Libsyn Directory

#247 Manchester United's Tony Whelan and Tom Statham: Our Most Important Job is Protecting Childhood

Release Date: 11/19/2021

#375 Graham Betchart, Mental Performance Coach for UConn Mens Basketball and NBA All Stars, on Playing Present, the "Palms Down" Approach, and Being Your Authentic Self

Way of Champions Podcast

For over 20 years Graham Betchart has worked as a mental performance coach with the worlds top athletes and companies and is now sharing his wisdom through keynote speaking and music. For the past two years he has worked with University of Connecticut Men's Basketball Players, winning back to back NCAA titles, and has also worked with the NBA's Sacramento Kings as well as a who's who of individual NBA stars. His gift is simplifying mental training and making it accessible for all. His unique vibe adn authenticity comes through in our chat, as well as through his videos and music he...

#374 Angela Hucles Mangano, 2x Olympic Gold Medalist for USWNT Soccer and General Manager of Angel City FC on Leadership and Building a Values-based Sports Environment

Way of Champions Podcast

Angela Hucles Mangano is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist for US Soccer, two-time World Cup Bronze Medalist, former professional soccer player and the US Soccer Foundation’s 2009 Humanitarian of the Year. She is currently the General Manager of Los Angeles’ women’s professional soccer team, Angel City FC, overseeing the sporting vision of the club, and all soccer operations including coaching, the first team, player care, medical and performance, sports science, and all wellness programs and resources. Her passion is in helping others achieve their goals and dreams and...

#373 Pete Steinberg, Former World Cup and Olympic Coach for USA Women's Rugby, on Leadership, Coach Well-being, and the Difference Between a Great Culture and a Performance Culture

Way of Champions Podcast

Pete Steinberg is a leadership and innovation expert with extensive experience consulting with top Fortune 500 professionals. He also has more than 20 years of experience as an elite rugby coach, coaching the USA Women’s Rugby Team at two World Cups and the Rio Olympics. As a former U.S., international, and Olympic sports coach and commentator for major outlets such as CBS, ESPN, and Fox Sports, Pete has a track record of bringing teams to victory. He has won 11 National Championships with the Penn State Women, MARFU Men, and Temple Women rugby...

#373 Pete Steinberg, Former World Cup and Olympic Coach for USA Women's Rugby, on Leadership, Coach Well-being, and the Difference Between a Great Culture and a Performance Culture

Way of Champions Podcast

#372 Chad Metcalf, Former Navy SEAL and Professional Golfer, on the Key Components of Mental Toughness

Way of Champions Podcast

Former Navy SEAL, professional athlete, and entrepreneur Chad Metcalf (@chadmetcalf) is the author of Young Athletes’ Ultimate Guide to Mental Toughness. Chad’s journey began when he was a child. A self-described ‘late bloomer,’ he had the importance of faith, self-belief and focus instilled in him at a young age, equipping him with a strong mental toughness that he would carry forward and apply to every challenge he faced. Following a 12-year career in the SEAL Teams, he chased his PGA Tour dream. After running out of money for a third time he knew it was time to strike the balance...

#371 Colleen Munson, Western Michigan Volleyball Head Coach, on Authenticity, Accountability, and Developing Your Own Players Instead of Looking Outside Your Program for Solutions

Way of Champions Podcast

Colleen Munson concluded her 19th season at the helm of Western Michigan volleyball in 2023. During her tenure at WMU, Munson has posted 10 20-win seasons, including a program-record eight in a row from 2005-12. She has taken the Broncos to the NCAA Tournament in 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2023, including a berth in the Sweet 16 in 2008. Taking over a program in 2005 that had finished better than third in the MAC West just three times since 1990, Munson has led Western Michigan to six MAC West championships, including outright MAC regular season titles in 2008 and 2023, MAC Tournament titles...

#370 Steve Tashjian, Performance Specialist for US Mens Soccer, Everton, and AC Milan, on Trust, Collaboration, Leadership and Culture in High Performance Environments

Way of Champions Podcast

Steve Tashjian is the Founder of , which collaborates with elite organizations, communities, and institutions to build high-performance teams and systems. Steve is an expert physical therapist, sports scientist, movement specialist, and director of high performance. He was the High Performance Director of the Columbus Crew of MLS before becoming the first full-time American performance specialist in the English Premier League, leading the Sport Science efforts for Everton Football Club. He led the high performance department for U.S. Men’s Soccer Team for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar,...

