I spend a lot of time writing about the human side of coaching and leadership here on X. But for most of my professional career, the real work took place behind the scenes. I've supported coaches and teams on the sidelines, in clubhouses, dugouts, training rooms, coaches’ offices, and meeting rooms. One thing I’m excited about in this next chapter is taking more of those conversations off the timeline and into rooms with coaches and staffs all over the country. If there’s a conversation your staff needs to have or you’re looking to create a meaningful development experience for your team, I’d love to get in a room (virtual or in-person) together. DM's are open if you'd like to discuss how I can best serve you.

Jamion Christian shares a wonderful example of why the impact of a coach can't be measured solely by wins and losses. "If in 15 years one of my players is having the toughest moment of his life...and he knows he can pick the phone up and one of the guys touching the circle answers the phone and lifts him back up. We've accomplished more than any successful season is gonna be able [to]." Some of the most meaningful outcomes of your coaching won't reveal themselves until years after a player leaves your program. You might only coach someone for a few seasons, but the relationships you help build during that time can serve them for the rest of their life. 📹: Win More, Live Better Podcast (Ep. 308)

Hey Coaches, Someday, someone else will have your job. They’ll sit in your office, wear your gear, and lead the program you once called yours. That’s not meant to diminish the importance of your work. It’s simply a reminder that we’re all replaceable professionally. But there are roles in your life that nobody else can fill. Your children only have one you. Your spouse only has one you. Don’t become so consumed with being excellent in a role that someone else can eventually fill that you neglect the roles that only you can fulfill. I’m all for pursuing excellence in your profession. But just make sure you're bringing that same commitment to the roles that only you can fulfill.

Louisiana Tech head football coach Sonny Cumbie has learned firsthand that more hours don't always lead to better leadership. "At the end of the day, when my brain is done, I'm going home, and the problems that are here will still be here tomorrow. I'll serve our team better with a fresh mind and being well rested." The longer I've worked with coaches and leaders, the more I've realized that the goal isn't to squeeze every ounce of energy out of yourself in the service of others. It's to sustainably show up at your best so your people (and you) benefit in the process. Coaching will always require sacrifice. There will be long days, late nights, and periods when the demands are especially high. But sacrifice isn't automatically evidence of effectiveness. Sometimes the most productive thing a leader can do is go home, recover, and come back tomorrow ready to think clearly and serve others well. 📹: Win More, Live Better Podcast (Ep. 261)

Imagine waiting until the end-of-season exit meeting to tell a player about all the things they could have done better throughout the year. In the months prior, let’s say they received little feedback or coaching on those areas. Instead, it was all saved for one big conversation at the end of the season. I don’t know many coaches who would consider that an effective player development process. Yet when it comes to developing coaches and staff, that’s often exactly what happens. Leaders wait until the annual performance review to address things that could have been coached, corrected, or improved months earlier. But the problem is feedback loses some of its value as the distance between the behavior and the conversation grows. If we understand the importance of timely feedback for players, why wouldn’t we apply that same principle to developing our coaches and staff?

For anyone pursuing excellence or something difficult… You will not consistently outperform your self-image. If deep down you don’t see yourself as capable, worthy, disciplined, or resilient, your behavior will eventually align with that belief. But here's the good news...Your self-image is not permanent. It's not fixed. At any given time, you can choose to rewrite it. Our self-image is an accumulation of the stories we tell ourselves. And stories can be rewritten.

Chris Petersen on the value of coaches having their own personal coach and thought partner. "The business world is much further along than the coaching world. All the CEO's have a personal coach...To me, it's more of a thinking partner." As you move higher in leadership, the challenges get more complex and the toll of the position can compound. This is why many of the best leaders I've been around don't try to navigate the demands and pressure alone. They have someone who can ask great questions, challenge their assumptions, offer perspective, and help them think more clearly. If you’d like to build more support around you, I’m happy to help you explore what that could look like and who/what might help. Because I believe coaches deserve intentional support for themselves too. 📹: Win More, Live Better Podcast (Ep. 81)

There is a hidden cost when coaches fail to manage their own stress. Your players can see and experience it. A 2017 study found that elite athletes will detect a coach’s stress through changes in communication, behavior, and emotional expression. Most importantly, players perceive stressed coaches as LESS effective leaders. The lesson here isn’t that coaches shouldn’t feel stress. It’s recognizing that how you regulate yourself is a fundamental leadership skill and critical to your overall effectiveness and impact.

The leadership landscape in college athletics has changed dramatically. A 2024 analysis found that only about one in five Division I athletic directors had coaching experience. Meanwhile, the AD role has become increasingly complex, with growing demands around revenue generation, NIL, and the business of college sports. It makes sense that universities are seeking leaders equipped to navigate those demands. But it raises an important question: Who is responsible for developing the coaches? As fewer ADs bring firsthand coaching experience, departments need to be deliberate about where that perspective, guidance, and support will come from. Coaches are navigating a changing profession too. Their development needs to keep pace with the demands of their jobs. That requires someone responsible for the process, protected time for it, and regular opportunities to receive feedback and apply what they’re learning. If this resonates with you, follow along this week. I’ll be sharing more thoughts on coach development and how to create an intentional system for it, both for yourself as an individual coach and for the coaches across your organization.

You don’t win a gold medal for positive thinking. You don’t win championships for having a beautiful culture/values graphic on the wall. You win because of the standards you practice and live every day.

