Today's guest is Georgetown University Head Baseball Coach, Edwin Thompson.

Since taking over the Georgetown program in 2020, Thompson has led the Hoyas through the most successful stretch in school history, highlighted by a record-setting 36-win season in 2024. Under his leadership, Georgetown has produced BIG EAST Player and Pitcher of the Year honorees, multiple first- and second-team all-conference selections, and back-to-back MLB Draft picks.

Before leading the Hoyas, Thompson served as head coach at Eastern Kentucky, where he led multiple 30-win seasons and coached All-Americans, Academic All-Americans, and multiple MLB draft picks. His resume also includes coaching roles at Duke University, Georgia State, Bates College, and the University of Maine at Farmington. In addition, Thompson has spent four years working with USA Baseball, evaluating and coaching elite national-level talent.

This episode offers a comprehensive look at the leadership, program-building, and player development philosophy behind one of college baseball’s most respected and rising head coaches.

Here's some notable highlights from our conversation:
[5:31] — Background Before Coaching

[7:13] — Finding Connection Points With Players

[10:55] — Relationships Are Key

[14:56] — Being Transparent

[19:56] — Coaching Other Sports

[27:13] — Recruiting Character

[32:05] — Onboarding New Players

[40:37] — Fostering Belief and Confidence

[45:42] — Leadership Lessons From a Losing Season

[53:25] — Owning Mistakes as a Coach

[59:40] — Leadership Lessons from MLK

Learn More About Zach:

• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to sign up for a free discovery call to see how I can best support you: https://calendly.com/zachbrandon/discoverycall
• For more practical tools and mindset stories like this, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/
• You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.

Most of us try to avoid losing, but if you want to become an elite performer you're better of learning how to leverage it. Inspired by Josh Waitzkin and his book, The Art of Learning, this episode explores how elite performers reframe failure as a deposit into future growth. Learn how to process losses productively, avoid the hidden cost of playing it safe, and turn setbacks into growth. 

Learn More About Zach:

• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to sign up for a free discovery call to see how I can best support you: https://calendly.com/zachbrandon/discoverycall
• For more practical tools and mindset stories like this, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/

When we're preparing to experience something new, many of us default to seeking wisdom from others (directly or indirectly) to prepare ourselves accordingly. But some lessons in life, sport, and leadership have to be acquired through first-hand experience. So if you’re stepping into a new season, role, or challenge, this episode will help you understand why some of the most important lessons in leadership can’t be pre-packaged.

Learn More About Zach:

• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to sign up for a free discovery call to see how I can best support you: https://calendly.com/zachbrandon/discoverycall
• For more practical tools and mindset stories like this, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/

In pursuit of mastery, good luck not experiencing failure along the way. This episode is a reminder that losing and failure will be inevitable in sport (and in life), but how you recover and bounce-back from it is a trainable skill. As an extension of my guest interview with USA Men's Head Volleyball Coach, Karch Kiraly, this episode is a glimpse into essential three strategies for managing failure more effectively. 

 Learn More About Zach:

• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to sign up for a free discovery call to see how I can best support you: https://calendly.com/zachbrandon/discoverycall
• For more practical tools and mindset stories like this, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/

Today we're joined by the Team USA Men's Volleyball Head Coach, Karch Kiraly. Karch is one of the most accomplished figures in the history of volleyball and one of the few individuals to reach the pinnacle of the sport as both a player and a coach.

Widely regarded as the greatest volleyball player of the 20th century, Karch Kiraly is a three-time Olympic gold medalist, winning twice in indoor volleyball and once in beach volleyball. As a collegiate athlete at UCLA, he helped lead the Bruins to three national championships and later became one of the most dominant beach volleyball players ever, earning 148 career tournament wins and six AVP MVP awards. His playing career alone earned him induction into multiple Hall of Fames, including the International Volleyball Hall of Fame and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

As a coach, Karch has built one of the most consistent and successful programs in international sport. He served as head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team for 12 years, compiling a 327–81 record and leading the team to its first-ever Olympic gold medal in Tokyo (2021), along with multiple Volleyball Nations League titles and a World Championship. In 2024, he guided the U.S. Women to an Olympic silver medal in Paris before being named Head Coach of the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team later that year.

In this conversation, Karch and Zach explore the human side of elite performance and leadership including what Karch learned during his first year leading a new national team, why self-doubt still shows up at the highest levels, how elite teams train failure recovery, and why pressure is best understood as something we choose, not something imposed on us. This conversation offers timeless lessons for coaches and leaders navigating transition, pressure, and the thin margins that define high performance.

