#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
Release Date: 04/18/2024
#479 Dusty May, 2026 NCAA Champion Coach of Michigan Men's Basketball, on Creating a Culture of Error in and a Player Centered Environment in Practice, His Non Negotiables, and the Importance of Love in Coaching
Way of Champions Podcast
This week we welcome Dusty May, Head Coach of the 2026 NCAA Champion Michigan Wolverines Men's Basketball team. He was hired in 2024 by Michigan and immediately turned the program around winning 18 more games than 2023 and leading the Wolverines back to the top of the Big 10 and to the NCAA Sweet 16. In 2026 they went 37-3 and defeated UConn in the NCAA final to take their second ever national title. In this incredible conversation, May shares what his non negotiables are, how he creates a player centered environment centered around decision making and a willingness to make the right kind of...
info_outline
#479 Dusty May, 2026 NCAA Champion Coach of Michigan Men's Basketball, on Creating a Culture of Error in and a Player Centered Environment in Practice, His Non Negotiables, and the Importance of Love in Coaching
Way of Champions Podcast
This week we welcome Dusty May, Head Coach of the 2026 NCAA Champion Michigan Wolverines Men's Basketball team. He was hired in 2024 by Michigan and immediately turned the program around winning 18 more games than 2023 and leading the Wolverines back to the top of the Big 10 and to the NCAA Sweet 16. In 2026 they went 37-3 and defeated UConn in the NCAA final to take their second ever national title. In this incredible conversation, May shares what his non negotiables are, how he creates a player centered environment centered around decision making and a willingness to make the right kind of...
info_outline
#478 When Hard Things Happen, Culture Matters the Most with Erin Quinn, Middlebury College Athletic Director
Way of Champions Podcast
This week we welcome back Erin Quinn to the podcast. Quinn has spent the last twenty years as the athletic director at Middlebury College in Vermont, being recognized as the National AD of the Year in 2021. Under his tenure, his teams have won 19 NCAA championships, 69 NESCAC conference championships, and 29 Middlebury athletes have won individual NCAA championships. Prior to becoming athletic director, Quinn served as the head men's lacrosse coach at Middlebury, winning three NCAA national titles and six NESCAC championships. What we love most about him, though, is that he is known as "A.D....
info_outline
#477 Daniel Coyle, NYT Bestselling Author, on How to Flourish, Find Meaning, Joy and Fulfillment in Sports and Life
Way of Champions Podcast
Daniel Coyle (@danielcoyle) is the New York Times bestselling author of The Culture Code, which was named best business book of the year by Bloomberg BookPal and Business Insider. Coyle has served as an adviser to many high-performing organizations, including the Navy SEALs, Microsoft, Google, and the Cleveland Guardians. His other books include, The Talent Code, The Secret Race, The Little Book of Talent, Hardball: A Season in the Projects. His newest book is called Flourish: The Art of Building Meaning, Joy, and Fulfillment. This book is about building the environments that make us feel...
info_outline
#476 Mentlaity Wins with former Harvard Womens Basketball Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith,, NFL and MLB Sport Psychologist Dr Jonathan Jenkins, and Sport Psychologist and NCAA Champion Dr. Kimberly O'Brien
Way of Champions Podcast
This week on the podcast, we are joined by three incredible guests: Kathy Delaney-Smith, Dr. Jonathan Jenkins, and Dr. Kimberly O'Brien. Kathy Delaney-Smith is the winningest head coach in Ivy League women's basketball history. She spent 40 seasons at Harvard University, winning 11 Ivy League titles and taking her teams to six NCAA tournaments and eight women's NIT tournaments. Her teams won over 600 games, including 12 seasons with more than 20 wins and finishing above .500 in 31 of her final 33 seasons. She has been inducted into numerous Hall of Fames and received numerous accolades across...
info_outline
#475 The 20 Year Journey to Three Olympic Hockey Gold Medals with Ken Martel, USA Hockey Senior Director of Player and Coach Development
Way of Champions Podcast
In 2026, USA Hockey accomplished something no other nation has ever done, winning Olympic gold medals for Mens, Women's and Paralympic Ice Hockey. Yet this was not something that happened overnight, and in fact was the culmination of nearly two decades of growing the game and modifying rules and game formats in order to develop more skillful players and a much larger player base to choose from. And who better to discuss this journey than one of its architects, Ken Martel. Ken Martel was named senior director of player and coach development in November 2022. He is charged with helping...
