Win More, Live Better

Scott Rueck is known as much for his servant leadership as he is for the banners and awards he's helped produce as a basketball coach.

He first made his mark at George Fox University, where across 14 seasons he compiled a 288–88 record and captured the 2009 Division III National Championship with a perfect 32–0 season. He was named Division III National Coach of the Year that same year.

In 2010, Rueck returned to Oregon State (his alma mater) to take over a program so depleted it needed open tryouts to fill a roster. In just six years, he turned the Beavers into a national power. Since then, he’s guided Oregon State to three Pac-12 Championships, five Sweet Sixteens, three Elite Eights, and the program’s first-ever Final Four. 

Along the way, he’s been honored five times as Pac-12 Coach of the Year, recognized as a multiple-time Naismith Coach of the Year finalist, and in 2024 was named ESPN’s National Coach of the Year Runner-Up after leading a team picked 10th in the preseason poll all the way to the Elite Eight.

Here's some notable highlights from our conversation:

[6:32] — Growing Up With Servant Leaders

[10:20] — Servant Leadership & The Arrival Fallacy

[13:13] — Evolving as a Coach

[18:24] — Balancing Patience and Urgency

[24:43] — Competing with Emotion vs. Emotionally

[28:14] — Learning Who I Am

[32:56] — Releasing Control & Letting Go

[41:37] — Coaching From A Space of Love

[47:25] — Love Creates Room for Courage

[52:53] — Faces Change, Mission Stays the Same

[57:20] — Staying Curious & Open to Learning

[1:09:35] — Showing Gratitude for Your People

[1:11:48] — I Will Never Sacrifice My Family

More Resources from Zach:

• For more practical tools and mindset stories, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/
• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to reach out anytime to see how I can best serve you: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-brandon-40169573/

This episode explores the principle of practicing what you preach and backing up your words with actions. A leader's credibility depends not just on what they say, but whether or not they live by their words too. Drawing from research on social learning and previous conversations with other guests on this show, this conversation unpacks why modeling matters and how to put it into practice.

• For more practical tools and mindset stories like this, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/
• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to reach out anytime to see how I can best serve you: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-brandon-40169573/

What happens when you reach the top and it doesn’t feel the way you thought it would? In this episode, we explore author David Brooks’ metaphor of the two mountains. The first mountain is about proving yourself. The second is about devoting yourself. If you’re a coach, athlete, or leader, this episode will help you reflect on your own climb and the commitments that matter most. 

• For more practical tools and mindset stories like this, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/
• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to reach out anytime to see how I can best serve you: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-brandon-40169573/

Miles Davis once said, “It’s not the note you play that’s the wrong note—it’s the note you play afterwards that makes it right or wrong.”  In this episode, we'll explore how the “next note” principle helps athletes, coaches, and leaders build the recovery speed they need to move forward on and off the field.

• For more practical tools and mindset stories like this, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/
• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to reach out anytime to see how I can best serve you: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-brandon-40169573/

When Jim Carrey was broke and unknown, he wrote himself a $10 million check and carried it in his wallet for a decade. But the check wasn’t just about money, it was about who he wanted to become. Ten years later, he earned a multi-million contract for his work on Dumb and Dumber. This episode explores two lessons from Carrey’s story: The power of writing your goals down and the practice of visualizing them daily. Both are accessible, repeatable habits that can help you move from intention to execution in your own life. 

• For more practical tools and mindset stories like this, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/
• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to reach out anytime to see how I can best serve you: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-brandon-40169573/

Cindy Bristow is one of the most accomplished figures in the sport of softball. A Hall of Fame coach, former NFCA President and pioneer in the growth of the game, Cindy has spent more than three decades shaping softball at every level.

She’s coached collegiately at Arizona State, New Mexico State, Wichita State, and most recently UC Riverside, where her pitchers have set program records and earned numerous awards. In the professional ranks, she led the Florida Wahoos to the WPSL title and was named Coach of the Year.

On the international stage, she helped build USA Softball’s inaugural Olympic gold medal team in 1996, directed Junior Olympic Softball for the ASA and later worked with the International Softball Federation to elevate the game in more than 120 countries. Beyond the dugout, Cindy has authored instructional books and videos, organized countless clinics, and served as a color analyst for ESPN.

In this episode, Cindy shares her perspective on helping players master struggle, how to lead through adversity, teaching athletes to reset by being curious rather than furious, and why empowering players to be their own coach on the field matters so much.

Here's some notable highlights from our conversation:

[9:36] — Shifting from Arrogance to Humility as a Coach

[12:50] — Helping Players Master Struggle

[16:18] — Getting Curious vs. Furious

[21:58] — Teaching Players to Coach Themselves

[24:25] — Fostering Belief in Players

[30:07] — Defining Confidence

[35:00] — The Knowing-Doing Gap

[41:30] — Making Practice More Game-Like

[47:12] — Leading Amidst Losing

[52:41] — Recharging as a Leader

[1:01:06] — Being a Lifelong Student

[1:09:26] — Advice for Next Generation of Coaches

More Resources from Zach:

• For more practical tools and mindset stories, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/
• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to reach out anytime to see how I can best serve you: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-brandon-40169573/

What happens when a zoo tiger is dropped into the wild? It doesn’t survive. In this episode, we explore why the same principle applies to athletes: If games are the jungle, training must prepare you for it. I share a conversation with a college wrestling coach about blending mental and physical training, the “knobs” coaches can turn to create adaptable players, and why desirable difficulties and contextual interference matter for developing better performers.

• For more practical tools and mindset stories like this, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/
• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to reach out anytime to see how I can best serve you: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-brandon-40169573/

For years, I waited to launch this podcast and stalled on starting this project. Now, 100 episodes later, I’m glad I finally hit publish. In this special episode, I reflect on five lessons I’ve learned from the process so far. Whether you’ve listened from day one or this is your first episode, these lessons can help you keep moving forward in your own journey. And most of all, I want to say thank you for being here with me on this journey.

• For more practical tools and mindset stories like this, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/
• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to reach out anytime to see how I can best serve you: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-brandon-40169573/

Why do some people get stuck in the past while others keep moving forward? The answer often lies in how we process events. In this episode, I share a powerful phrase from Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt: “Learn the lesson, leave the event.” Whether you win or lose, every experience has something to teach you, but only if you can extract the wisdom without getting stuck in the moment. Today's message is about acquiring wisdom through both learning and letting go.

• For more practical tools and mindset stories like this, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/
• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to reach out anytime to see how I can best serve you: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-brandon-40169573/

In this episode, I share a personal story from my work with a professional baseball pitcher who was stuck at a plateau. In an attempt to show empathy, I made the mistake of lowering the standard he had set for himself. That moment taught me an unforgettable lesson: As leaders and coaches, we must resist the urge to comfort with justifications and reasons. Instead, we need to coach people toward the version of themselves they aspire to be.

• For more practical tools and mindset stories like this, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/
• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to reach out anytime to see how I can best serve you: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-brandon-40169573/