Win More, Live Better

Today's guest is one of the most accomplished coaches in the history of basketball. With 1,216 career wins, Tara Vanderveer ranks second all-time in NCAA basketball history. Over her legendary career at Stanford University, she led her teams to 3 National Championships, 14 Final Four appearances, and an unprecedented 36 consecutive NCAA Tournament berths.

A 5-time National Coach of the Year, VanDerveer also made history on the international stage, guiding Team USA to a perfect 60-0 record and a gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games, helping lay the foundation for what would become the WNBA.

Her journey began humbly as an unpaid graduate assistant and today she now stands as a two-time Hall of Famer (inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame). Beyond the wins, her legacy is defined by her integrity, a standard of excellence and an unwavering dedication to advancing women’s sports.

Here's some notable highlights from our conversation:

• [17:51] Coaches set the example for their players
• [26:17] Learning from things off-the-court
• [28:36] Sharing analogies and stories with your team
• [33:11] Partnering with an executive coach 
• [37:25] Benefits of being coached in the last chapter of her career

More Resources:

• 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/

In the final episode of the "Working In" series, we explore the fourth inner block: Limiting beliefs. You’ll learn why we can’t outperform our self-image and how to challenge thinking that hinders the perception we create for ourselves. You’ll also hear a real-life story of how one phrase shaped a professional athlete’s identity and, subsequently, his career.

• 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/

Your brain is a storyteller, but not all the stories it tells are true. In this episode, we uncover how interpretations (the stories and opinions we form about other people, events, etc.) can trap us in false realities. We'll discuss why awareness is the first step to dismantling these narratives and why the questions you ask yourself can be a valuable tool to re-write them.

• 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/

Your past doesn’t get to decide your future, but assumptions will try to convince you otherwise. In this episode, we examine how assumptions keep people playing small and living a life that is fear-driven. Whether it’s in leadership or everyday decisions, these subtle patterns can hinder our potential. I share a mindset shift that can help you "be a better lawyer" with yourself and start to challenge the assumptions that are ruling your 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/

Gremlins are our inner voices that whisper “You’re not smart enough” or “You’re not good enough" (or some similar iteration of this). In this episode, we explore how gremlins operate as your Inner Critic and how to start the process of tapping into your Inner Coach instead. We all wrestle with Gremlins, but my hope is that this episode helps you start to release it's negative power and step into action anyway.

• 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/

We train our bodies to get stronger, but what about our minds? In this opening episode of a new 5-part series, we explore the concept of “working in” and why inner work, not tactics, is the key to your next breakthrough. Because most people don't need a new skill or tactic, they just need to enhance what they're telling themselves and what they're listening to.

• 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/

Today's guest is a three-time World Series champion, the 1998 World Series MVP, a National Championship-winning head coach, and a Olympic gold medalist.

Scott Brosius is currently in his second year as the Vice President of Athletics for Linfield University. Following a 11-year career in the Major Leagues (including one All-Star season in 1998), Brosius returned to his alma mater (then Linfield College) and served as the head baseball coach from 2007-2016. He was named the Northwest Conference Coach of the Year five times and led the Wildcats to the Division III Championship Finals four times and claimed the national championship in 2013.

Brosius then went on to be a hitting coach, field coordinator and third-base coach for the Seattle Mariners organization and, eventually, became the Senior Director of Player Development at USA Baseball in 2019. Brosius started his current role at Linfield in 2024.

Here's some notable highlights from our conversation:

• [15:49] Lessons from two Hall of Fame Managers in the Big Leagues
• [29:31] A valuable lesson from a loss at the DIII College World Series
• [32:38] The importance of expectations and modeling the standard as a leader
• [51:11] What he learned from Cal Ripken Jr. at an All-Star Game
• [56:40] Empathy as a leader and developing your coaching filter

More Resources:

• 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/

Today’s episode wasn’t what I planned, but it’s what I needed to share. I read a beautiful reflection about a father’s legacy and the lessons it can offer to all of us to live better and more fulfilling lives. I hope, like me, it helps you slow down and think of someone in your own life you might share these lessons with.

• 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 do a Ferrari pit crew and a pediatric surgery team have in common? More than you’d think. This episode explores the unlikely collision of racing and medicine and what it teaches us about creativity. This episode is a call to expand your lens and learn from unexpected places. 

• 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 1911, two explorers set out to conquer the South Pole. One team made it back. The other didn’t. This episode explores the story behind that outcome and how pre-committed standards can be the difference between drifting and finishing. 

• 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/