info_outline
#474 Joe De Sena, Founder of Spartan Obstacle Course Racing, on Why We Need to Teach Our Kids to Do Hard Things
Way of Champions Podcast
After building a multimillion-dollar pool and construction business in college, and creating a Wall Street trading firm, Joe De Sena set his sights on ripping 100 million people off their couches by creating the Spartan lifestyle. He moved his family to Pittsfield, Vermont to operate an organic farm, a bed and breakfast, and a general store for hikers. It was here his passion grew for ultramarathons, adventure races, and endurance events, and thus the idea for Spartan was born. With more than one million annual global participants at more than 270 events across more than 40 countries, Spartan...
info_outline
#474 Joe De Sena, Founder of Spartan Obstacle Course Racing, on Why We Need to Teach Our Kids to Do Hard Things
Way of Champions Podcast
After building a multimillion-dollar pool and construction business in college, and creating a Wall Street trading firm, Joe De Sena set his sights on ripping 100 million people off their couches by creating the Spartan lifestyle. He moved his family to Pittsfield, Vermont to operate an organic farm, a bed and breakfast, and a general store for hikers. It was here his passion grew for ultramarathons, adventure races, and endurance events, and thus the idea for Spartan was born. With more than one million annual global participants at more than 270 events across more than 40 countries, Spartan...
info_outline
#473 Jason Sacks, CEO of Positive Coaching Alliance, on Educating One Million Coaches and Making Systemic Change in Youth Sports
Way of Champions Podcast
Jason Sacks is the CEO of Positive Coaching Alliance (@positivecoachus). He joined the organization in April 2006 and has since served in a variety of capacities, including President, Chief Development Officer, EVP for Business Development & Philanthropy, Director of Partnership Development, and as Executive Director of PCA’s Chicago, IL chapter. Jason began his career at PCA as the Partner Development Associate for the New Jersey/Philadelphia region. Most recently as PCA’s President, Jason led the organization’s growth of impact to millions of youth participating in youth...
info_outline
#473 Jason Sacks, CEO of Positive Coaching Alliance, on Educating One Million Coaches and Making Systemic Change in Youth Sports
Way of Champions Podcast
Jason Sacks is the CEO of Positive Coaching Alliance. He joined the organization in April 2006 and has since served in a variety of capacities, including President, Chief Development Officer, EVP for Business Development & Philanthropy, Director of Partnership Development, and as Executive Director of PCA’s Chicago, IL chapter. Jason began his career at PCA as the Partner Development Associate for the New Jersey/Philadelphia region. Most recently as PCA’s President, Jason led the organization’s growth of impact to millions of youth participating in youth sports and created...
info_outlinePete 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 teams. He has also worked with the Men’s Eagles and other age-grade programs within the U.S. National team pathway. Pete was the Head of Coach Development for USA Rugby, leading the program as it became integrated into the World Rugby programs.
Pete is also the President of Innovative Thought, a business consultancy focused on leadership and organizational development. He supports clients in the areas of innovation, leadership, strategic planning, marketing, recruiting and organizational development. Pete works regularly as an executive coach for senior executives of global companies.
Website: https://www.petesteinberg.com/
Consulting Website: https://www.innovative-thought.com/
Book Page: https://www.petesteinberg.com/book
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Steinberg
LinkedIn: @Pete Steinberg and @Innovative Thought
Facebook: @Innovative Thought
REGISTRATION FOR THE 2024 WAY OF CHAMPIONS CONFERENCE IS OPEN! Save $100 if you sign up prior to June 30, and save 50% per person for groups of five or more. We are headed back to Denver, CO August 9-11 at Colorado Academy. Our hotel blocks do fill up, so join Jerry, John and a panel of soon to be named all star guest speakers for the coaching event of the summer! Click here to register and learn more.
PUT IN YOUR BULK BOOK ORDERS FOR OUR BESTSELLING BOOKS!: Programs such as UNC soccer and lacrosse, Syracuse lacrosse, Stanford Lacrosse, Middlebury College, Colby College, Rutgers University, and many other champions are using THE CHAMPION TEAMMATE book with their athletes. Schools and clubs are using EVERY MOMENT MATTERS for staff development and book clubs. Are you? We have been fulfilling numerous bulk orders for some of the top high school and collegiate sports programs in the country, will your team be next?
Please click here and grab yourself a copy of The Champion Teammate today.
Please email John@ChangingTheGameProject.com if you want discounted pricing on 10 or more books on any of our books. Thanks everyone.
This week’s podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sprocket Sports. Sprocket Sports is a new software platform for youth sports clubs. There are a lot of these systems out there, but Sprocket provides the full enchilada. They give you all the cool front-end stuff to make your club look good– like websites and marketing tools – AND all the back-end transactions and services to run your business better so you can focus on what really matters – your players and your teams.
Sprocket is built for those clubs looking to thrive, not just survive, in the competitive world of youth sports clubs. So if you’ve been looking for a true business partner – not just another app – check them out today at https://sprocketsports.me/CTG.
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