Coaching Coaches
Colby Donovan
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08/15/22 • 50 min
Today’s episode features a conversation between Jeff Seder and Meb Faber on The Meb Faber Show podcast. In my last episode with Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, we touched on the incredible story of Jeff Seder and how utilizing data led him to go all-in on American Pharoah and later tell his employer, “Sell your horse, don’t sell this horse.” Wise words considering the horse would go on to become the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years.
Meb was kind enough to allow me to release the episode on my feed here for you to listen to.
That being said, if you enjoy the episode and want to repay the favor to Meb, or are looking for a podcast on investing and what’s going on in the economy, whether it’s the freakonomics of weed, what in the world is going on in the housing market, or hearing about the impact of the Russia/Ukraine war on geopolitics, be sure to check out and subscribe to The Meb Faber Show. And if you want to test it out, he released an episode yesterday with some of the best clips from this year.
Now enjoy this conversation between Meb Faber & Jeff Seder.
Other episodes from The Meb Faber Show I’d recommend:
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12/22/20 • 21 min
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My guest today is Nick Nurse, the 2019 NBA Champion head coach of the Toronto Raptors and author of Rapture: Fifteen Teams, Four Countries, One NBA Championship, and How to Find a Way to Win - Damn Near Anywhere. He has one of the more unique coaching backgrounds of any professional head coach, with stops as a player-coach and owner-coach in England, 11 years in Europe, and multiple stints in the NBA G-League.
In this episode he explains how his non-traditional path of coaching in England and the D-League helped him prepare to coach in the NBA, and why he prioritized being a head coach instead of working at the highest level possible early in his career, why he's become a life-long learner and pursuing a doctorate degree.
To learn more about the Nick Nurse Foundation, click here.
Books Recommended by Coach Nurse:- Win Forever: Live, Work and Play Like A Champion
- Freedom in the Huddle: The Creative Edge in Coaching Psychology by Darrell Mudra
- Sacred Hoops: SPIRITUAL LESSONS OF A HARDWOOD WARRIOR by Phil Jackson
(1:23) - Episode begins with Coach Nurse’s time as a player-coach in England
(2:56) - Why he focused on being a head coach early in his career
(5:05) - What led him to be so open to experimenting as a coach
(8:05) - Why it’s so important to empower players
(9:10) - Importance of knowing players have motivations besides just the team
(10:55) - What he learned studying Phil Jackson in his career
(13:58) - What he learned meeting with coaches from other sports, including Joe Maddon
(15:40) - His focus on learning off the court throughout his career
(20:08) - Why he started his foundation
Coby Karl, South Bay Lakers Head Coach: The Curious Leader
Coaching Coaches
01/26/21 • 64 min
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My guest today is Coby Karl, head coach for the South Bay Lakers of the NBA G League. He played professionally in the NBA for multiple teams, including for Phil Jackson and the Lakers, and overseas.
In this episode, we discuss what it was like to grow up the son of former NBA Head Coach George Karl and the lessons he learned being around the game at a young age. Then we dive into his transition from a player to a coach with the Knicks G-League team and now the Lakers G-League team. He touches on his coaching philosophy, favoring simplicity versus complexity, and how he’s tried to give his players space to grow. We talk about his eagerness to learn and lessons he’s taken from people like Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Ryan Holiday.
Coby is going to be releasing his own podcast soon called The Curious Leader, which will kick off with guests like Phil Jackson and Metta World Peace (Ron Artest), so be sure to go subscribe to listen to those episodes when they release in early February.
Show Notes:(1:43) - Episode begins with growing up the son of a coach and being a ball boy for the Seattle Sonics
(5:00) - How he handles the stress of the job
(7:15) - The benefits of coaching in the NBA G-League
(8:55) - What made him want to pursue coaching as a profession after his playing career
(11:05) - The transition from player to coach
(16:20) - Why he tries to keep things simple for his players
(21:30) - What he focuses on to develop guys like Alex Caruso, Thomas Bryant, etc.
(24:40) - What led him to start a podcast (The Curious Leader)
(27:50) - How time playing for and spent with Phil Jackson made him introspective
(29:18) - Must listen story about him sneaking into the Chicago Bulls locker room to watch Michael Jordan during the NBA Finals when he was a ball boy for the Seattle Sonics
(30:35) - Best memorabilia he has from his playing career and being a ball boy
(33:05) - Coaching lessons taken from Phil Jackson
(40:50) - What made him so curious to reach out to connect with people like Ryan Holiday
(43:20) - Lessons learned from playing with Kobe Bryant and spending time with him after they both retired
(48:50) - Why he wants to focus on holding players accountable
(52:50) - What he would tell himself if he could go back to his first day of coaching
(54:20) - Having to handle his 2020 season cut short and the 2021 season not happening
(58:45) - End of episode questions
End of Episode Questions:1. What’s 1 book every coach should read?
