4 Gamechangers I'm thankful for in 2016

Published: Fri, 11/18/16

As we approach the Thanksgiving Holiday in the U.S., I decided to make a list of some coaches who have had a significant impact on me in 2016 whom I am thankful for. This list could include almost everyone I've talked to and interviewed this year, so to be scientific I decided to take the top 4 downloaded podcasts I recorded in the first 9 months of 2016.

4 Gamechanging Coaches I am thankful for:

Scott Rosberg - WYC Episode 075

Huge Takeaways:

Scott's discussion around positive conditioning, where the winners get to run instead of using running to punish, has been the hottest topic I've covered this year.
Creating core covenants and then basing season-end awards around those convenants is another fascinating topic with practical applications from this episode.
Learn more at: coachwithcharacter.com; proactivecoaching.info

Adam Bradley - WYC Episode 067

Huge Takeaways:

Adam is co-founder of one of the biggest gamechanging tools for coaches - Lead 'em Up. The reason this is such a cool product is that it factors in that kids don't want boring lectures about character development, so this product gamifies the lessons. Adam has taught me a great deal about the importance of team captains and their importance in creating a winning culture on your teams
Learn more at: leademup.com

Stuart Armstrong - WYC Episode 068

Huge Takeaways:

Stuart's work around task design and player development in Great Britain is changing the landscape of youth coaching. A huge takeaway from our conversation was his discussion around task design: ‘Task Design is critical – because many people get uncomfortable when they see someone struggling and not being able to get there quite yet- so they either jump in and solve it for them, or they move on. But this never allows the learning to happen. The moment when they are close to figuring it out is actually the sweet spot.’
Learn more at: thetalentequation.co.uk

John Doss - WYC Episode 081

Huge Takeaways:

John has become a close friend over the last few years, I believe in surrounding yourself with awesome people who are action-takers and risk-takers. John doesn't just listen to, read, and study anything he can get his hands on to become a better coach - he takes action. John was inspired by one on the WYC guests in 2015, Willie Cromack from Episode 063, to do a service program with his team. They set up their Mission 2 Assist program to benefit a wheelchair lacrosse program and have raised nearly $10,000 to date. It is a genius idea because it kills 2 huge birds with one stone: focusing on assists instead of goals, and building gratitude with the team by focusing on a cause bigger than themselves.
Learn more: bblaxassist.com

2016 has been an amazing year, and I am so thankful for all the awesome people I've had the opportunity to meet and be inspired by. A special thank you to these four for all they are doing for youth sports

My Culture Journey

10 weeks in on my journey to turn around the culture of a team I help coach, you can follow along here: The Culture Journey

NEW WYC PODCASTS

WYC 098 – Multi-Sport Athletes – Daniel ‘The Honeybadger’ Hayes talks Goal-Setting & Positive Visualization

Daniel Hayes is a top ranked middleweight boxing prospect and Trinidad & Tobago’s boxing ambassador.
Growing up Daniel played a wide variety of sports ranging from Soccer, Basketball, Football, Track and Field, Baseball and Swimming.

Daniel shares his story of how goal-setting, positive visualization, and blood,sweat, and tears empowered his journey.

Go to podcast episode

I love hearing your stories and experiences, both the positive ones and frustrations you're having - just reply to this email and it goes straight to my inbox.

Make winning the right way your habit starting today,
Craig

Craig Haworth is the founder of Winning Youth Coaching, a site dedicated to helping coaches and parents make youth sports an awesome experience for the youth and the parents. He interviews coaches from around the world and posts them on his podcast, which currently has over 95 interviews and has been downloaded over 100,000 times. He writes a weekly note to coaches and parents. He is married to his high-school sweetheart and they share the blessing of 3 children and live in Franklin, TN. You can sign-up for his weekly note here, find him on twitter at @craighaworth1, or visit his website winningyouthcoaching.com.

"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men"

- Frederick Douglass