Month: February 2015

February 24, 2015

WYC 035 Brian Brunkow from ZeroOffseason.com talks Football, Concussions, and Coaching kids with Divorced Parents

 What does it take to be a winning youth coach? Listen in as Brian Brunkow shares stories and discusses his journey to becoming a successful youth sports coach.

Brian is the founder of ZeroOffseason.com, where he trains wide receivers and blogs about youth sports, concussions, recruiting, and many more topics.  Brian is a divorce attorney and financial planner.  His background in divorce law has given him a unique perspective on the importance of dealing with divorced parents when coaching young athletes.  Brian began coaching his Junior year of High School, and has been coaching football ever since.  He recently was added to the speaker bureau at Glazier Clinics and will be speaking at their Head Coach Academy this spring on “Recruiting Regulations Every High School Head Coach Must Know.”

Website: zerooffseason.com

Blog: zerooffseason.blogspot.com

Twitter: @ZeroOffseason

Listen Now:

Listen in ITunes: Itunes link

Listen in Stitcher: Stitcher link

 

Coaching/Leadership Quote

  • ‘We run a forward-looking operation’ – Chip Kelly after tough loss

My ‘Cringe’ Moment

  • Ego – Early on Brian ran a no-huddle offense just to get penalties on the defense – but in retrospect – what was he really accomplishing?
  • Priorities – Was he focused on winning, or developing ALL of the kids?
  • Leadership – It’s easy to get caught up in the moment and fail to communicate with your assistant coaches – prioritize over-communicating with your assistants

My ‘Ah-Ha’ Moment

  • Importance of communicating at the level they can understand – and keep the explanation short (under 10 seconds)

Teaching Children & Keeping it Fun

  • Cross-train kids on different positions within a sport – they learn the game much better
  • Explain the ‘Why’ – so they can truly learn the game
  • From post-game to Monday practice – have kids think of:
    • 1 thing they did well
    • 1 thing they want to improve on
    • 1 lesson they learned

Huge Idea #1

3 areas to have the kids focus:

  • 1 – set process oriented goals (setting mini-goals within the game)
  • 2 – get present (teach the kid the big red delete button)
  • 3 – control the controllables

Mental Peak Performance

Huge Idea #2

  • Play present – The delete button, and ‘put on the thought-brakes’
  • Visualization – 2 things:
    • 1 – Visualize the worst-case scenario – and realize that failure will not define you
    • 2 – Post-game – Parents/coaches – Don’t discuss suggested improvements for at least 24 hours after a game

Coaching Resources

  • Bookmark your state’s interscholastic site – free resources on safety, concussions, etc.
  • ‘Peak Performance Sports‘ newsletter by Dr. Patrick Cohn – lots of mental tips
  • Ted Talks – Great talks, one on ‘grit’ is great
  • Your library

Concussion Safety

Discipline

  • Don’t use conditioning as a punishment
  • 3 Types of mistakes:
    • 1 – Mental errors – Find a consequence that hits home with the athlete
    • 2 – Behavior errors – 3 strikes then you’re sitting out the rest of practice
    • 3 – Safety errors – get parents involved

Rewards/Teambuilding

  • Focus rewards on process more than outcomes
  • To inspire conditioning – when offense scores, offense gets to do 7 push-ups; when defense stops offense, defense gets to do 7 push-ups

Inspiring Story

  • Kid whose parents were going through tough divorce – Brian really poured into this kid and tried to make a difference in this young man’s life

The One that Got Away

  • In a game where they were heavily outmatched physically – Brian and his coaches spent halftime trying to figure out technical adjustments – he wished he had spent the time just teaching life lessons

Best Stolen/Borrowed Idea

  • Chip Kelly – after tough loss, talked about moving forward not looking back: ‘We run a forward-looking operation’

Coaching/Leadership Motivation

  • Quote: ‘Fall down 7, get up 8’
  • Book: ‘David and Goliath‘ – by Malcolm Gladwell – problem-solving creativity

ZeroOffseason.com

  • Book, blog, coaching and parenting advice
  • Developing student athletes
  • Tips on coaching kids with divorced parents
  • Book on amazon: Zero Offseason

Parting Advice

  • ‘Don’t send a 10 year-old into early retirement’ – Make them love the game and love being on the team

 

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February 10, 2015

WYC 034 Upward Sports President Caz McCaslin talks about Playing with Purpose

 What does it take to be a winning youth coach? Listen in as Caz McCaslin shares stories and discusses God’s journey in developing Upward Sports to reach Hundreds of Thousands of kids through youth sports.