2. Who is one person you’d want to hear as a guest on this podcast?
- Barack Obama
3. What’s one area you’re looking to improve in over the next year?
- Clarity and the ability to communicate that clarity to players
4. What’s popular advice you hear people say that you think is wrong?
- n/a
5. What advice do you have for young coaches who are listening to this?
- Be a head coach at whatever level you can be
6. What’s the darkest moment you experienced professionally and how did you overcome it?
- Two moments: The first was getting cut by the Lakers the day before his second season with the team. The second was a losing streak for an entire month during the G-League season last year. He overcame it by continually showing up and leaning on his staff.
“I don't know if I ever told this story, but I was a ball boy in the (NBA) Finals during that time and I was a ball boy in the home locker room, which they have different sets. So you don't like ... go in the visitors locker room unless you're invited. And I snuck in and I was sitting there, like, just trying to like act like no one knew who I was...and like literally I was just staring at Mike (Michael Jordan). And like Michael had like this unbelievable focus, right? It was like I wasn't even there. It's like he was in his own space, and you know, the more I've learned on the mental side of it is like he did, he was in his own space. He was in his comfortable zone and he wasn't focused on, like, I couldn't get him out of that. And I think that goes too high performance, ability to maintain focus, and to coach Jackson's ability to train that.”
“The one thing that I provide for them (his players) is simplicity so they can figure out who they are within a team structure.”
“I've been on that pursuit for my whole life, like how do I become a better human, you know, and that was why I reached out to Ryan Holiday because his stuff with stoicism, The Daily Stoic, The Daily Dad, have really impacted my life.”
“You know, I thin...
Welcome to the Coaching Coaches Podcast
Coaching Coaches
10/05/20 • 1 min
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The biggest takeaway from my seven years working under Billy Donovan at the University of Florida is that the most successful are the ones who are committed to their own growth. They never stop learning and trying to make themselves better.
This show will bring you interviews with the world’s most-respected coaches, best-selling authors, and top leaders to give you insight into their philosophies, lessons, and mindsets for you to apply to your own.
Some of the top coaches subscribe to the Coaching Coaches newsletter, join them by subscribing here http://www.coachingcoaches.substack.com/subscribe
Becky Burleigh, University of Florida Soccer Coach: Who Are You Becoming As A Result of The Chase?
Coaching Coaches
03/02/21 • 48 min
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My guest today is Becky Burleigh, the head soccer coach at the University of Florida. She’s also the co-founder of What Drives Winning, which unites the top minds in sports. In 25 years at Florida, she has led UF to a NCAA Championship, two NCAA College Cup appearances, 14 Southeastern Conference titles and 22 NCAA Championships berths. She has 507 total wins, putting her third all-time in Division-1 soccer.
In this episode, we discuss what it was like to get the UF soccer program started in 1995 and winning a national title a few years later with stars like Abby Wombach. We talk about how she focuses on not just developing the player but developing the athlete as a person. Then we dive into how meeting Brett Ledbetter led her to team up with him and start What Drives Winning. There aren’t many coaches who are better to listen to from if you want to learn about how to help your players become better people.
Show Notes:(1:35) - Why she started DJ’ing
(3:30) - Early years growing up in Tarpon Springs, FL
(6:00) - Starting the UF soccer program at the age of 26
(10:10) - Importance of having her parents support in her career
(11:14) - When she decided to have a personal Board of Directors
(13:10) - Winning a national title in the third year at UF
(14:45) - Coaching Abby Wombach
(16:10) - Striving to win another national title
(17:17) - Focusing on personal development as much as player development
(19:30) - Meeting Brett Ledbetter and then launching What Drives Winning
(23:52) - What she’s learned from former UF & current Chicago Bulls head coach, Billy Donovan
(25:30) - What she’s learned from Cal Berkley head coach, Jack Clark
(26:00) - The future of What Drives Winning
(27:40) - Her typical schedule and balancing coaching and What Drives Winning
(29:58) - Evolving as a coach over time
(31:15) - The three team values: courage, team-first, and growth
(34:15) - What she would tell herself if she could go back to her first day coaching at Florida
(34:40) - Focusing on personal growth
(35:45) - What she’s learned from Dr. Jim Loehr
(37:00) - Lessons for other coaches based on her starting and finishing a season in 2020 amid COVID
(40:15) - Favorite moment(s) of her career: alumni weekends
(41:20) - End of episode questions
End of Episode Questions:1. What’s 1 book every coach should read?
