Episode 82: Craig Skinner (University of Kentucky volleyball coach)

🎙 This week on the Youth $ports Podcast: I sit down 1-on-1 with Kentucky Volleyball head coach Craig Skinner, one of the most accomplished coaches in college sports.

🔹 Fresh off a national championship appearance, 9th straight SEC regular season title, 21st NCAA Tournament, and a 2020 national championship, Skinner reflects on excellence and what comes after the confetti falls.

🔹 From carrying trophies to carrying firewood, Craig opens up about the quiet moments after an incredible season and the calm after the storm.

🔹 He shares the story of meeting his wife Meg, the reality of two coaches in one marriage, and the best blunt advice his wife gave him after his 1st SEC loss: “Shut up and get back to work.”

🔹 Marriage, coaching, and life wisdom: “The more you give, the more you receive.” Unconditional trust > perfection.

🔹 A powerful message for youth sports parents: Be the parent, not the coach. Your kids need you to be the same person after their best game and their worst.

🔹 Skinner explains why failure is a gift for kids and why always rescuing them does more harm than good.

🔹 He almost left coaching for banking… and admits he’s questioned the path more than once—but always finds his way back. 

🔹 Why winning has never been the goal: “Winning is a by-product of the micro and macro decisions you make every day.”

🔹 Transformational vs. transactional coaching, and why Skinner says today’s college athletics feel “worse than the Wild West.”

🔹 What made this Kentucky team special: different roles, equal value.

🔹 Recruiting truths parents NEED to hear: heart is non-negotiable, parents doing everything for their kid is a red flag, and they are not recruiting your 7th or 8th grader.

🔹 Plus: Eva Hudson, insane schedules, former players showing up decades later, and the randomest way a recruit has ever landed on his radar.