Becky Burleigh, University of Florida Soccer Coach: Who Are You Becoming As A Result of The Chase?
Release Date: 03/02/2021
Daniel Coyle - The Culture Playbook: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups & How To Apply Them To Your Own Team (w/ Oliver Winterbone)
Coaching Coaches
My guest today is , best-selling author of , , and his newest book that was released this week, . In this episode, Daniel shares insights he’s learned about how to build a strong culture, what some best practices are around hiring and team building, and what he’s learned from consulting with the Cleveland Guardians. My co-host today is , Director of Coaches and Executives at Wasserman, one of the premiere talent management companies in the world. He previously worked for the Oklahoma City Thunder and University of Florida Men’s Basketball program in various roles. The Athletic named him...
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Paul Oyer, Stanford – Economic Value of Tradition, Reckless Spending in Sports, & The Most Insane Stat You’ve Ever Heard
Coaching Coaches
My guest today is , a professor of economics at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He’s also the author of . Paul and I start with the most insane statistic I have come across in my entire life. Then we blow through a number of topics, including gambling, the NIL, the effects of conference realignment within college athletics, public financing of private stadiums, why coaches get huge buyouts, and most importantly, why I was serving a huge need by reselling a boatload of UF football tickets when I was in undergrad. This was a fun conversation on the future of sports related to a...
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Francesca Gino, Harvard - Steve Kerr, Exploring Your Curiosities, & Embracing Your Rebellious Side (w/ Oliver Winterbone)
Coaching Coaches
My guest today is , a professor at Harvard Business School focused on why people make the decisions they do at work, and how leaders and employees have more productive, creative and fulfilling lives. Harvard is well-known for their case studies being used by colleges and companies all over the world, and when I saw she wrote a case study on Steve Kerr, I had to get her on the podcast. Our conversation today starts with lessons learned from studying and talking to Coach Kerr. Then we shift to the topic of her best selling book, . She was one of the most impressive people I’ve talked to...
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SPECIAL: Jeff Seder – The Best Moneyball Story of All-Time (via The Meb Faber Show)
Coaching Coaches
Today’s episode features a conversation between and on . In my last episode with Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, we touched on the incredible story of Jeff Seder and how utilizing data led him to go all-in on American Pharoah and later tell his employer, “.” Wise words considering the horse would go on to become the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years. Meb was kind enough to allow me to release the episode on my feed here for you to listen to. That being said, if you enjoy the episode and want to repay the favor to Meb, or are looking for a podcast on investing and what’s going on in the...
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Seth Stephens-Davidowitz: Moneyball For Your Life
Coaching Coaches
My guest today is Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, author of . I’m not sure if there’s someone whose work is more fascinating to me than Seth. His first book, , looked at how our Google searches reveal our true selves with topics like racism, child abuse, This book looks at what the data says on how to live a better life. We touch on parenting, finding a spouse, being a sports fan, what sport your child should play if they want the best chance to get a college scholarship, and how much of an athlete’s success is nature vs. nurture. His work is as fun as it is insightful and I’m sure you’ll...
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Seth Stephens-Davidowitz: Moneyball For Your Life
Coaching Coaches
My guest today is Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, author of . I’m not sure if there’s someone whose work is more fascinating to me than Seth. His first book, , looked at how our Google searches reveal our true selves with topics like racism, child abuse, This book looks at what the data says on how to live a better life. We touch on parenting, finding a spouse, being a sports fan, what sport your child should play if they want the best chance to get a college scholarship, and how much of an athlete’s success is nature vs. nurture. His work is as fun as it is insightful and I’m sure you’ll...
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GUEST INTERVIEW: Preston Greene and Shane Perkins – The Mindset of A World Champion
Coaching Coaches
Today’s episode features a conversation my good friend recently had with world champion cyclist, . Preston is the strength coach for the University of Florida men’s basketball team and one of the most well respected strength coaches in all of college athletics. Shane is a professional track cyclist who won the Bronze Medal in the 2012 London Olympic games and also won 2 world championships. In this episode, Shane talks about how he trained his mind and mentally prepared to perform, the importance of being coachable as an athlete, and what separated the great coaches from the others...
