Timeout for Better Coaching

Mat Pistole of Bureau Valley High School has been in coaching for more than a decade, and never endured the kind of losing streak he is now enduring. Rather than get discouraged, he has drawn important lessons about coaching and the meaning of sport from his struggles. A twitter post about this went viral. Now, Mat joins Time Out for Better Coaching to talk about the lessons he has learned, and the important lessons that other coaches can take from his experience. 

Mark O'Keefe has spent a life in journalism. What does that have to do with coaching? Well, as a high school athlete he learned about the power of coaching from one of the legendary Cross Country coaches in his home state of Wisconsin. At Marquette University, he broke stories about the basketball team and its head coach. And in Virginia, he covered some of the better high school coaches in the state. In this wide-ranging interview, Mark talks about his own upbringing, the relationship between coaches and reporters and how to improve them, and his newest venture aimed at helping people get fired up about life and work after the age of 50.

5:00 Minutes - Mark talks about running for legendary cross country coach Donn Behnke, who took a moribund team and turned it into a state powerhouse, touching the lives of thousands of students in the process.

13:00 Minutes – Mark talks about his time spent in sports journalism, including breaking the news about the Green Bay Packers firing Bart Starr, and his story exposing advantages given to men's basketball players at Marquette University. 

19:00 Minutes – Mark provides guidelines for how to deal with local sports reporters. High school coaches will learn the importance of honesty, transparency, and developing a relationship. They'll also learn more about the journalist's proper role, and what to do when things go awry.

29:00 Minutes – Mark's new venture if Fired Up After 50. He provides insights on how to manage your life and career in the latter stages of life and how to thrive.

One could write a book about what Lauren Gaudette has been through, but she'd rather talk about today. Right now. And her passion for coaching high school athletics. In this interview, Lauren - who has enduring multiple major medical procedures, and been proving people wrong her entire life - talks about how she approaches coaching. Her passion for high school sports. What she gives to her student-athletes. And what they teach her. 

Follow Lauren on Twitter at @CoachLLGaudette

Want to know more? Watch this piece about her on the New Hampshire Chronicle. 

Neil Duffy is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, a highly decorated lacrosse coach, and the assistant boys' lacrosse coach and head girls' basketball coach at Norfolk Academy in Virginia. In this episode he digs into the importance of culture, the power of a "feedback loop" with former players, and the creation of the Someone Special Night program. 

5:42 - Coach Duffy talks about the ways his former teammates and players are woven into his day-to-day coaching. This includes how he learns from his players have moved on to college ball and what their experiences do to enhance his program. His favorite question to these plyers? "What's your coach's thing?"

12:00 - The power of coaching in Sound bytes.

15:00 - How attending your players' weddings reshaped the way that Duffy approaches coaching.

20:00 - The importance of adopting the culture of the school that you're at. 

25:00 - The Someone Special Night program at Norfolk Academy.

Melanie Redd is a performance trainer from Dayton, Ohio, who specializes in working with high school coaches and athletes to reduce injuries and become better performers. In addition to everything you would expect to hear a trainer talk about (weight-lifting, audits, certifications, etc), she talks about things you don't expect to hear - like how to build a culture in your program. She'll also talk about how to help you identify quality people to work with. When you're done, check out her site at mrperformancetraining. You can also find her on Twitter @coach_mel_redd and on Facebook.

Keith Chattin (On Twitter as @ChattinKeith) lives and coaches in West Palm Beach, Florida. Raised in South Georgia, Keith has developed a grass-roots movement calling attention to racial inequality and organizing conversations with coaches across the country. In this 17-minute interview, Keith talks about the importance of embracing those hard conversations with fellow coaches and players, educating yourself about the issues facing African-Americans, the role of the Equal Justice Initiative in helping him understand the problems minorities in this country face, and how his group Coaching for Changing is growing its reach.

Steve Young is the director of athletics for the City School District of New Rochelle, New York, and a co-founder of the innovative video series, InCourage. 

2:30 - Steve talks about the lessons his coaches and players have taken from the Covid crisis. 

5:40 - Are we in a "race to nowhere?" Steve reflects on the value of sports.

8:00 - Steve on the power of transformational coaching.

