The Highest Level Podcast with Evan Burk

Alan Stein Jr. is a speaker, author, and performance coach who spent 15 years working with the highest-performing basketball players on the planet, including NBA superstars Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Kobe Bryant.

In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Alan about how he embraced being "the warm-up guy" to set the foundation for his career, how great athletes raise their game by focusing on the basics, and how professional basketball players hone their mental management techniques to sustain their game in basketball and in life.

Buy Alan's book, Sustain Your Game

Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles, to learn about how high-performing teams are built and the hidden character traits that drive all elite performers and organizations.

To stay up to date with Evan and The Highest Level podcast, sign up for Evan's leadership newsletter.

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Buy Evan's book, Finding Intangibles

EVAN BURK is an author, speaker, former NFL coach, and podcast host who uses the sports world as his backdrop to engage audiences with thought-provoking lessons of leadership, team-building, and creating championship cultures. Learn more about having Evan come speak to your team by visiting his website, or email him at: [email protected]

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Tune into this episode to hear:

• How does one become a basketball performance coach?
• How performance coaching differs from Strength & Conditioning
• Working with Great NBA players early in their careers
• Starting his career as the "warm up guy"
• "Star where you are" and the value of accepting your role
• Social Media and placing self-worth internally
• Avoiding the comparison game
• How the people that surround you influence your own performance
• Dealing with negativity in your life and having compassion for others
• Alan's new book, Sustain Your Game

Kevin Eastman is an author, speaker and former NBA coach. Kevin has coached the game at the college and professional levels over a career spanning 35+ years, and recently published his first book, Why The Best Are the Best.

In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Kevin about what he learned working for with Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett's "silent work ethic", the team concept that separated the 2008 Boston Celtics NBA championship team, and the most important components to achieving success in basketball and in life.

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Kevin's book: Why the Best are the Best

Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles, to learn about how high-performing teams are built and the hidden character traits that drive all elite performers and organizations.

To stay up to date with Evan and The Highest Level podcast, sign up for Evan's leadership newsletter.

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Tune into this episode to hear:

• Kevin's college coaching career prepared him for coaching in the NBA
• Finding his voice early in his coaching career
• Being a NBA assistant coach and "learning to talk in bullet points"
• What it was like to work for Doc Rivers
• How accountability was established on the Boston Celtics
• The Ingredients of a Championship team - 2008 Boston Celtics
• Adding Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and How the 2008 Celtics team came together so quickly
• Reggie Bullock's Development over his career
• Getting Players to Understand the Value of Failure
• Values and People: The Keys to Building a Championship Team
• "Coaching is leading in a highly competitive environment - and I want to know how they are doing it."

Yogi Roth is a storyteller, a Pac-12 Networks college football analyst, former college coach, Award-Winning Filmmaker, Best-Selling Author, World-Traveler and podcast host.

In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Yogi about what he learned working for Pete Carroll at USC, what separates the great athletes he's worked in his career, and how he elicits a wide-range of emotions through his storytelling.

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Learn more at YogiRoth.com

Yogi's books: From PA to LA, and Win Forever with Pete Carroll

Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles, to learn about how high-performing teams are built and the hidden character traits that drive all elite performers and organizations.

To stay up to date with Evan and The Highest Level podcast, sign up for Evan's leadership newsletter.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• How Larry Fitzgerald set himself apart as a college player at Pitt
• What it's like to work with Pete Carroll
• The common misconception of Pete Carroll
• Adding competitive players and coaches to the USC football team
• How traveling the world shaped Yogi's worldview
• Yogi's next chapter as a storyteller and TV football analyst
• Getting his big break on the Red Carpet at the ESPY's
• Yogi's next chapter as a storyteller and TV football analyst
• The trait that separate 5-star athletes that have success
• Yogi's upcoming children's book release

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The Highest Level was named one of the Best 5 Sports Leadership Podcasts in 2022

Dr. Rick Sessinghaus is a Mental Performance Coach, Author, Speaker, and Flow Trainer for high performance golfers. He has been a mental performance coach for some of the top amateur golfers and teams in college, and is currently the Swing and Mental coach for one of the top golfers in the world, PGA Tour winner Collin Morikawa.

In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Rick about his coaching journey with top PGA golfer Collin Morikawa, the background and mental makeup that helped separate Collin to become one of the best golfers in the game, and what it takes to master peak performance on and off the golf course.

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Rick's book: Golf: The Ultimate Mind Game

Find Rick on FlowCode Golf Academy + his website

Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles, to learn about how high-performing teams are built and the hidden character traits that drive all elite performers and organizations.

To stay up to date with Evan and The Highest Level podcast, sign up for Evan's leadership newsletter.

In this episode:

• Rick's journey from swing coach to mental performance coach
• How peak performance at the highest levels of Golf has evolved in recent years
• Rick's coaching journey with Collin Morikawa
• What separated Collin Morikawa from other golfers his age as an amateur
• The influence of Collin's parents on his development as a person and a player
• How Rick helped Collin create a 4-5 year plan to become a Division 1 golfer by combining long-term focus with metrics along the way
• The moment of defeat where Rick knew that Collin had a chance to be great
• How Colin Morikawa prepares for the Masters
• The importance of the people that surround you in an individual sport like golf

Share your favorite part and post to your Twitter or IG story and tag me @CoachEvanBurk and @RickSessinghaus so we can see and repost to our profiles and stories.

Episode website: https://www.coachevanburk.com/show-notes/26-rick-sessinghaus

Ryan Larsen is the head football coach at Carnegie Mellon University. Coach Larsen also worked at Indiana University, Wabash, Rhodes College, and Columbia University.