Caz is the founder of Upward Sports.  Established in 1995, Upward Sports is the world’s largest Christian youth sports provider.  Today, approximately half a million players at more than 2,000 churches in 47 states participate in camps, clinics, and leagues through Upward Sports’ Recreation Division.  In 2012, Upward Sports created its Performance Division – Upward Stars – aimed at young athletes wanting to further develop their skills and participate in a higher level of competition. Within the first year, approximately 900 athletes competed on Upward Stars teams.  Caz is married and has 3 grown daughters.

Website: upward.org

Twitter: @CazMcCaslin; @UpwardStars; @UpwardSports

Facebook: /UpwardSports

Listen Now:

Listen in ITunes: Itunes link

Listen in Stitcher: Stitcher link

 

Coaching/Leadership Quote

  • ‘Caz, you don’t need another gym…What you need is 1,000 gyms.’

Coaching Your Own Kids

  • Remember that each kid is different so you have to coach them differently

Teaching Children & Keeping it Fun

HUGE IDEA #1

  • The 360 Progression – Grow children mentally, athletically, spiritually, and socially
    • Children want to grow – so give them the right direction
    • The progression for each kid is very different – you have to build on where they are at – then progress them.  It has nothing to do with their age or grade.
    • The greatest challenge for a parent/coach – is to understand where each child is in their journey – then progress then appropriately

Mental Peak Performance

  • Confidence and arrogance are 2 very different things – They are the same on the inside, but the difference is on the outside – are you confident internally or are you bragging externally?
  • Getting better, progressing – builds self-confidence on and off the court

Coaching Resources

  • Upward equips and trains their coaches in all elements of coaching

Discipline

HUGE IDEA #2

  • Billy Graham on sports: ‘It’s the last thing left where there is immediate discipline for wrongdoing’ – so make discipline immediate and make it be something the kids really want:
    • Freezeball: If a kid is dribbling and picks up his dribble – yell ‘Freeze’ – everyone freezes, then explain to the child that he cannot dribble again or it is a double-dribble.  His options are to pass or shoot.  Then unfreeze.
  • Let the team come up with the rules – i.e.: If someone talks when the coach is talking – let the team decide at the beginning of the season what the punishment is

Teambuilding

  • Every team should do a service opportunity in their community as a team

Inspiring Story

  • Being on a team often has a powerful impact on individuals but on and off the field
  • Coach K response to Duke’s only loss of one season: ‘How could I be disappointed in how these kids have grown and matured? I don’t have one ounce of disappointment in anything that has happened with this team’

The One that Got Away

  • In Upward Stars’ early days – they had a game ripped away from them by a referee – but Caz actually wouldn’t change a thing – because the Upwards Coaches, players, and parents handled it perfectly with class

Upward Stars

  • Created to bring the positive impact of Upward Sports to post 6th-grade athletes in competitive levels
  • 480 areas across the country targeted
  • Currently 41 areas served and growing

Parting Advice

  • The tagline for Upwards – ‘Play with Purpose’ – Coaches have a purpose with everything you are teaching these young men and women – a purpose on the court and more importantly a purpose off the court
  • ‘The moment you decided to be a coach – you became a legacy.  What kind of legacy are you going to leave?’

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February 3, 2015

WYC 033 Athlete Development – Olaniyi Sobomehin from Pro Squad Athletics and the New Orleans Saints talks self-confidence and ‘Prime-Time’

 What does it take to be a winning youth coach? Listen in as Olaniyi Sobomehin shares stories and discusses his journey to becoming a successful youth sports trainer.

