The Leave It Better Podcast

You’ve toned your muscles, you’ve mastered your technique, but how are you going to perform when your confidence fails? How will you handle injuries? As a former professional player, and author of the sports psychology book, Headstrong, and founder of Headstrong Mindset Counseling, Dr. Brooke Rundle works with athletes to control their fears and master their doubts. 

Dr. Rundle explains the foundational mental skills that top athletes need to win on the court, and even more so in their lives after they’re done.

Be sure to check out the end of the interview for a special “Progressive Muscle Relaxation” session; something coaches can start doing with their players right now.

Links mentioned:

To learn more about Dr. Rundle’s Headstrong Mindset program, please visit her website: https://headstrongmindset.com/brooke-rundle/

• For more information go to www.side-out.org.
• Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/
• Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: [email protected]

Wisconsin Head Volleyball Coach Kelly Sheffield has developed some of the best players in the sport. His methods might be a bit different than a typical coach, but then again, you don't want typical players if you want to win championships. Coach Sheffield talks with Janice about the importance of losing games (yes, losing), and find out how his music selection during training and practice sessions plays a role in shaping some of the most skilled players in the league.

Links mentioned:

• For more information go to www.side-out.org.
• Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/
• Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: [email protected]

Starting out as a sports psychologist, Paco Labrador was always looking for ways to help athletes and programs bring out the very best in themselves. However, once he saw our life as a head coach could be, he was set on changing paths. Now, as the Head Coach of Volleyball at the Naval Academy, Paco is living his dream. He took the Naval Academy to their first NCAA Volleyball Tournament, and was voted the National Coach of the Year for Division 3. Paco has done great things, perhaps in part because he had a great start… as one of Janice’s assistant coaches back in 1997! 

Links mentioned:

• For more information go to www.side-out.org.
• Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/
• Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: [email protected]

What is the ideal personality for a coach to have? Who should be the most competitive person on the team? How do you manage a new team every year? Coach Julie Jenkins has spent the last 40 years figuring out the answers to these big questions. As the head coach at Trinity University in Texas, Coach Jenkins is the victory leader in Division 3, with 1,080 wins. She’s even been recognized as the national coach of the year twice by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).

Janice and Coach Jenkins discuss the strategies they’ve picked up over their generation-long careers.

Links mentioned:

• For more information go to www.side-out.org.
• Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/
• Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: [email protected]

Meet the woman whose power and bravery on the court led Team USA to their first-ever Olympic gold medal in women’s volleyball. Jordan Larson is a four-time Olympian with two silver medals and a bronze to go with her gold. As the new Assistant Coach for the University of Nebraska, Jordan is bringing us some of her best Lessons she discovered while playing on the US Olympic team. Hear how she implements those lessons now as a coach herself, and how you can, too! Find out what separates the Gold medal players from the rest.

Links mentioned:

• For more information go to www.side-out.org.
• Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/
• Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: [email protected]

The vast majority of volleyball players go their whole career without winning a national championship. Meet Molly Phillips. She's won three national championships! Two of those wins came back-to-back with the University of Texas. She then moved to the beach volleyball team at the University of Southern California and won her third national championship.

Molly tells Janice about her pre-game superstitions, training for the pros, and the importance of the smallest roles on the team.

Links mentioned:

• For more information go to www.side-out.org.
• Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/
• Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: [email protected]

Think about what it takes to win a state championship. Now imagine doing that 10 times! As the Head Volleyball coach at RHAM High School in Hebron, Connecticut, Tim Guernsey has made that astonishing Achievement. Before Tim began running the volleyball program at RHAM High school, it didn’t even exist. He built it from the ground up into a program now known for dominating the court. Hear why one of his biggest challenges today is teaching his new players that winning doesn’t come as easy as he and his team make it seem.

Links mentioned:

• For more information go to www.side-out.org.
• Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/
• Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: [email protected]

Taking immature high school players and evolving them into formidable athletes takes more than just carefully planned training routines. Coach Stephanie Noriega has found a way to grow her players her players into confident and caring young women, unafraid of new challenges. She’s the Head Coach of Volleyball at West Springfield High School in Virginia. Just as important, Stephanie helped build and grow the Dig Pink charity tournaments with the Side-Out Foundation at their very beginning.

Stephanie shares her way of inspiring her players to win on the court, and be proud of themselves off the court.

Links mentioned:

• For more information go to www.side-out.org.
• Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/
• Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: [email protected]

Talent comes at a young age — whether you’re playing or coaching. As someone in her mid-twenties, Katie Oleksak has quickly rose in the world of volleyball.

This NCAA Woman of the Year nominee broke the career assist record (5,083) at Colorado State University, and earned All-American honors each of her four seasons. After graduating, Katie wasted no time going pro and competing in Switzerland. She took a chance during the pandemic From there, Katie made the transition from the court to the clipboard, becoming the Director of Volleyball Operations at University of San Diego. Katie also serves as the community engagement leader for the Dig Pink organization. 

Hear her philosophy on taking chances in life, even when you’re worried of the outcomes.

Links mentioned:

• For more information go to www.side-out.org.
• Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/
• Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: [email protected]

Team USA has only ever won four Olympic Gold medals in volleyball. One of those Golds belongs to coach Hugh McCutcheon. He led the men’s team to Gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Hugh then switched over to coach the U.S. Women’s National team to a Silver medal finish at the London Olympics in 2012. Now serving as the Assistant Athletics Director for the University of Minnesota, Hugh talks with Janice about his keys to success, and the differences between winning on a national stage versus winning on a global stage at the Olympics. 

Links mentioned:

• For more information go to www.side-out.org.
• Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/
• Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: [email protected]