The Winning Youth Coaching Podcast: Youth Sports | Coaching | Parenting | Family Resources

WYC 170 – NBA exec – Pat Williams – Character Carved in Stone

Pat Williams, senior vice president of the Orlando Magic, shares personal stories from his time as a parent with youth sports as well as what he teaches regarding developing leaders through sports. Pat's new book, CHARACTER CARVED IN STONE is about his discovery of the leadership virtues taught at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Duke University’s Coach K (a West Point grad) wrote the foreword. Book: Character Carved in Stone   Listen Now: Listen on iTunes: iTunes link Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link- - -- Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here - Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter: SaveSave

WYC 169 – 700+ Collegiate Soccer Wins – Dr. Jay Martin – The Art of Coaching

Dr. Jay Martin is the Ohio Wesleyan University Soccer coach and one of the nation’s winningest soccer coaches ever. He has written one of the books in the series for United Soccer Coaches titled, The Best of Soccer Journal: The Art of Coaching. It is seen as one of the best soccer books in their book store. Jay is an author of several books approved by the United Soccer Coaches national office and advises them on their Coaches education curriculum. Book: The Art of Coaching   Listen Now: Listen on iTunes: iTunes link Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link- - -- Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here - Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter: SaveSave

WYC 168 – Youth Wrestling – Chris Mance – Helping sports families

Chris Mance is a family coach who helps sports families pursue difficult goals while maximizing their happiness on their journey. Chris has a unique story from playing at football at West Point to becoming an entrepreneur, husband, and eventually a father of two young wrestlers. Through his experiences in leadership, Chris has been able to work with families to plan and execute their strategic plans. Chris’s Website: chrismance.com Chris' Twitter: @chrismance Chris’s Instagram: @chairmance2   Listen Now: Listen on iTunes: iTunes link Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link- - Coaching Your Own Kids Chris was really hard on his first son from an early age. He has gone 180, with him now and with his younger son, he stays focused on being proud of them and just giving them a hug afterwards and de-emphasizing the winning/losing. Cringe moment At youth dual meets, early on in Chris' coaching, he was too focused on the scoreboard with the newer athletes instead of just working on technique and focusing on improvement. Teaching skills & Keeping it fun Reward kids for working hard with a fun game - sumo wrestling is fun. King of the hill - start with smallest kid, whoever takes down other wins, and keep going working way up Culture Parents are a big part of it - keep them tied in and on board Doing something like fantasy sports with the kids is a really fun way to build some comraderie within the players of the team Travel sports The biggest problem is the season never ends. In a perfect world, kids would only play a sport during its primary season, and then be able to enjoy other sports in the offseasons. The one that got away Chris' final wrestling match - he got beat someone who probably wasn't as good as him - but he had taken it for granted and not trained well that week. Best stolen idea Sports is a chess match. You always need to be 2 steps ahead, especially mentally. Favorite books/quote: Quote: 'Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard' Book: Wooden (by John Wooden) Parting Advice Have a system, plan and prepare -- Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here - Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter: SaveSave