2. Who is one person you’d want to hear as a guest on this podcast?
- Nick Saban
3. What’s one area you’re looking to improve in over the next year?
- Everything!
4. What’s popular advice you hear people say that you think is wrong?
- Coaching is easy
5. What advice do you have for young coaches who are listening to this?
- “Comparison is the thief of joy.”
6. What’s the darkest moment you experienced professionally and how did you overcome it?
- When one of her players took her own life after graduating from UF.
“Here at the University of Florida, it’s always got to be in the conversation, right? I mean, people don’t come to Florida to not compete for national championships. So, I think every year the goal is the same if you’re an athlete at Florida, pretty much in every sport. I think the bigger question is just like, what are we doing and how are we developing in terms of that path to get there?”
“And that quote is, “Who are you becoming as a result of the chase?” And I think that’s a really important question because we’re all going to strive really hard for our goals. But in the end, sometimes we’re going to hit them and sometimes we’re not, but who we are becoming is a constant.
“I feel like everybody has to run their own race when it comes to your career and what you’re doing. And as soon as you start to look at something someone else has, then what you’re doing becomes diminished.”
Dana Cavalea, Former NY Yankees Strength Coach: Championship Habits from Yankee Greats
Coaching Coaches
01/05/21 • 33 min
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My guest today is Dana Cavalea, who spent 12 years with the New York Yankees, many of which were as the Director of Strength and Conditioning & Performance Enhancement. He won the 2009 World Series and was named the top strength coach voted by his peers during the same season. He is also the author of Habits of A Champion.
During the episode, we discuss what it was like to be called by Yankees GM Brian Cashman at the age of 23 to be promoted to the Head Strength Coach, why certain players have the right mental make-up and routine to succeed over time, how he helped young players work through failure, and what Mariano Rivera said the secret was to his success. He also touches on how GM Brian Cashman handled the team meeting during the 2009 season after they lost 10 straight games, which turned the season around, and what other lessons he learned from guys like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Andy Pettite.
Show Notes
(1:40) —Episode begins with how he was hired to be the head strength coach for the New York Yankees when he was 23 years old
(3:00) — How he built trust with the players at such a young age
(4:30) — How players handle failure in baseball
(6:15) — Lessons from Joe Torre
(7:45) — How he helped young players handling failure for the first time in their lives
(9:55) — Lessons learned from Andy Pettite
(11:00) — Why some players were driven because of their rough upbringing
(13:05) — Why Derek Jeter didn’t think everyone deserved equal treatment
(15:50) — Mariano Rivera’s routine
(22:10) — How Yankees GM Brian Cashman handled a meeting during 2009 when the team was in the middle of a 10-game losing streak
(24:45) — End of episode questions
End of Episode Questions:
1. What’s 1 book every coach should read?
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
2. Who is one person you’d want to hear as a guest on this podcast? John Calipari
3. What’s one area you’re looking to improve in over the next year? Take his health and fitness to another level
4. What’s popular advice you hear people say that you think is wrong? You can’t be great at everything; you have to figure out what you’re great at and excel in that area.
5. What advice do you have for young coaches who are listening to this? Just because you’re young doesn’t mean you don’t know anything, but just because you’re young and you think you know everything doesn’t mean you do.
6. What’s the darkest moment you experienced professionally and how did you overcome it? He and Joe Girardi had philosophical differences on training and his contract wasn’t renewed after his final season as a result but he knew there would be something else for him afterwards.
Favorite Quotes:
“What makes him (Mariano Rivera) tick is he isn’t worrying about public applause and he’s not worried about public opinion. He just focuses on what it is that he was hired to do. And that was to pitch and get hitters out.”
“When you work under a guy like Joe Torre, it’s like having a grandfather /mob-boss as your manager.”
“You can have a difficult conversation with a player, but you always have to make that player leave feeling good about themselves, and that’s what Joe (Torre) did a great job of.”
“If you show up with the intent of being successful and being competitive, you have a great chance of being successful because you’re competitive.”
Nancy Lieberman, Former Former WNBA & NBA Coach & Executive: Rucker Park, Muhammad Ali, & A Hall-of-Fame Career
Coaching Coaches
12/08/20 • 32 min
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My guest today is Nancy Lieberman, who is one of the most decorated basketball players of all time. Nancy was a two-time national player of the year at Old Dominion, where she also won two national championships. She was also both a WNBA coach & general manager before being hired as the coach of the Texas Legends in the NBA D-League, making her the first woman to coach a men’s basketball team. She later became the second woman to be an NBA assistant coach when the Sacramento Kings hired her in 2015. She was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996.