Here's some notable highlights from our conversation:
[5:23] — Transitioning to Head Coach for the Men's National Team

[10:41] — Lessons Learned in 2025

[14:37] — Recovering From Failure

[16:22] — Training Athletes to Respond to Failure

[23:20] — Pressure Is a Privilege

[31:42] — Developing a Better Perspective Toward Pressure

[36:54] — Embracing Imperfection and Winning Ugly

[39:39] — Mastering Struggle

[43:53] — Coaching With a Beginner's Mind

[49:18] — Body Language 

[51:23] — Caring About the Human, Not Just the Performer

Learn More About Zach:

• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to sign up for a free discovery call to see how I can best support you: https://calendly.com/zachbrandon/discoverycall
• For more practical tools and mindset stories like this, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/
• You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.

Every year during the Super Bowl, companies spend millions of dollars for just 30 seconds of attention. This episode uses Super Bowl ads as a metaphor to explore why focus is one of your most valuable assets and how easily it gets spent without intention. Learn why attention functions like currency and how to create an internal “reset advertisement" to align your focus with what matters most.

 Learn More About Zach:

• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to sign up for a free discovery call to see how I can best support you: https://calendly.com/zachbrandon/discoverycall
• For more practical tools and mindset stories like this, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/

Moylan’s Arrow explores how one small design decision removed friction for millions of people and what it can teach us as coaches and leaders about environment design. Drawing inspiration from the real life story of Jim Moylan, this episode unpacks why leadership is less about telling people to “figure it out” and more about creating conditions for great work to occur. You’ll learn how to spot hidden friction and leverage the right people in your organization to remove it.

 Learn More About Zach:

• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to sign up for a free discovery call to see how I can best support you: https://calendly.com/zachbrandon/discoverycall
• For more practical tools and mindset stories like this, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/

Achieving goals don’t always require massive effort, but they do require leverage. In this episode, we explore The Domino Effect and why extraordinary results rarely come from doing everything or trying harder. Borrowing from physics, we'll discuss how small, intentional actions (when lined up correctly) can compound into powerful momentum.

 Learn More About Zach:

• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to sign up for a free discovery call to see how I can best support you: https://calendly.com/zachbrandon/discoverycall
• For more practical tools and mindset stories like this, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/

This is the latest segment of "After the Whistle," a short reflection series that follows guest conversations on Win More, Live Better. Drawing from my recent interview with Mitch Canham, this episode explores the often-overlooked idea of transition routines. We spend plenty of time preparing to perform, but far less time learning how to exit performance. This reflection looks at how intentional transitions can influence our consistency, regulation, and presence on those we love most.

 Learn More About Zach:

• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to sign up for a free discovery call to see how I can best support you: https://calendly.com/zachbrandon/discoverycall
• For more practical tools and mindset stories like this, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/

Today I’m joined by Mitch Canham, the head baseball coach at Oregon State University. Mitch’s story and career has come full circle as he once helped build Oregon State’s championship standard as a player and now carries the program forward as its head coach.

As a student-athlete, Canham helped lead the Beavers to three trips to Omaha for the College World Series and back-to-back National Championships in 2006 and 2007. He earned numerous individual accolades including 2007 All-America honors, and First-Team All-Pac-10 recognition.

Following his collegiate career, Canham was selected 57th overall in the first round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres. He spent nearly a decade in professional baseball, which extended up to the Triple-A level. 

Before returning to Corvallis, Canham built his coaching foundation in professional baseball, spending three-and-a-half seasons as a minor-league manager in the Seattle Mariners organization.

Since taking over at Oregon State, Canham has guided the Beavers to multiple NCAA Tournament appearances, Super Regionals, and a return to Omaha in 2025, when Oregon State won 48 games and advanced through five consecutive elimination games.

In the conversation, Mitch goes beyond results to unpack how he leads. He breaks down his belief that strong cultures and relationships are built on honesty, the truth, and communication. He shares how he reframes adversity from something that is “hard” into something that is worth accepting as a challenge, why leaders must build systems to guard against drift, and how his faith serves as a guiding light in his personal and professional life. 

Here's some notable highlights from our conversation:
[6:15] — Leadership Lessons from 2006 & 2007 National Championships 

[8:43] — Core Values and Pillars of the Program

[11:35] — His MVP'S (Mission, Values, Purpose, and Slogan)

[14:14] — Prioritizing Your Values

[18:32] — Upholding the Standards as a Staff

[33:20] — Preventing Drift as a Leader

[36:06] — Growth Amidst All Phases in Life

[38:40] — Coaching is an Art

[47:09] — Leveraging a Vision of Your Future

[53:16] — Faith and Family

Learn More About Mitch Canham:

• If you’d like to learn more from Mitch Canham, you can follow him here.

Learn More About Zach:

• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to sign up for a free discovery call to see how I can best support you: https://calendly.com/zachbrandon/discoverycall
• For more practical tools and mindset stories like this, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/
• You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.