#370 Steve Tashjian, Performance Specialist for US Mens Soccer, Everton, and Columbus Crew on Trust, Collaboration, Leadership and Culture in High Performance Environments

Way of Champions Podcast

#369 Becky Carlson, 3x National Champion Coach of Quinnipiac Women's Rugby, on Becoming an Advocate for Coaches and Creating a Culture with High Standards in a Challenging Sporting Environment

Way of Champions Podcast

Becky Carlson (@tfcoachcarlson) is in her 13th year at the helm of the Quinnipiac Women's Rugby team, where she led the transition from a new varsity program into a three-time national champion. As the original head coach of the Quinnipiac women's rugby team added in 2011, Carlson boasts an all-time record of 81–33-1 including back-to-back-to-back Division I NIRA national championship titles in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Under Carlson’s tutelage the program has been to nationals 6 out of 7 seasons and named 13 All-Americans. Carlson is a graduate of the NCAA Coaches Academy’s Class #36 and...

#368 Eric Potterat, PhD, Mental Performance Coach for the US Navy SEALs, LA Dodgers, and US Women's National Soccer Team

Way of Champions Podcast

Eric Potterat, PhD, is a clinical and performance psychologist and a leading expert in individual and organizational performance optimization. Eric retired as a commander from the US Navy after twenty years of service, during which he helped create the mental toughness curriculum used during Navy SEALs BUD/S training. Eric spent several years as the director of specialized performance for the Los Angeles Dodgers and has also worked with Red Bull athletes, the US Women’s national soccer team, the Miami Heat, and numerous Olympic athletes, first responders, business leaders, and NASA...

More Episodes

Tom Statham and Tony Whelan have a combined 60 plus years coaching and leading the young players in Manchester United’s Academy. Tony started out there as a schoolboy, eventually signing professional terms and playing for Man United, Manchester City, and in the US in the old NASL. He has been at United since 1990 in a coaching capacity, Head of Academy Coaching, and currently in an advisory role. With experience working under managers from Sir Matt Busby to Sir Alex Ferguson, Tony is deeply rooted in the history and culture of United, and has guided hundreds of players from the youth ranks to the pros.

Tom Statham is a long time friend of the podcast, and has been with Manchester United for nearly 30 years, currently working with the U9-U11s. Current Manchester United players such as Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Mason Greenwood and Scott McTominay all started as young players with Tom and other coaches at the Cliff, United's legendary training ground.

In our conversation today, we dive deeply into the history of the club, and the vital importance of youth coaches in protracting the childhood of our young athletes. We discuss being a life coach first, and a sport coach second. And we talk about the massive impact we can have on the lives of our young athletes on and off the field. This is a very special conversation for me, and reaffirms my belief that our influence is never neutral.

Today’s Podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Conference. The conference videos have been made into an online course and are now available here: Click Here to Learn More. This includes sessions with Steve Kerr, Brad Stevens, Cindy Timchal, Jenny Levy, George Mumford, Tara VanDerveer, and Quin Snyder along with Anson Dorrance. It is hours of top level coach education on connecting with your athletes, building your culture, and winning the “Inner Game.”

This week’s podcast is also brought to you by our friends at Sports Refund. Many of you probably buy trip insurance, every winter I buy ski pass insurance, to make sure that if I get injured I can get my money back on that expensive investment. Well, many of us spend thousands of dollars on our kids sports club fees, but what if they get hurt? In many cases you cannot get your money back, but now with Sports Refund you can. And it’s not just for long term broken bones or torn ligaments. It is only a 14 day waiting period, so you even get a refund if you roll that ankle or pull a hammy! For just pennies on the dollar, you can make sure that if your child gets sick or injured and misses a month or more you can get your money back, or your club can get paid. It’s a great product, just go to www.sportsrefund.com/game and get your free quote, and if it sounds good you can either get your club to sign up, or you can purchase on your own.

Become a Podcast Champion! This weeks podcast is also sponsored by our Patreon Podcast Champions. Help Support the Podcast and get FREE access to our most popular online courses, a $300 value. If you love the podcast, we would love for you to become a Podcast Champion, (https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions) for as little as a cup of coffee per month (OK, its a Venti Mocha), to help us up the ante and provide even better interviews, better sound, and an overall enhanced experience. Plus, as a $10 per month Podcast Super-Champion, you will have access to never before released and bonus material, including:

Downloadable transcripts of our best podcasts, so you don’t have to crash your car trying to take notes!
A code to get free access to our online course called “Coaching Mastery,” usually a $97 course, plus four other courses worth over $100, all yours for free for becoming a patron.
Other special bonus opportunities that come up time to time
Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences.

Thank you for all your support these past four years, and a special big thank you to all of you who become part of our inner circle, our patrons, who will enable us to take our podcast to the next level. https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions

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