In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Ryan about how his elite organizational skills, creating a culture that is all about the team, and how he evaluates both the person and the player in the recruiting process.

Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles, to learn about how high-performing teams are built and the hidden character traits that drive all elite performers and organizations.

To stay up to date with Evan and The Highest Level podcast, sign up for Evan's leadership newsletter.

Josh Boyd is the Assistant General Manager of the Texas Rangers, where he oversees all functions of pro player evaluation and the R & D department. Boyd has been with the Rangers since 2008 serving in roles within Player Personnel and Pro Scouting, and spent 4 seasons as an area scout with the San Diego Padres.

Photo: John Gilchrist (Rotary Club of Park Cities)

In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Josh about how he went from a baseball writer to Major League Scout, the skill set makes a good evaluator, and looking at how players deal with success and failure to help judge the character make up of players.

Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles, to learn about how high-performing teams are built and the hidden character traits that drive all elite performers and organizations.

To stay up to date with Evan and The Highest Level podcast, sign up for Evan's leadership newsletter.

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Topics Discussed:

• Transition from baseball writer to MLB scout

• Learning as a San Diego Padres scout

• How his thinking changed in understanding of what made players successful

• What makes a successful scout in major league baseball

• How the Organization's goals and vision feed into the Player Evaluation approach

• Judging whether players have the drive to be great vs. just liking being a ball player

• How a player's fit within a system factors into team building in baseball

• What are you looking for beyond the game when evaluating players?

• Learning about players with how they handle setbacks, and success

• When to make exceptions and understanding acquisition cost

• What separated the Rangers' World Series teams from 2010 and 2011

• Where Josh get's inspiration outside of baseball?

Dickey Simpkins is an NBA Scout, TV Analyst, and 3-time World Champion as a former NBA player. He led Providence College to a Big East title his senior year in college, played on 3 championships teams with 4 Hall of Famers on the late 1990's Chicago Bulls, and has served as an NBA scout for the Charlotte Hornets and currently for the Washington Wizards.

In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Dickey about the winning culture on the Chicago Bulls under Phil Jackson, how his daily approach earned the respect of Michael Jordan, and using his playing experiences in his current role as an NBA Scout and TV Analyst.

Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles, to learn about how high-performing teams are built and the hidden character traits that drive all elite performers and organizations.

To stay up to date with Evan and The Highest Level podcast, sign up for Evan's leadership newsletter.

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Topics Discussed:

• Standing out at Providence College under Rick Barnes
• The instant change in intensity once Michael Jordan re-joined to the Bulls in 1995
• How Michael Jordan taking ownership for losing to Orlando in the '95 Playoffs was a defining moment for winning the next 3 Titles
• How Dickey evolved as a player under Phil Jackson and playing with MJ
• What set the 90's Bulls' team culture apart
• "Know Your Role, Embrace your role, and Star in Your Role"
• Being a part of the infamous "Sprewell/Carlesimo Choke" Warriors
• Watching Phil Jackson's leadership and the unseen things he noticed
• How Phil Jackson managed personalities and egos
• Using his playing experiences in his scouting and evaluation of players
• Understanding how situations impact the success of players

This special edition episode of The Highest Level features a keynote speech I delivered recently at a national leadership conference entitled "The NFL Approach to Building Winning Teams". This speech was the closing keynote at the American Society of Crime Lab Directors national leadership symposium on August 26, 2021 to an audience of leaders and directors in the forensic science community.

In this keynote, I break down the realities of building teams in highly competitive environments and share the 4 elements crucial for any successful organization to create a championship culture, whether in sports, business, or beyond.

If you're interested in having me speak at any upcoming event, please email me at: [email protected].

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Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles, to learn about how high-performing teams are built and the hidden character traits that drive all elite performers and organizations.

To stay up to date with Evan and The Highest Level podcast, sign up for Evan's leadership newsletter.

Cody Royle is an author, speaker, podcast host and football coach. He served as the head coach of AFL Team Canada, the men's national program for Australian Rules football, and author of the books "The Tough Stuff" and "Where Others Won't"

In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Cody about his work as a coach for head coach's, developing traits on high performing teams, and his podcast and books on people and leadership strategies.

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Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles, to learn about how high-performing teams are built and the hidden character traits that drive all elite performers and organizations.

To stay up to date with Evan and The Highest Level podcast, sign up for Evan's leadership newsletter.

Coach Mark Richt served as the head football coach for the University of Georgia and the University of Miami, as well as a longtime assistant coach for the Florida State University Seminoles under his mentor, Bobby Bowden where he was part of 2 National Championship teams.

In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Coach Richt about learning under Hall of Fame coach Bobby Bowden, impactful relationships with players built on discipline and compassion, and a coach's responsibility to set the example for teaching players how to become a man, husband, and father.

Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles, to learn about how high-performing teams are built and the hidden character traits that drive all elite performers and organizations.

To stay up to date with Evan and The Highest Level podcast, sign up for Evan's leadership newsletter.

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Topics Discussed:

• How Howard Schnellenberger set high expectation at the University of Miami

• His 1st job at Florida State and developing confidence as a coach

• Earning Coach Bobby Bowden's trust

• The elevation of the Florida State football program

• How they avoided complacency during FSU's all-time great run

• His mentality going into his 1st head coaching job at Georgia

• The elevation of the Georgia football program

• Building resiliency within the program, with players, and "Finishing the Drill" at Georgia

• How the Georgia program evolved over 15 years

• Returning to his alma mater as head football coach

• Commonalties of the great teams he was a part of

• The importance of getting the buy-in of the players

• Teaching players how to be young men