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# 448 Alex Compton and Kevin Dalafu from Wisest Learners: Don't Let Your Passion Become your Child's Burden

Way of Champions Podcast

Release Date: 09/25/2025

#455 Chris Armas, former MLS Head Coach and Manchester United Asst. Coach, on Loving Your Players, Investing in Relationships, and Keeping an Optimistic Outlook on Life  show art #455 Chris Armas, former MLS Head Coach and Manchester United Asst. Coach, on Loving Your Players, Investing in Relationships, and Keeping an Optimistic Outlook on Life

Way of Champions Podcast

Chris Armas is a 2025 inductee into the US Soccer Hall of Fame. During his playing career, he played 12 seasons in Major League Soccer for the LA Galaxy and Chicago Fire, and was a 5x MLS Best XI selection, an MLS and US Open Cup Champion, and played 66 games for the US National Team. The 2000 US Soccer Player of the Year and 2005 MLS Comeback Player of the Year, untimely injuries derailed his inclusion in the 2002 and 2006 US World Cup teams. After retireing from playing, Chris began a coaching career that has taken him to assistant coach roles at Manchester United and Leeds United, as well...

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#454 Dr. Sue Schimmel and Maureen Breeze, Authors of Playing the Long Game, on Tools for Parenting Elite and College Athletes show art #454 Dr. Sue Schimmel and Maureen Breeze, Authors of Playing the Long Game, on Tools for Parenting Elite and College Athletes

Way of Champions Podcast

This week we step away from youth sports and talk about how parents can best support truly elite level, college, and professional level athletes on their journey in sports with Dr Sue Schimmel and Maureen Breeze, authors of the new book Playing the Long Game: A Handbook for Parenting Elite and College Athletes. We discuss conversation strategies, unintentional parental pressure, and investing in the relationship before you invest in the performance. Its a great conversation. Dr. Sue Schimmel is a clinical psychologist with over 20 years of experience working with professional and collegiate...

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$453 Jenny Levy, 4x NCAA Champion Coach of UNC Women's Lacrosse on Demanding Failure in Practice, Building Stronger Relationships Through Casual Conversations, and Being a Lifelong Learner show art $453 Jenny Levy, 4x NCAA Champion Coach of UNC Women's Lacrosse on Demanding Failure in Practice, Building Stronger Relationships Through Casual Conversations, and Being a Lifelong Learner

Way of Champions Podcast

"Mediocrity works fine until it meets passion" says a favorite sign on the wall of this week's guest, on for the third time, Jenny Levy. Everytime she joins us we are blown away by what she shares. This week is no exception. Jenny is a 4x NCAA champion coach for the University of North Carolina Women's lacrosse program, including winning the 2025 championship. She is a 3x NCAA coach of the year, 8x ACC coach of the year, former Team USA head coach, and both the National and International Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee. Heading into 2026 she has 443 wins (2nd all time) and has led the Tar Heels...

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#452 Betsy Butterick, Author of Kids These Days: #452 Betsy Butterick, Author of Kids These Days: "You need to reach them before you teach them!"

Way of Champions Podcast

Betsy Butterick (@betsy_thecoachescoach) is affectionately known as “The Coaches’ Coach”and uses the transformative power of communication to help build high-performing teams. As a former collegiate basketball coach, Betsy understands that “chemistry” is more than a buzzword – it is the result of genuine connection, and at its core lies effective communication. In her role as “The Coaches’ Coach,” Betsy meets individuals where they are to support their growth and evolution. Through cultivating awareness and the application of tools and frameworks to support greater autonomy....

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#351 Dr Neeru Jayanthi on Early Sport Specialization, the Importance of Multi-movement Experiences for Kids, and How Parents Can Navigate the Complex Youth Sports World (replay) show art #351 Dr Neeru Jayanthi on Early Sport Specialization, the Importance of Multi-movement Experiences for Kids, and How Parents Can Navigate the Complex Youth Sports World (replay)

Way of Champions Podcast

Dr Neeru Jayanthi is one of the leading experts on youth sports health, injuries, and sports training patterns, as well as an international leader in tennis medicine. He is currently leads the Emory University Tennis Medicine Program and is the President of the International Society for Tennis Medicine and Science (STMS) and a certified USPTA teaching professional. He has also been a volunteer ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) physician for 15 years, serves as a medical advisor for the WTA (Woman’s Tennis Association) Player Development Panel, and is on the commission for the...

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#351 Dr Neeru Jayanthi on Early Sport Specialization, the Importance of Multi-movement Experiences for Kids, and How Parents Can Navigate the Complex Youth Sports World (replay) show art #351 Dr Neeru Jayanthi on Early Sport Specialization, the Importance of Multi-movement Experiences for Kids, and How Parents Can Navigate the Complex Youth Sports World (replay)

Way of Champions Podcast

Dr Neeru Jayanthi is one of the leading experts on youth sports health, injuries, and sports training patterns, as well as an international leader in tennis medicine. He is currently leads the Emory University Tennis Medicine Program and is the President of the International Society for Tennis Medicine and Science (STMS) and a certified USPTA teaching professional. He has also been a volunteer ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) physician for 15 years, serves as a medical advisor for the WTA (Woman’s Tennis Association) Player Development Panel, and is on the commission for the...

