Matt Murawski — A Player-Centered Approach to Little League Baseball

01/08/25 • 43 min

Matt Murawski has been coaching Little League baseball for over six years. Like many coaches he has been inspired by amazing coaching experiences and seeing poor coaching situations for kids. He is a big fan of the player-centered approach to coaching.

In this episode, we discuss:

What inspired Matt to become a coach
The role of a youth coach
Reviewing the youth sports landscape
Player-centered coaching
Putting a coaching philosophy into action
Mental side of the game
Recommended books: Every Moment Matters by John O’Sullivan; Beyond Basketball by Mike Krzyzewski; Lifetime of Observations and Reflections by John Wooden; Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey

About the host

Ross Romano is co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and also hosts The Authority Podcast. He began his career in the pro sports industry before becoming a leading communications, marketing, and management expert working with education companies. He is founder and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success.

Connect on Twitter @RossBRomano or LinkedIn. Listen to The Authority: https://authoritypodcast.net.

Are you a professional looking for insights to reach the next level, find a fulfilling new career, or achieve peak performance? You may be a candidate for performance coaching. Schedule an introductory chat here.

In this episode, we discuss:

What inspired Matt to become a coach
The role of a youth coach
Reviewing the youth sports landscape
Player-centered coaching
Putting a coaching philosophy into action
Mental side of the game
Recommended books: Every Moment Matters by John O’Sullivan; Beyond Basketball by Mike Krzyzewski; Lifetime of Observations and Reflections by John Wooden; Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey

About the host

Connect on Twitter @RossBRomano or LinkedIn. Listen to The Authority: https://authoritypodcast.net.

Previous Episode

George Andriopoulos — Serving Young Athletes Through the Police Activity League

Today I’m happy to bring you an episode about youth coaching with George Andriopoulos. George has coached basketball and flag football and serves as Commissioner of Basketball for the Police Activity League.

In his day job, George is a distinguished leader renowned for his transformative impact across management consulting, pharmaceutical, and non-profit sectors. He founded the boutique consulting firm Launchpad Five One Six, "The Launchcast" podcast, and has expanded into a virtual leadership coaching division.

George has delivered keynote addresses globally and delivered in three TEDx talks. In 2022, he co-founded SPEAK, a global public speaking platform that amplifies voices worldwide through live events and streaming media.

In this episode, we discuss:

George’s lifelong interest in sports and how he got started with coaching
What young athletes are looking for in a community sports program
Memorable stories from coaching
What he focuses on with supporting young athletes
Growth of flag football
Balancing business and involvement in other activities
Using earned perspective to benefit coaching

Connect with George:

About the host

Connect on Twitter @RossBRomano or LinkedIn. Listen to The Authority: https://authoritypodcast.net.

Next Episode

Adam Sarancik — Coaching with the Person-Athlete-Player Philosophy

This week it’s a pleasure to be joined by Adam Sarancik, a longtime baseball coach and owner of Elevate Sports Academy. In baseball, Adam’s teams have consistently won championships at every youth league and high school level. In administration, he has served as league founder, board member and coaches’ and players’ clinic director.

In this episode, we discuss:

What are the reasons for sports participation?
Why should coaches coach?
The roles of a coach
The Person-Athlete-Player Philosophy and why is it so necessary and successful in developing not just champions, but more importantly, Champions for Life
How leagues can support coaches
Getting parents involved
“An athlete has benefited from being part of our program if...”

About the guest:

Adam Sarancik is the owner of Elevate Sports Academy and mentors student-athletes in physical conditioning, nutrition, career and college counseling and sport skills. He has spent most of his adult life mentoring youth ages 8-22 in baseball, softball, soccer and basketball.

In baseball, Adam’s teams have consistently won championships at every youth league and high school level. In administration, he has served as league founder, board member and coaches’ and players’ clinic director many times in his 40+ year coaching career.

His articles have been frequently published in ABCA’s Inside Pitch, in Collegiate Baseball News, and on the CoachesInsider.com, SportsEngine.com and CoachDeck.com websites. He is also a favorite guest on national baseball coaching podcasts. Adam is the author of four Amazon Top 100 Best Selling Baseball coaching books, Coaching Champions for Life – The Process of Mentoring the Person, Athlete and Player, Takeaway Quotes for Coaching Champions for Life; A Ground Ball to Shortstop – How and Why Coaches See Their Game Differently Than Anyone Else, and Teacher, Role Model, Mentor: Lessons Learned From a Lifetime in Coaching.

About the host

Connect on Twitter @RossBRomano or LinkedIn. Listen to The Authority: https://authoritypodcast.net.