him a marriage, and the classroom that meets at 1:30 every day. Listen now Podcast I Thought Winning Would Be the Easy Part Jenny Eustice, head dance team coach at Iowa and a three-time national champion dancer, on learning to coach the person, senior leadership, and the two quiet seniors who became phenomenal leaders. Listen now Podcast More Than Words on a Wall Jason Slater, Montana school superintendent, on taking core values past the poster — defining, modeling and reinforcing them with teachers, aides, administrators and the school board. Listen now 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. Listen now Podcast Don’t Let This Steal Your Joy Donnie Bostwick, national champion men’s basketball coach at Oklahoma Wesleyan, on the hour after COVID cancelled the tournament, meekness as power under control, and coaching aggressive mistakes. Listen now Podcast Hire Teachers, Not Yellers Don Pellum, 30 years at Oregon and now inside linebackers coach at UCLA, on staff continuity, growing from driver to listener, and what he actually looks for when he hires. Listen now Podcast You Wouldn’t Be Any Good at It Dennis Janzen, six-time NAIA national champion volleyball coach at Fresno Pacific, on the counselor who told him not to coach, a 373–18 final decade, and going captain-less with 14 leaders. Listen now Podcast They Think the Fight Is Over Denise Wescott, Hall of Fame lacrosse coach and the first woman to sign a letter of intent at Maryland, on living Title IX, coaching the German national team, and the decline of women coaching women. Listen now Podcast I’ll Never Tell You What You Want to Hear Dean Lockwood, associate head women’s basketball coach at Michigan State and 15 years with Pat Summitt, on the coach who promised him the truth, and reversing the interview to check for alignment. Listen now Podcast The Front Porch of the Community Darin Boysen, executive director of the Nebraska Coaches Association, on the leadership summits reaching 1,500 athletes a year, and why relationships never meant coddling. Listen now Podcast Make Where You Are the Big Time Danny Miles, 45 years and 1,040 wins at Oregon Institute of Technology, on three national titles, what it took to earn the name “Oregon Tech guy,” and protecting your marriage and family. Listen now Podcast Everybody Says Culture. Nobody Defines It. Craig Doty, NAIA national champion men’s basketball coach at Graceland University, on what culture actually means, standards from day one, and connecting the dots to the professional world. Listen now Podcast Put On Your Humility Hat Corinne Immel, Hall of Fame dance coach who took over her own former team at 21, on the workshop that changed everything, surviving a nine-month season, and why she stopped fighting the January slump. Listen now Podcast Not as They Are, but as Who They’ll Become Bruce Brown introduces three Proactive Coaching booklets — and the finding behind them: successful people almost always name one teacher or coach who saw past who they were that day. Listen now 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. Listen now 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. Listen now Podcast Capable, Not Comfortable Billie Moore, first coach to win national titles at two schools and head coach of the 1976 U.S. Olympic team, on coaching athletes for what they can do — and mentoring Pat Summitt. Listen now Podcast Champions Act a Certain Way Bill Brosseau, who helped bring lacrosse to the Pacific Northwest, on dignity and respect, practicing the way you want to play, and thanking the 91-year-old coach who gave him his first stick. Listen now Podcast Cutting a Player Is an Act of Care Becky Carlson, head rugby coach at Quinnipiac, on the five reasons letting players go got so hard, reframing endings as care, and being curious over furious. Listen now Podcast There Is No Bench Becky Acra, championship cheer coach from a small gym in Great Falls, Montana, on a sport where every size and shape is valuable, knowing each athlete’s story, and leading with love. Listen now 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. Listen now Podcast We Will Not Have a Bad Day Andy Affholter, retired girls basketball coach at Granger High School (WA), on the poverty poster in his locker room, winning with undersized teams, and losing the battle to win the war. Listen now Podcast Don’t Tell Them How Good You Are. Show Them. Rob Miller and Lori Thomas on quiet inner confidence: preparation over results, fear of failure and fear of success, self-talk swaps, and sorting the confidence builders from the confidence cutters. Listen now Podcast The Most Powerful Thing I’ve Ever Seen a Team Do Dan Teeter, football coach at Lakewood High School in Washington, on the anonymous “crosstalk” exercise that changed how his players treat each other — and the five-year turnaround it anchored. 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