015(C): In this episode of Culture and Confidence, I reflect on some moments from my coaching career and how they've helped me learn what really matters. There is a constant battle inside of coaches between the way we feel/the way we want to react, and what might be best for the players/team.  From this reflection, I've landed on 2 questions that help me choose my approach to practices and games: What do these players need from me right now? Who do they need me to be for them in this...

014 (C/P): In this episode, I speak with Jeannot Basima, one of my players who has just completed his high school career and is about to begin his career at Yale. Jeannot is from the Democratic Republic of Congo and he shares insight about: Growing up in CongoComing to the U.S.Understanding your whyStaying focused through adversityLeadershipThe opportunity to attend YaleJeannot has some powerful ideas to share with players and coaches alike. It meant a lot to me to be able to do this...

013(P): In this episode of Culture and Confidence, I discuss ways to quiet Minds 1 and 3 and trust Minds 2 and 4 to help you athletic performance. We'll cover:  Letting go of judgmentNeutral ThinkingFeeling Your PerformanceVisualizationThe Sympathetic Nervous SystemMindfulness and Staying PresentNote: In this episode, I reference two books, The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey (https://amzn.to/3JiNjwJ) and It Takes What It Takes by Trevor Moawad (https://amzn.to/3NwkIq9). You can...

In this episode of Culture and Confidence, I discuss the Duel going between the Four Minds within your brain: The Controller, The Doer, The Reactor, and The Responder. How and When these minds interact, goes a long way in determining your thoughts, focus, mood, effort, perspective, and performance. We'll cover:  A quick anatomical look at the brain and what the different areas are responsible forA non-anatomical look at the Four Minds and what they doThe Duel between Minds 1 and 2 for your...

In this episode of Culture and Confidence, (Co-Host) Seth Goldberg and I continue our conversation about our experience building a strong team culture. This is Part 3 of a 3-part conversation. If you missed Parts 1 and 2, you can listen to them on Episodes 5 and 7, respectively. Over the last 18 years, Seth and I have built a program culture that allows our teams to level-up and sometimes overachieve.  In Part 3, we cover: You will have a culture whether you build it or not.How we got to the...

Today, I talk with Josh Merkel, the head men's basketball coach at Randolph Macon College. We discuss: - Partnering with your players: giving players a voice and ownership in your program - Teaching players how to see the game - The Leadership Journey: how to develop leaders through basketball  Chapters: Josh Merkel's BackgroundCreating an Environment to Build RelationshipsCoaching Staff Balancing Each OtherPartnering with your playersPlayer Ownership: Pre-game talksPlayer Ownership:...

In the Episode, In this episode we take a look at common perspectives of stress, adversity, failure, pressure, and expectations. We discuss ways to reframe these situations to improve attitude, focus, motivation and mental health, and how to harness the power of the stress response.   Key Topics: Two opposite things can both be true at the same timeYou can CHOOSE how you want to look at stressNot fake positivityStress is bad if you view it as badStress is sign that you care, this is a moment...

In the Episode, I talk to Johns Hopkins Mens Basketball head coach, Josh Loeffler. We discuss his use of hustle stats to strengthen team culture and increase performance. We also talk about the importance of transparency in communication and adapting to different situations and teams. Josh shares his view of team culture as an Ecosystem and how he recruits and hires people to join this ecosystem.   Key Topics: Using Hustle Stats to practice and play like championsBeing transparent and direct...

In this episode of Culture and Confidence, (Co-Host) Seth Goldberg and I continue our conversation about our experience building a strong team culture. Despite not always having the same resources and depth as other teams, they have built a championship-winning culture that focuses on character and leadership development through basketball. The ultimate focus is on building successful and confident leaders who can excel in any field. This is Part 2 of our culture story, and we cover: Adapting...

In Today’s world, there are so many opportunities to compare yourself to others. Aside from the methods that have always been available – comparing yourself to others in person, comparing yourself to people you see on tv and in movies, comparing yourself to people you see in magazines or hear on the radio, comparing yourself to college and pro athletes...Now we have the ultimate tool for comparison – social media.  In this episode, we’re going to talk about  How what we compare ourselves to...

In this episode, (Co-Host) Seth Goldberg and I discuss the initial foundations of our culture and how it has matured over 18 years. We cover: Our Success Over the YearsThe 1st Degree/Layer of Our Culture: Learning How to Win (play hard, be a great teammates, compete)Our Basketball Influences: Morgan Wootten, Bob Flynn, Jay Wright, and PGC BasketballThe 2nd Degree/Layer of Our Culture: Habits Built and Reenforced in the Off-SeasonChapters: A Summary of Our Career TogetherThe Different...

In this episode I want to discuss some ways coaches can promote the growth of player confidence on their teams by understanding 6 areas that impact confidence: ConsistencyTransparencyRegular FeedbackNot being transactionalNot putting players in boxesUnderstanding the Human Psychological NeedsChapters: The Confidence ContinuumThe 6 Areas of ImpactConsistencyTransparencyRegular FeedbackDon't be TransactionalDon't Put Players in BoxesThe 3 Psychological NeedsFinal ThoughtsThanks so much for...

In this episode, I discuss 9 strategies to help you be more confident in yourself as an athlete. These strategies are: Win StackingDaily Top 10Made by MistakesBe your own Biggest FanPersonal MantraPower WordsMental Highlight ReelVideo Top 10The FixerChapters: My Sports Confidence JourneyCharacteristics of Confident Athletes5 Factors that Influence Sports ConfidenceFactor 1: Preparation/Work Ethic and Factor 2: Past Successes and FailuresFactor 3: What you Say to Yourself and Factor 4: What...

In this episode, I discuss: How most coaches start forming their coaching philosophy and styleWhy using coaches on TV as models isn’t always the best ideaThe stereotypical “old school” and stereotypical “new school” coaching stylesWhich style I believe is the best one to use and where I think some coaches are missing the markChapters: How we first develop our coaching styleKeeping an open mind"It worked for us.""Kids today"The New School CoachThe Old School CoachIs there a middle...

In this Episode, I discuss how you can build Bulletproof Self-Confidence...confidence that doesn't waiver based on how you play in a game or how other people treat you. Key Concepts: What do you need to do and who do you need to be for you to truly trust yourself?Can you build a self-identity that is separate from how good an athlete you are?Can you base yourself identity on your values and live by a code?Can you base your confidence and self-worth on factors that are under your control?What...