In Episode 103, Horst Richardson, who coached the Colorado College Tigers Men’s Soccer team for 50 years and is a United Soccer Coaches Hall of Fame Member, talks with Phil and Paul about his extensive coaching experience and the lessons he learned from the journey, his favorite things about coaching, unorthodox film sessions, leadership and life lessons he has taught and learned from a half-century of coaching, how he defines success in coaching, why coaches need to not blow their whistles too much, and, most of all, some incredible (and funny) stories from his really long coaching career (all of which you can find in the book he and his wife, Helen, wrote about the history of Colorado College soccer (link below)). Specifically, Horst discusses:

• His personal story, his journey from Germany to Colorado Springs, his circuitous and serendipitous path to coaching at Colorado College, and how he developed his passion for soccer, leadership, and coaching (3:13)
• The story behind him sharing the stage with Pele at a NSCAA Convention in Philadelphia (11:10)
• A video project he is working on and how he used Super 8 video footage to do video sessions well ahead of most other coaches (14:00)
• Some fun memorable moments from 50 years of coaching, and lessons we can learn from the stories (20:33)
• What he loved about being a coach for 50 years at CC (27:46)
• An amazing story about when he almost lost a player in China (30:28)
• Why Horst reminds Phil of Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid, and what we can learn from it (35:40)
• How Horst defined success in his coaching and what he sought to teach his players during their time at CC (40:08)
• How we need to pour into all of our players on our teams (45:19)
• How he is using lessons learned from soccer in his marriage and parenting (51:00)
• More lessons he has learned from the game that he has passed on to his players (and anyone else that will listen) (55:33)

Resources and Links from this Episode

• The History of Men’s Soccer at Colorado College, 1950-2015, by Horst and Helen Richardson
• Uncut Video of the Episode
• HSEL Facebook Group
• Warrior Way Soccer
• Coaching the Bigger Game Program
• Phil’s email for DISC Training