In this episode, we discuss what led her to take the train from Queens to Rucker Park to play basketball at 11 years old, what it was like to be the youngest male or female to ever make the U.S. Olympic basketball team, the impact of her life-long friendship with Muhammad Ali, and why Pat Riley said she changed the way he viewed players. Most importantly, we discuss what she is doing with her foundation to help young people who are less fortunate.
Click here to learn more about Nancy Lieberman Charities, and you can donate here to help children in a variety of ways, including providing backpacks with school supplies for one year, a tablet, basketball camp scholarship, contribute to a college scholarship and more.
Show Notes:
(1:30) – Episode begins with Nancy playing at Rucker Park at the age of 11
(6:35) – How she and Muhammad Ali developed a life-long relationship
(18:10) – How she goes through life with no fear
(20:25) – How she changed Pat Riley’s perspective on players
(26:35) – Background on her foundation
Favorite Quotes:
“I don’t know any other way but to grind and to give the best of who I am. I may not do everything perfectly correct, but I’m going to give you the best of who I am and I’m not going to be afraid.”
“To be a winner, you have to make other people around you better.”
03/16/21 • 51 min
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Click HERE to watch the video referenced in the intro.
My guest today is Dr. Michele Gelfand, a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Gelfand is a cultural psychologist and uses field, experimental, computational, and neuroscience methods to understand the evolution of culture--as well as its multilevel consequences for human groups. She’s also the author of Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire the World, which is the focus of our conversation today.
Coaches at all levels talk about building and creating the kind of culture that can produce wins, but what does that really mean? There is no one better to talk to about that than Michele. In this episode, she explains the framework she uses in the book to understand the difference between tight and loose cultures. She covers how social norms dictate whether a culture leans either tight or loose and the advantages and disadvantages of each. The episode is full of examples of companies and how they fit along this spectrum, including United Airlines, Uber, and her current work with the U.S. Navy.
Resources Mentioned:Where to contact her: Twitter | LinkedIn | Website
Her Harvard Business Review paper on the Amazon/Whole Foods acquisition
Show Notes:(2:21) - How she became a cultural psychologist
(3:38) - What led her to write Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire the World
(7:00) - How social norms help define cultures
(9:00) - The strengths and weaknesses of both tight and loose cultures
(12:20) - Advice for coaches on self-diagnosing where they fit on the tight-loose spectrum
(17:10) - Examples of organizations and where they fit within this framework
(24:30) - How to use this framework when hiring or looking to decide what organization is the best fit for you
(27:00) - How to handle your culture leaning too far to either end of the tight-loose spectrum
(29:30) - Her work with the U.S. Navy and how they are trying to implement some looseness within their culture
(37:30) - Parenting advice based on the tight-loose framework
(41:30) - End of episode questions
End of Episode Questions:1. What’s 1 book every coach should read?
2. Who is one person you’d want to hear as a guest on this podcast?
- Carol Dweck
3. What’s one area you’re looking to improve in over the next year?
- Meditation
4. What’s popular advice you hear people say that you think is wrong?
- Get to the task when negotiating. Her research shows that you actually need to get to know the person first so you signal that you respect them and gain their trust.
5. What advice do you have for young coaches who are listening to this?
- Continue to search for your passion
6. What’s the darkest moment you experienced professionally and how did you overcome it?
- Trying to get her paper on this topic published in Science. She got through it by having fun and saying she’d wear a costume if the paper was approved to be published
“All cultures have both tight and loose elements, but we could think about cultures in terms of their default. Do they lean tight or loose on this continuum?”
“What we know from our research is that groups that get too extreme, either too tight or too loose, actually are really dysfunctional and that applies to nations, to organizations, and I would imagine also to sports teams. And for different reasons. When you have a lot of super tight rules, people feel uncomfortable questioning them. They feel like they’re walking on eggshells. Then we have less chance for catching mistakes and being willing to express them. And on the flip side, when you have too much looseness, it’s total chaos. I think back to the definition of social norms. Then we have no ability to coordinate and it’s a mess, and...we need some degree of both in any social system.”
“So I think that’s a really important thing, this kind of tension between freedom and rules and constraints. And I think that the best, most healthy systems are ab...