Olaniyi is the founder of Pro Squad Athletics, which inspires and propels young athletes to their ultimate potential by showing what it takes to be great, providing a plan that works, and the systems, habits, and mindset that greatness requires.  Pro Squad has successfully trained athletes at the youth, high school, college, and professional levels.  Olaniyi played college football at Oregon State and was an All-American his senior year at Portland State and went on to play for the New Orleans Saints in the NFL.  Olaniyi is also a full-time firefighter, and is married and has 5 children, 3 sons and 2 daughters, ranging from ages 11 to a newborn.

Olaniyi has also generously offered a free 12 page e-book on the Power of Habits to Winning Youth Coaching listeners, check it out here: prosquadathletics.com/winning-youth-coaching

Website: prosquadathletics.com

Twitter: @NiyiSobo

Facebook: /ProSquadAthletics

Listen Now:

Listen in ITunes: Itunes link

Listen in Stitcher: Stitcher link

 

Coaching/Leadership Quote

  • ‘Leaders are stubborn on vision but flexible on details and approach’ – Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon

Raising my kids

  • Who is taking control of how my kids are being conditioned(mentally and physically)?  If I don’t do it – somebody else will.  You have to invest in them and have a plan.
  • The Daily D system (Daily Disciplines) – each kid has a set of daily habits that are tracked and rewarded

My ‘Cringe Moment’

  • Early on Olaniyi thought his approach was the only right one.  He learned each kid, each team – have individual personalities and will respond uniquely.  So you have to constantly be learning.
  • ‘Leaders are stubborn on vision but flexible on details and approach’ – Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon

Teaching Children & Keeping it Fun

HUGE IDEA #1

  • Communicating in a way that the kids understand is your ultimate goal/challenge.  Use analogies with something they are passionate about (Legos, basketball, singing, etc.)
  • Tony Robbins: ‘The only way to know if you’re communicating well – is if your point is getting across’

Mental Peak Performance

  • Fear of failure- Great analogy – Olaniyi’s son hates to lose and might quit in the middle of a race – So he used the analogy of how obsessed his son is with Mari0 Kart to beat a level – when he fails to complete a level – he doesn’t quit, he keeps pushing reset until he eventually will beat the level.  So use this analogy to show your athlete the type of passion you need to accomplish something – quitting is the only way you will fail.
  • Quote: ‘As long as I take action, evaluate the effectiveness, and adjust according to my desired result, then it’s a win’
  • Initially the first killer of confidence is a lack of skill.  So initially establish a baseline and define some quick improvements where they can see their skill improve by doing some Daily disciplines.

HUGE IDEA #2

  • Confidence is a choice.  Olaniyi’s kids start each day by looking in the mirror and do ‘Affirmations’, they call it ‘Prime-time.’  They flex their muscles and tell themselves they are strong, confident, and proud.  They also record audio of their affirmations in GarageBand laid on top of their favorite track.

Discipline and Teambuilding

  • The #1 challenge for a coach is to establish a purpose for being on this team.  The athlete should be excited about coming to practice, not dread it.

Inspiring Story

  • One of Olaniyi’s students did not have much self confidence.  Olaniyi has worked with her to establish a life vision, purpose, morning mastery routine – now she is taking massive action towards these goals.

The One that Got Away

  • As an assistant coach- Olaniyi saw an athlete who was having a rough game – and he chose not to say anything because he was worried about overstepping his boundaries.  He regrets choosing passivity.

Coaching/Leadership Motivation

  • Quote/Book –  ‘ Never cut anything, never dilute greatness, never pull back on your horsepower, and never put a limit on your ambition, drive, and passion. Demand obsession of yourself and all those around you.’  – Grant Cardone in ‘The 10X Rule‘

Pro Squad Athletics

  • ProSquadAthletics.com
  • Inspires and propels young athletes to their ultimate potential by showing what it takes to be great, providing a plan that works, and the systems, habits, and mindset that greatness requires.
  • Pro Squad has successfully trained athletes at the youth, high school, college, and professional levels.
  • The Daily D habit system – for parents and for athletes
  • Athletes feel free to email Olaniyi with questions – [email protected]

Parting Advice

  • Be a student – invest in learning about your athletes- what makes them tick, what are their goals/expectations

 Promotions Partners

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Free 12 page e-book on the Power of Habits to Winning Youth Coaching listeners, check it out here: prosquadathletics.com/winning-youth-coaching

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