James is the Founder of Unleash the Athlete and former Head of Leadership and Character Development at IMG Academy. He helps college, professional athletes, and business professionals develop the mental and relational side of their craft through interactive lectures and teambuilding activities. James is also the director of performance for Complexity, the esports organization owned by the Dallas Cowboys.

Website: utathlete.com or jamesleath.com
Instagram: jamesleath
twitter: @jamesleath






Previous episodes with James:

WYC Episode 31

WYC Episode 50

WYC Episode 61

WYC Episode 100

 












Listen Now:

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Don't sell yourself short

 	James was going to apply for an internship at IMG, his mentor told him to go for the full-time job
 	Do you ever sell yourself short, thinking you're unqualified?

I've arrived - the destination of a championship

 	'I wished I would've enjoyed the journey more'
 	'Who am I now? I've always been the person going after this'

The Circle of Intentional Influence

 	Influence -> Relationship
 	Relationship -> Trust
 	Trust -> Authenticity
 	Authenticity -> Ownership
 	Ownership -> Credibility
 	Credibility -> Influence

How to Communicate Effectively

 	Take your sunglasses off
 	Take a knee
 	Take note of what's behind you (the sun, the cheerleaders)
 	Take 2 minutes or less

Unleash the Athlete

 	Online curriculums for coaches
 	Mental toughness, teambuilding activities, and much more
 	Website: utathlete.com or jamesleath.com



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WYC 151 – The Circle of Intentional Influence  – James Leath

‘It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men' - Frederick Douglass

Sports & Recreation

Professional

Amateur

Outdoor

College & High School

Kids & Family

Pat Williams, senior vice president of the Orlando Magic, shares personal stories from his time as a parent with youth sports as well as what he teaches regarding developing leaders through sports.

Pat's new book, CHARACTER CARVED IN STONE is about his discovery of the leadership virtues taught at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Duke University’s Coach K (a West Point grad) wrote the foreword.

Book: Character Carved in Stone







 












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WYC 170 – NBA exec – Pat Williams – Character Carved in Stone

Dr. Jay Martin is the Ohio Wesleyan University Soccer coach and one of the nation’s winningest soccer coaches ever. He has written one of the books in the series for United Soccer Coaches titled, The Best of Soccer Journal: The Art of Coaching. It is seen as one of the best soccer books in their book store. Jay is an author of several books approved by the United Soccer Coaches national office and advises them on their Coaches education curriculum.

Book: The Art of Coaching







 












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WYC 169 – 700+ Collegiate Soccer Wins – Dr. Jay Martin – The Art of Coaching

Chris Mance is a family coach who helps sports families pursue difficult goals while maximizing their happiness on their journey. Chris has a unique story from playing at football at West Point to becoming an entrepreneur, husband, and eventually a father of two young wrestlers. Through his experiences in leadership, Chris has been able to work with families to plan and execute their strategic plans.

Chris’s Website: chrismance.com

Chris' Twitter: @chrismance

Chris’s Instagram: @chairmance2







 












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Coaching Your Own Kids

 	Chris was really hard on his first son from an early age. He has gone 180, with him now and with his younger son, he stays focused on being proud of them and just giving them a hug afterwards and de-emphasizing the winning/losing.

Cringe moment

 	At youth dual meets, early on in Chris' coaching, he was too focused on the scoreboard with the newer athletes instead of just working on technique and focusing on improvement.

Teaching skills & Keeping it fun

 	Reward kids for working hard with a fun game - sumo wrestling is fun.
 	King of the hill - start with smallest kid, whoever takes down other wins, and keep going working way up

Culture

 	Parents are a big part of it - keep them tied in and on board
 	Doing something like fantasy sports with the kids is a really fun way to build some comraderie within the players of the team

Travel sports

 	The biggest problem is the season never ends. In a perfect world, kids would only play a sport during its primary season, and then be able to enjoy other sports in the offseasons.

The one that got away

 	Chris' final wrestling match - he got beat someone who probably wasn't as good as him - but he had taken it for granted and not trained well that week.

Best stolen idea

 	Sports is a chess match. You always need to be 2 steps ahead, especially mentally.

Favorite books/quote:

 	Quote: 'Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard'
 	Book: Wooden (by John Wooden)

Parting Advice

 	Have a system, plan and prepare



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WYC 168 – Youth Wrestling – Chris Mance – Helping sports families

Gad Espinosa is a Certified High-Performance Mental Game Coach, and speaker who has been interviewed in numerous newspapers and radio shows.

He has been privileged to train and mentor athletes at all levels, from those just starting their athletic careers to others who have gone on to represent their country and succeed at World Championships and Olympic games.

