In this guest episode, I'm interviewing coach John Bacon. He's the author of Let Them Lead. Coach Bacon took the worst team in hockey and turned them around. He was able to empower his players and make them a winning team. It's a great story, and I recommend you listen to the audio version. Hearing the coach tell the story almost makes it seem like a movie, but it's real life.

Our "need to know" connects with our conversation with the coach today. It's all about the question of where does culture fit in with Project Based Learning. Every school has a culture. Like my annual canoeing trip, culture is like the river's current. Your culture is always moving whether you intend it to or not. Adding initiatives like Project Based Learning helps impact your culture positively.

Episode Highlights: 

[03:19] A positive culture helps build momentum. Culture is like the current taking your school down the river. 

[06:16] Nothing gives Coach Bacon more satisfaction than teaching and coaching. He speaks and writes but teaching is in his family.

[07:46] Coach Bacon’s team, the River Rats, was ranked dead last. In three years, he turned the team around and ranked number 53 in the nation passing 1203 teams.

[10:33] Coach Bacon's book, Let Them Lead is currently being turned into a screenplay. 

[11:31] Lesson 1. Make it special to play for the team. Making it hard is the easiest way to make it special.

[14:13] They were the hardest working team in America and not one player quit.

[17:53] Never tell your people what they can't do. Coach Bacon shares the story of Darth Nader. 

[20:41] Water all the plants. You don't know who's going to grow when or how far or how big.

[31:37] Coach Bacon advises any principal on the fence about building culture to get off of that fence!

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