WYC 167 – Youth Soccer – Gad Espinosa – Coaching the Mental Game

Gad Espinosa is a Certified High-Performance Mental Game Coach, and speaker who has been interviewed in numerous newspapers and radio shows. He has been privileged to train and mentor athletes at all levels, from those just starting their athletic careers to others who have gone on to represent their country and succeed at World Championships and Olympic games. As a former professional athlete, who has represented his country internationally, he knows first hand the psychological and emotional challenges a young athlete faces. As a parent of two former competitive athletes he knows the difficulty of raising athletes and as a varsity head coach, he sympathizes with coaches and their responsibilities. Gad is passionate about helping young athletes discover mental strength breakthroughs that allow them to maximize their development so they can take their game to another level and fulfill their athletic potential. Website: coachgad.com Instagram: @coach_gad Twitter: @coachgad Facebook: /Coach-Gad   Listen Now: Listen on iTunes: iTunes link Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link- - Coaching Your Own Kids It's a balance between smothering them and still coaching them and enjoying being a parent with them Coaching a sport you didn't play 2 requirements: Enthusiasm and a passion to learn more A-ha moment Gad, as a player, rarely had coaches discuss the mental side of the game - so he has emphasized this as a coach Concussion recovery Time is the biggest key. Take the time to let your mind recover and don't rush it. Mental toughness It starts with letting your athletes know it's ok to fail. It's a very important part of the learning process. Having a clear goal in mind helps build grit to keep working even if things don't do the way you want. Teaching skills Tag - they put a pinnie on each hip, and they run around and try to grab as many pinnies as possible from their teammates Keep away - in a circle, 2 kids in the middle, try to keep ball away from the kids in the middle Culture and captains Leaders emerge amongst teams 'How do I Improve my Kid's Athletic Potential?' Book on website: coachgad.com WYC guest enter promo code 'WYC' and get 50% off book! A mental program for coaches and athletes The one that got away Gad had specifically reminded the team about a specific thing to look for in the game, and 1 minute into the game this situation happened, and a player didn't do what they just had talked about. Gad regrets that he immediately took the player out of the game and didn't play him much more that game. Best stolen idea Preparedness Favorite books/quote: Quote: 'If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes.' - John Wooden Parting Advice Take a step back and remember how you wish you were coached when you were younger -- Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here - Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter: SaveSave

WYC 166 – Invisible Differences – Susan Stout – Bring out the best in athletes with ADHD, learning differences, and/or anxiety

Susan Stout educates coaches specifically about working with kids who have ADHD, learning differences and/or anxiety. As a former swim coach and now a mom to an avid young athlete with ADHD and dyslexia, Susan wishes she had known when she was coaching what she knows now about how to recognize the differently wired kids, manage the challenges and bring out the best in these athletes. Website: ownbeatathlete.com Twitter: @SusanStoutOBA   Listen Now: Listen on iTunes: iTunes link Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link- - Finding invisible differences It all starts with just getting to know each kid Some symptoms to look for: Can't sit still Talk back Interrupt Can't remember what you just said, especially with multi-step directions Inconsistent in their performance Poor sense of time (can be late) Poor emotional control Practical tips to coach kids with invisible differences Don't talk for long periods of time(no diatribes!) Routines help Give them a responsibility to keep them engaged Let them fidget and move Try to be patient - give them a minute to cool off Own Beat Athlete Website: ownbeatathlete.com Blogs, profiles of successful players and coaches with ADHD, letters from players Tools for coaches and facts to know about kids with invisible differences Cringe moment When Susan was first coaching, they lost a meet because the backstroke flags were the wrong distance. Susan was worried about over-coaching girls who had previously been her teammates. She learned she needed to be the coach first and not worry about trying to impress them or be their buddy. Keeping training fun Relay races are always a great way to compete and have fun while conditioning Achieving peak performance under pressure They start meets with cheering and getting energy up. Then she would have the athletes come and check in with her before their events to chat one-on-one. The coaching is finished at this point - instead reinforce them and tell them - 'you've done it, the work is done, now go have fun and show what you can do' The one that got away As a swimmer, for 3 years Susan was trying to break 36 seconds. 3 times she got 36.00. She still had a great time, just wishes she could have got a 35.99. :) Best stolen idea Building a culture of being a family. Favorite books/quote: Quote: 'A common mistake amongst those working in sports is to spend a disproportionate amount of time on X's and O's as compared to time spent learning about people.' - Coach K Quote: 'When I was a young coach, I used to say treat everybody alike. Instead- treat everybody fairly.' - Bear Bryant Book: Getting to Us by Seth Davis Parting Advice Build relationships. Get to know the kids, what do they dream about, what excites them, what do they like doing outside of sports. -- Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here - Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter: SaveSave