As a former professional athlete, who has represented his country internationally, he knows first hand the psychological and emotional challenges a young athlete faces.

As a parent of two former competitive athletes he knows the difficulty of raising athletes and as a varsity head coach, he sympathizes with coaches and their responsibilities.

Gad is passionate about helping young athletes discover mental strength breakthroughs that allow them to maximize their development so they can take their game to another level and fulfill their athletic potential.







Website: coachgad.com

Instagram: @coach_gad

Twitter: @coachgad

Facebook: /Coach-Gad

 












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Coaching Your Own Kids

 	It's a balance between smothering them and still coaching them and enjoying being a parent with them

Coaching a sport you didn't play

 	2 requirements: Enthusiasm and a passion to learn more

A-ha moment

 	Gad, as a player, rarely had coaches discuss the mental side of the game - so he has emphasized this as a coach

Concussion recovery

 	Time is the biggest key. Take the time to let your mind recover and don't rush it.

Mental toughness

 	It starts with letting your athletes know it's ok to fail. It's a very important part of the learning process.
 	Having a clear goal in mind helps build grit to keep working even if things don't do the way you want.

Teaching skills

 	Tag - they put a pinnie on each hip, and they run around and try to grab as many pinnies as possible from their teammates
 	Keep away - in a circle, 2 kids in the middle, try to keep ball away from the kids in the middle

Culture and captains

 	Leaders emerge amongst teams

'How do I Improve my Kid's Athletic Potential?'

 	Book on website: coachgad.com 
 	WYC guest enter promo code 'WYC' and get 50% off book!
 	A mental program for coaches and athletes

The one that got away

 	Gad had specifically reminded the team about a specific thing to look for in the game, and 1 minute into the game this situation happened, and a player didn't do what they just had talked about. Gad regrets that he immediately took the player out of the game and didn't play him much more that game.

Best stolen idea

 	Preparedness

Favorite books/quote:

 	Quote: 'If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes.' - John Wooden

Parting Advice

 	Take a step back and remember how you wish you were coached when you were younger



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WYC 167 – Youth Soccer – Gad Espinosa – Coaching the Mental Game

Susan Stout educates coaches specifically about working with kids who have ADHD, learning differences and/or anxiety.

As a former swim coach and now a mom to an avid young athlete with ADHD and dyslexia, Susan wishes she had known when she was coaching what she knows now about how to recognize the differently wired kids, manage the challenges and bring out the best in these athletes.







Website: ownbeatathlete.com

Twitter: @SusanStoutOBA

 












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Finding invisible differences

 	It all starts with just getting to know each kid
 	Some symptoms to look for:

 	Can't sit still
 	Talk back
 	Interrupt
 	Can't remember what you just said, especially with multi-step directions
 	Inconsistent in their performance
 	Poor sense of time (can be late)
 	Poor emotional control



Practical tips to coach kids with invisible differences

 	Don't talk for long periods of time(no diatribes!)
 	Routines help
 	Give them a responsibility to keep them engaged
 	Let them fidget and move
 	Try to be patient - give them a minute to cool off

Own Beat Athlete

 	Website: ownbeatathlete.com
 	Blogs, profiles of successful players and coaches with ADHD, letters from players
 	Tools for coaches and facts to know about kids with invisible differences

Cringe moment

 	When Susan was first coaching, they lost a meet because the backstroke flags were the wrong distance. Susan was worried about over-coaching girls who had previously been her teammates. She learned she needed to be the coach first and not worry about trying to impress them or be their buddy.

Keeping training fun

 	Relay races are always a great way to compete and have fun while conditioning

Achieving peak performance under pressure

 	They start meets with cheering and getting energy up. Then she would have the athletes come and check in with her before their events to chat one-on-one. The coaching is finished at this point - instead reinforce them and tell them - 'you've done it, the work is done, now go have fun and show what you can do'

The one that got away

 	As a swimmer, for 3 years Susan was trying to break 36 seconds. 3 times she got 36.00. She still had a great time, just wishes she could have got a 35.99. :)

Best stolen idea

 	Building a culture of being a family.

Favorite books/quote:

 	Quote: 'A common mistake amongst those working in sports is to spend a disproportionate amount of time on X's and O's as compared to time spent learning about people.' - Coach K
 	Quote: 'When I was a young coach, I used to say treat everybody alike. Instead- treat everybody fairly.' - Bear Bryant
 	Book: Getting to Us by Seth Davis

Parting Advice

 	Build relationships. Get to know the kids, what do they dream about, what excites them, what do they like doing outside of sports.



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WYC 151 – The Circle of Intentional Influence – James Leath

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