12:00 - Public schools need to do a better job of promoting the power of sports in public school, and find those metrics that speak to the power of sports in young people's lives.

15:30 - New Rochelle and the expansion of sports. Steve talks about the power of adding teams, and adding unconventional sports to keep kids involved. There's the struggle to create sports that don't have to cut.

18:00 - The possible role of intramural programs and afterschool programs in the high school space.

19:00 - Steve talks about the pressures that sports administrators face and what he wishes that coaches knew about their work.

22:30 - Steve talks about what he looks for when he is hiring a coach.

25:30 - Steve discusses the group InCourage.

30:30 - How should interscholastic sports and physical education classes interact?

38:20 - Steve and his passion for Boston sports.

Zach is the football coach at Nitro High School in West Virginia. He became a head coach at the relatively tender at of 29. In this episode, he talks about his quick rise through the coaching ranks, what he learned about himself and his players coaching through a season turned upside down by Covid, and the importance of diet for health. 

Butch Prosser is a retired high school coach from Georgia. He's been a championship football coach, women's basketball coach, lacrosse coach, and played a role in developing a training guide as part of a Olympic Committee initiative. He also talks about the innovative program he used to keep kids who rarely saw the field in football engaged with the sport. 

1:00 - Butch walks us through his career - from developing a love for coaching in his local parks-and-rec program that had older kids mentor younger players; to his days coaching championship teams.

2:15 - The importance of play, and learning to work out your differences face-to-face.

5:30 - The down-side of sports specialization. Overwork, no rest. 

6:40 - Butch was part of developing a handbook for physical education teachers, a project that was organized by the Olympic Committee when the Summer Games were held in Atlanta, Georgia. 

10:40 - Specialization in sport has had a negative impact on the ability of high school teams to recruit athletes.

11:20 - Butch talks about his favorite sports to coach.

12:40 - ... and his most memorable moments.

14:30 - The characteristics of a good coach.

15:40 - Butch discusses the ways he learned to adapt throughout his career as a coach.

17:45 - Navigating the coach/parent relationship

22:30 - Getting kids who aren't going to play a lot to buy into the program. He talks about how Monday was "Bowl Game" day for players who didn't get a chance to play on Friday nights, while the varsity team reviewed game film.

26:35 - On coaching and the importance of taking care of yourself.

28:20 - What Butch does and doesn't miss about coaching.

29:50 - Advice for young coaches.

Kristin Sheehan

Kristin is a program director with Play Like A Champion Today, which was founded at the University of Notre Dame. In this show she explores what her organization has learned about helping high school coaches become more effective. She also shares the powerful story behind the Play Like A Champion Today sign that Notre Dame’s players touch on their way from the locker room to the field. That story holds a treasure chest of wisdom for coaches and players and parents alike.

1:20 – Kristin discusses how she got involved in sports growing up, found her way into gymnastics, and eventually found herself on the cheer squad at the University of Notre Dame.

5:00 – Kristin talks about the history of Play Like A Champion. The significance of the finding that sports does not build character. The birth of PLC’s curriculum.

7:45 – Where did we go wrong with youth sports, and begin prioritizing winning over everything else.

9:00 – How the organization chose Notre Dame’s iconic “Play Like A Champion Today” sign that hangs outside the locker room for its organization. The organization follows the mantra. The significance of “Today” in that saying.

14:50 – Some thoughts on Coach Lou Holtz and the impact he has had on the organization. His cornerstones of Trust, Commitment, and Love.

17:30 – How PLC Today sees the transition from youth sports to high school sports.

20:25 – How coaches can ease that transition. The significance of communicating very clearly with athletes and parents about expectations and playing time. Developing a culture that loves every member of the team equally.

23:30 – The tension between high school and travel coaches.

26:20 – Learning to empower players who may not have much opportunity to play.

29:30 – The importance of letting the student-athlete to drive the recruiting process.

31:50 – Ways that coaches can deal with coaching during COVID.

34:00 – During COVID, don’t lose touch with your athletes. A better way to reach athletes.

35:50 – Project Play and PLC’s being honored by that organization.

37:50 – How to connect with, and learn more about, Play Like A Champion.