A recurring challenge for head coaches is what I call the promotion trap. Most coaches move up the coaching ranks because they are elite skill developers, tactical/technical experts, or great at working directly with players. They earn their promotion because they’re a great instructor. But when someone becomes a head coach, the job is less about instruction and more about multiplying impact. You’re no longer just responsible for developing players. You’re also responsible for developing people who develop players. Many coaches struggle with this transition because they were never trained for it (nor evaluated for it). They spent their entire career being rewarded for technical expertise, not organizational leadership. So they try to learn it on the fly and some figure it out, but others struggle with the shift. The higher you go in coaching, the less your impact comes from what you do and the more it comes from what you build through others. Technical mastery might get you the job, but leadership capability determines how well you do it.

A lot of people are better at buying books than reading them. Better at taking notes than taking action. Better at seeking advice than applying it. There’s nothing wrong with investing in your development. But at some point, the value of what you’re learning has to show up in how you’re living, leading, and working. The goal isn’t simply to know more. It’s to become better.

NLCS MVP Jake Bauers shares how letting go of results helped him find a different level of freedom as a competitor. "I think what changed for me this year was I stopped caring about results. I started caring about competing. I started caring about being in the moment and getting out of my own way." Sometimes, the biggest obstacle to performing at your best isn't a lack of preparation or ability. It's the pressure you place on yourself to produce a particular outcome. You become so concerned with what you want to happen that you lose touch with what the moment actually requires. Any performer can unlock a new level when they learn how to be fully invested in the competition without becoming imprisoned by the outcome. 🎥: Fox Sports

It's a strange feeling in coaching and leadership to arrive at a place you've worked incredibly hard to reach, but then realize it doesn't feel the way you expected. Recently, two head coaches shared a similar concern. Their teams have been highly successful and everything is trending in the right direction, but internally both are feeling a lot of tension. It was a great reminder that there are two trajectories unfolding at all times for each of us. 1) The external trajectory that others see (and applaud) 2) The internal trajectory that only you feel and experience. I love winning. It's great and it does matter. But I also care about who you're becoming while you pursue it. This is why I'm so passionate about ensuring that coaches and leaders have alignment with both of these trajectories. What's the point of arriving somewhere impressive if you don't like who you've become when you get there? If you've ever found yourself asking a similar question, know you're not alone.

Some of the best coaches I've encountered have an incredible ability to see things in people that others overlook. And perhaps more importantly, they have the ability to put those observations into words. They don't just tell someone they're doing a great job. They recognize and name what makes that person uniquely valuable. In a recent conversation with a coaching client, we identified five things great leaders can intentionally shine a spotlight on to help people feel seen, valued, and significant. Their Strengths: The unique talents and abilities they bring to the team. Their Perspective: The way they see the world, think through challenges, or help others see what they might otherwise miss. Their Virtues: The values they consistently put into action. Their courage, humility, integrity, generosity, compassion, etc. Their Growth: The progress they've made, challenges they've overcome, and the person they're becoming. Their Impact: The positive difference their presence and actions make in the lives of others. But recognizing these qualities is only part of the equation. The real opportunity is finding and creating everyday moments to shine a spotlight on them. Sometimes that's done privately, in a 1:1 conversation. Other times, it's done publicly, allowing others to see and appreciate those same qualities. Every person wants to feel seen, valued, and significant. As a coach, you have countless opportunities to help make that happen.

Confidence doesn’t just disappear. It fades when you stop paying attention to the reasons you’ve earned it. Coaches: The athlete who says “I’ve lost my confidence” is often sitting on a pile of proof and evidence they’re choosing not to see. Help them see and recognize what's already there. 📹: High Performance Mindset Podcast

The development gap between players and coaches is widening. Athletes have more individualized development than at any point in history. This includes unprecedented access to personal coaches, specialists, and outside information and “expertise.” As a result, today’s athletes are learning from more people (outside your program/organization) than ever before. Meanwhile, many organizations still have no intentional system for developing their staff. The rate at which your internal staff develops can no longer lag behind the rate at which your players develop. The future belongs to organizations and programs that develop their coaches and staff as aggressively as they develop their players.

Pat Murphy was asked how comfortable he feels with the Brewers up 3–0 in the NLCS. “Don't matter how I feel...The goal the whole time is just like build a resiliency and a passion for being in the now and a passion for winning tonight.” There’s something powerful about a team hearing in October what it’s been practicing since February. The expectations established on day one still guide how Murphy leads now. As the stakes rise, he keeps reinforcing the same habits, standards, and mindset that helped them get here. 🎥: Fox Sports

Joe Mazzulla on why he wrote handwritten thank-you notes to staff throughout the Celtics organization after their championship. “It’s easy for parts of the organization to feel not as valued as others...It was just important that everybody knew…everything they do is the most important thing for the team, for the organization.” “Everybody matters” is a good message, but it means more when you tell someone how their work actually makes a difference. Some people can see their contribution on the scoreboard. Others may wonder how much their work even matters. Part of leading is helping people connect what they do each day to what the team is trying to accomplish. 🎥: Boston Celtics' View From The Rafters

If you coached yourself the way you coach your players, would you consistently get better? Would you feel challenged? Supported? Equipped to succeed? Or would you eventually start looking for a different coach?

Hey head coaches, A costly mistake many make is treating culture like an offseason remodeling project. If you're waiting for the offeason to improve your culture, then you’re missing all the moments that are shaping it right now. You don’t fix it in the offseason and forget about it. It needs to be built and maintained every day. Like strength, culture starts to atrophy the moment you stop doing the reps.