In our first segment, Coach Nick Winkler details his start in coaching as a GA at Saginaw Valley State before taking a job at AJ Dimond High School in Anchorage, Alaska. He discusses the some of the joys and challenges of coaching in Alaska, along with how he develops his players and exposes them to collegiate coaches. He also provides some key takeaways from his participation in the 2017 AFCA 30 Under 30 Coaches’ Leadership Institute.

Follow Coach Winkler on Social Media: @winkler_coach

In our second segment (16:38) we are joined by Chris Croft (@CoachChrisCroft), Visiting Professor of Sport Management at University of Southern Mississippi and Pete Van Mullem (@VanMullem_Pete), Associate Professor of Sport Administration at Lewis-Clark State College.

They recently conducted a study with AFCA Member Head Coaches about the career path to their current head coaching positions. Listen in to find out the findings of the study and their 6 Tips for Becoming a Collegiate Head Coach.

A link to the study’s findings along with contact information for Croft and Van Mullen can be found here: www.afcaweekly.com/careerpath

Our final segment (38:10) featured this week’s AFCA Staff Spotlight with Coordinator of Publications, Stacy Sirkel. Stacy shares her background and how she got to the AFCA and the creative process into AFCA graphic designs.

Have any questions, comments or ideas for the show? Send us an email, podcast at afca (dot) com. Check back next Thursday for another episode of Inside the Headset with the AFCA.