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David Shaw, Stanford Football Head Coach: Developing Players On & Off The Field
Coaching Coaches
My guest today is David Shaw, head coach of the Stanford football team. In this episode, he talks about what it’s been like to coach players like Andrew Luck and Christian McCaffrey at an elite academic institution like Stanford and lessons he’s learned working with guys like Brian Billick and Jon Gruden. Coach Shaw has been pursued by NFL teams and shares advice on how he thinks about his professional career, what makes him happy in life, and what one NFL GM said was the reason he pursued him.
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Michele Gelfand, Author & Cultural Psychologist: Is Your Culture Tight or Loose?
Coaching Coaches
Click HERE to watch the video referenced in the intro.
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Becky Burleigh, University of Florida Soccer Coach: Who Are You Becoming As A Result of The Chase?
Coaching Coaches
My guest today is Becky Burleigh, the head soccer coach at the University of Florida. She’s also the co-founder of What Drives Winning, which unites the top minds in sports. In 25 years at Florida, she has led UF to a NCAA Championship, two NCAA College Cup appearances, 14 Southeastern Conference titles and 22 NCAA Championships berths. She has 507 total wins, putting her third all-time in Division-1 soccer.
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My guest today is Becky Burleigh, the head soccer coach at the University of Florida. She’s also the co-founder of What Drives Winning, which unites the top minds in sports. In 25 years at Florida, she has led UF to a NCAA Championship, two NCAA College Cup appearances, 14 Southeastern Conference titles and 22 NCAA Championships berths. She has 507 total wins, putting her third all-time in Division-1 soccer.
In this episode, we discuss what it was like to get the UF soccer program started in 1995 and winning a national title a few years later with stars like Abby Wombach. We talk about how she focuses on not just developing the player but developing the athlete as a person. Then we dive into how meeting Brett Ledbetter led her to team up with him and start What Drives Winning. There aren’t many coaches who are better to listen to from if you want to learn about how to help your players become better people.
Show Notes:
(1:35) - Why she started DJ’ing
(3:30) - Early years growing up in Tarpon Springs, FL
(6:00) - Starting the UF soccer program at the age of 26
(10:10) - Importance of having her parents support in her career
(11:14) - When she decided to have a personal Board of Directors
(13:10) - Winning a national title in the third year at UF
(14:45) - Coaching Abby Wombach
(16:10) - Striving to win another national title
(17:17) - Focusing on personal development as much as player development
(19:30) - Meeting Brett Ledbetter and then launching What Drives Winning
(23:52) - What she’s learned from former UF & current Chicago Bulls head coach, Billy Donovan
(25:30) - What she’s learned from Cal Berkley head coach, Jack Clark
(26:00) - The future of What Drives Winning
(27:40) - Her typical schedule and balancing coaching and What Drives Winning
(29:58) - Evolving as a coach over time
(31:15) - The three team values: courage, team-first, and growth
(34:15) - What she would tell herself if she could go back to her first day coaching at Florida
(34:40) - Focusing on personal growth
(35:45) - What she’s learned from Dr. Jim Loehr
(37:00) - Lessons for other coaches based on her starting and finishing a season in 2020 amid COVID
(40:15) - Favorite moment(s) of her career: alumni weekends
(41:20) - End of episode questions
End of Episode Questions:
1. What’s 1 book every coach should read?
2. Who is one person you’d want to hear as a guest on this podcast?
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Nick Saban
3. What’s one area you’re looking to improve in over the next year?
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Everything!
4. What’s popular advice you hear people say that you think is wrong?
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Coaching is easy
5. What advice do you have for young coaches who are listening to this?
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“Comparison is the thief of joy.”
6. What’s the darkest moment you experienced professionally and how did you overcome it?
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When one of her players took her own life after graduating from UF.
Favorite Quotes:
“Here at the University of Florida, it’s always got to be in the conversation, right? I mean, people don’t come to Florida to not compete for national championships. So, I think every year the goal is the same if you’re an athlete at Florida, pretty much in every sport. I think the bigger question is just like, what are we doing and how are we developing in terms of that path to get there?”
“And that quote is, “Who are you becoming as a result of the chase?” And I think that’s a really important question because we’re all going to strive really hard for our goals. But in the end, sometimes we’re going to hit them and sometimes we’re not, but who we are becoming is a constant.
“I feel like everybody has to run their own race when it comes to your career and what you’re doing. And as soon as you start to look at something someone else has, then what you’re doing becomes diminished.”