Kevin Guzzo is the long time AD at St. Joseph HS, MI. In this podcast we discuss the following topics:

1. Changing the name, "Athletic Director"

2. Breaking free of the paperwork

3. You must lead yourself 1st

4. When to pull the plug on a coach

5. 90s Culture vs Today

Scott Garvis is a long time AD, speaker, and now author of 4 great books! In this episode Nate throws the following questions at Scott, and he hits 'em out of the park:

1. What do you love about the job?

2. How do you handle coaches that have no interest in learning? (Swallowing the Frog)

3. Tell us more about your practice "Walk Thru" form.

4. How do you get into writing and speaking?

5. Tell us about your new book, True Legacy of a Coach

On a road trip to Nebraska to capture some mic'd up practices I got to stop by Wahoo HS and chat with AD Robert Barry. The former Nebraska tight end became the AD at Wahoo 7 years ago and is doing some great leadership work. Here's a list of questions Robert answered:

1. How do you generate good conversations amongst your staff?

2. How have you handled coaches that struggled to admit areas of needed growth?

3. What have you learned from some of your coaches?

4. Tell us about your student leadership group.

5. What excites you about your job?

This episode was recorded in Seward Nebraska! Scott and I had a great conversation about the art of coaching. Here's a list of the questions Scott spoke on:

1. What's great about your job?

2. Tell us about your coaches academy?

3. What were the results on your study on momentum in sports?

4. Where does coaching the mind fit into practice?

Jason Grunkemeyer went from playing D1 basketball to coaching it. Though there was one year mixed in there as a high school AD, he put together a good career coaching NCAA basketball which included stops at Miami of Ohio and Ball State. 3 years ago, Jason got an opportunity to get into athletic administration at the University of Maine, and outside of a single year as a high school athletic director back in 2012, this was a new experience for him.

Questions we cover in this episode:

1. What's the difference in your professional approach as an AD vs a coach?

2. What's life as a collegiate AD look like?

3. How do you handle working with top notch coaches?

4. What can we expect with NIL?

5. Where do you use your competitive energy these days?

Mark Price played his college basketball at Samford then coached men's college basketball for 21 years before ending up at Baylor School in Chattanooga coaching their high profile basketball program. Recently, he gave it up to give his full attention to leading the entire athletic department at Baylor. In this episode Mark talks about the transition, about how an AD can serve his or her coaches, and what doing the AD job well, looks like.

Jason Maxwell is a fairly new to the world of being an AD and had great insight to share in this episode of Coaches Be Encouraged. We asked Jason about what 'Good Baseball' looks like, what's tough about being an AD, what's a hard lesson you've had to learn, and who in your building is doing a great job as a coach?

Jeff Behrens has been the AD at Pewaukee WI for 8 years now and is doing a great job pouring into his coaches. In this episode, Jeff talks about building a good team around you because the discouraging days cannot be avoided. He also shares a great story from his girls basketball coach and gives an idea of how he is promoting growth within his athletic department.

Mike Ellson, CMAA is the executive director of the TIAAA and was able to put together an incredible 33 year career as an Athletic Administrator. In this episode Mike gives thoughtful answers to the following questions: What are the keys to a long career? How do you know if it's your calling? How can you encourage your coaches to develop friendships? Why get involved with the NIAAA?

Ingle Martin has been at Christ Presbyterian Academy for 15 years. The former college football player who spent time in the NFL is now serving as an athletic director and head football coach. In this episode he speaks on dealing with conflict, knowing when a battle is worth fighting, and how let the other sports know that you don't only care about the one you coach.