Anson Dorrance, 22x National Champion UNC Women's Soccer Coach: Leadership, Competitiveness & Character Development
Coaching Coaches
02/16/21 • 79 min
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My guest today is Anson Dorrance, UNC Women’s Soccer Head Coach. He has won 22 National Championships and is the first coach in NCAA history to win 20 championships coaching a single sport. That is correct - 22 national titles. And as impressive as that is, his approach to coaching, competitiveness, and character development of his girls is even more impressive.
In this episode, we discuss why he doesn’t think you can teach leadership, why he thinks it’s so important to take personal ownership of your own outcome and learn to handle adversity, and how recruiting has evolved over the years. He also talks about his relationship with coaches outside of women’s soccer, including Dean Smith, Pete Carroll, and Terry Liskevych.
Show Notes:(1:25) - Why he doesn’t believe you can teach leadership
(10:40) - The impact the helicopter parent has on children now
(15:20) - How recruiting has been effected by this change
(22:55) - His core values for his program
(24:25) - His focus on competitiveness and the competitive cauldron
(31:25) - How he became good friends with Pete Carroll
(40:39) - The importance of personal development
(46:30) - The core values he has for the program and how he’s matured as a coach over his career
(56:50) - How he approaches character development and winning
(1:01:25) - End of episode questions
End of Episode Questions:1. What’s 1 book every coach should read?
- The Man Watching: Anson Dorrance and the University of North Carolina Women's Soccer Dynasty
- Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
- This is Water by David Foster Wallace
2. Who is one person you’d want to hear as a guest on this podcast?
- Marcelo Bielsa - Manager of Leeds United
3. What’s one area you’re looking to improve in over the next year?
- Construct a strategy to fit his roster this coming year, which has no seniors left
4. What advice do you have for young coaches who are listening to this?
- Be a continuous learner and pick a mentor that is in an environment similar to yours
5. What’s the darkest moment you experienced professionally and how did you overcome it?
- He was sued by a former player and her parent and was really criticized by the media.
02/09/21 • 53 min
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My guest today is Travis Wyckoff, founder of Kingdom Coaching, a consulting business for coaches to help provide the tools, strategies, and skills you need to transform how you lead yourself, lead others, and win in all areas. He also hosts the podcast called Coaching DNA, which I was recently a guest on. Previously, he coached college baseball for 11 years and spent six years leading on a church staff.
In this episode, we discuss the transition from coaching college baseball to starting Kingdom Coaching. He explains the different ways he works with coaches, whether it is one-on-one coaching, staff coaching, Tribe Membership, or cohorts. We spend a lot of time around leadership, a topic he is incredibly passionate about. After his time spent working with some of the top coaches, like Tim Corbin and Anson Dorrance, he distills a great leader down to character, emotional intelligence, clarity, psychological makeup.
Where to connect with Travis: Website | Twitter | Podcast or email him at [email protected]
Resources Discussed:Coaching DNA Podcast with Rodney Hobbs
End of Episode Questions:1. What’s 1 book every coach should read?
- InSideOut Coaching: How Sports Can Transform Lives by Joe Ehrmann
- Behind the Bench: Inside the Minds of Hockey's Greatest Coaches by Craig Custance
- Super Thinking: The Big Book of Mental Models by Gabriel Weinberg and Lauren McCann
2. Who is one person you’d want to hear as a guest on this podcast?
- Dabo Swinney
3. What’s one area you’re looking to improve in over the next year?
- Be more present with others
4. What’s popular advice you hear people say that you think is wrong?
- Be yourself – no, be the best version of yourself
5. What advice do you have for young coaches who are listening to this?
- Be a continuous learner
6. What’s the darkest moment you experienced professionally and how did you overcome it?
- One season while coaching was really hard with poor pitching and tough to handle as the team went through it. He overcame it via grit.
“John Maxwell talks a ton about: your leadership ability will determine the lid on, in my case the people I'm working with, it'll determine the lid of your program. So if your leadership is growing, if you're a really excellent leader, your program is going to rise. If not, you will put the lid on your program based on what your leadership capacity is.”
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FAQ
How many episodes does Coaching Coaches have?
Coaching Coaches currently has 27 episodes available.
What topics does Coaching Coaches cover?
The podcast is about Management, Podcasts, Sports and Business.
What is the most popular episode on Coaching Coaches?
The episode title 'Michele Gelfand, Author & Cultural Psychologist: Is Your Culture Tight or Loose?' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Coaching Coaches?
The average episode length on Coaching Coaches is 52 minutes.
How often are episodes of Coaching Coaches released?
Episodes of Coaching Coaches are typically released every 7 days, 1 hour.
When was the first episode of Coaching Coaches?
The first episode of Coaching Coaches was released on Oct 5, 2020.
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