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#450 Becky Burleigh, NCAA Champion Soccer Coach and Co-Founder of What Drives Winning (replay) show art #450 Becky Burleigh, NCAA Champion Soccer Coach and Co-Founder of What Drives Winning (replay)

Way of Champions Podcast

Becky Burleigh began her college soccer coaching career at the ripe old age of 21, coaching Berry College to two NAIA National Championships before moving onto the University of Florida. In her nearly three decades at Florida, she won the 1998 NCAA Championship, a combined 26 SEC regular season and tournament championships, and over 500 games. Upon retiring, she was named interim coach of the NWSL’s Orlando Pride during a time of great turmoil, and currently she partners with Brett Ledbetter on coaching education through their business What Drives Winning (). In our podcast here, a replay...

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#449 Emma Doyle, Host of The Coaching Podcast, on the Qualities of Great Coaches and Empowering Female Athletes show art #449 Emma Doyle, Host of The Coaching Podcast, on the Qualities of Great Coaches and Empowering Female Athletes

Way of Champions Podcast

Emma Doyle is a dynamic Energy Coach, speaker, and author who helps leaders and athletes unleash their potential through the power of coaching. With a background as a former D1 US college tennis player and world team coach for Australia on 20 occasions, Emma brings a champion mindset and real-world insights to both sports and business. She’s a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the ICF, certified in NLP and Emotional Intelligence, and the author of the Amazon best-seller  Her practical coaching tools bridge the worlds of sport and leadership. In 2025, Emma received the...

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# 448 Alex Compton and Kevin Dalafu from Wisest Learners:  Don't Let Your Passion Become your Child's Burden show art # 448 Alex Compton and Kevin Dalafu from Wisest Learners: Don't Let Your Passion Become your Child's Burden

Way of Champions Podcast

Alex Compton and Kevin Dalafu are the authors of Wisest Learners: Guiding Your Child's Athletic Journey, and are longtime basketball athletes and coaches. Alex Compton is a businessman, coach, speaker, husband, and father. He has a BS in Human Development and Family Studies from Cornell University.Alex coached professional basketball for 12 years in the Philippines, 5 as the Head Coach of the Alaska Aces, and 2 as an assistant with the Philippine men’s basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas. He is also the National Training Director and Co-Founder of the National Basketball Training Center (NBTC)....

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# 448 Alex Compton and Kevin Dalafu from Wisest Learners:  Don't Let Your Passion Become your Child's Burden show art # 448 Alex Compton and Kevin Dalafu from Wisest Learners: Don't Let Your Passion Become your Child's Burden

Way of Champions Podcast

Alex Compton and Kevin Dalafu are the authors of Guiding Your Child's Athletic Journey, and are longtime basketball athletes and coaches. Alex Compton is a businessman, coach, speaker, husband, and father. He has a BS in Human Development and Family Studies from Cornell University.Alex coached professional basketball for 12 years in the Philippines, 5 as the Head Coach of the Alaska Aces, and 2 as an assistant with the Philippine men’s basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas. He is also the National Training Director and Co-Founder of the National Basketball Training Center (NBTC). Kevin...

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Alex Compton and Kevin Dalafu are the authors of Guiding Your Child's Athletic Journey, and are longtime basketball athletes and coaches. Alex Compton is a businessman, coach, speaker, husband, and father. He has a BS in Human Development and Family Studies from Cornell University.Alex coached professional basketball for 12 years in the Philippines, 5 as the Head Coach of the Alaska Aces, and 2 as an assistant with the Philippine men’s basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas. He is also the National Training Director and Co-Founder of the National Basketball Training Center (NBTC).

Kevin Dalafu is an entrepreneur, educator, coach, speaker, husband, and father. He holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and a Master’s in Leadership Studies from Vanguard University of Southern California. A four-year starter and captain at Vanguard, Kevin then continued his basketball career in the Philippines. Now in his 15th year of educational leadership, Kevin has spent nearly 20 years leading organizations. He currently serves as a Head of School in Central California. A passionate basketball coach, Kevin is now in his eighth year coaching the varsity boys. He has been named Coach of the Year six times and has guided his teams to three league championships.

Connect with Kevin and Alex:

Instagram: @kevindalafu

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kevindalafu

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alex-comptonusph

Email: info@wisestlearners.com

 

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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.  Yeah, 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.

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If you or your club/school is looking for all of our best content, from online courses to blog posts to interviews organized for coaches, parents and athletes, then become a premium member of Changing the Game Project today. For over a decade we have been creating materials to help change the game. and it has become a bit overwhelming to find old podcasts, blog posts and more. Now, we have organized it all for you, with areas for coaches, parents and even athletes to find materials to help compete better, and put some more play back in playing ball. Clubs please email John@ChangingTheGameProject.com for pricing. 

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