Jamy Bechler

Providing Insights on Leadership and Success. Coach Bechler is a John Maxwell Leadership Team Member.

20 Books to Read in 2020

I once read 30 books in an entire summer, including 10 John Grisham novels. Reading is something that I enjoy doing. I am a paperback kind of guy as I will dog-ear pages, highlight passages, and make notes in the margins. My wife, on the other hand, only reads Kindle books or listens to audio books. 

Whatever your preference, it is important that you read. Readers are leaders. As Dr. Seuss said, “The more that you read, the more things that you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

What follows is my recommended list of books in various categories that were published during the last two years. I have previously made recommended book lists of “19 Books to Read in 2019”, “18 Books to Read in 2018”, “15 Best Books for Coaches”, “15 Best Books for Leaders”, and “7 Underrated Books for Leaders”.

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Team-Building During Covid

“Don’t let what you can’t do interfere with what you can do.” (John Wooden)

Since March 2020, sports have been different. Covid-19 has made coaches and athletes adjust, adapt, and change the way they approach their sport. I have done countless zoom calls and consultations with teams on how to make the best of these unprecedented and challenging times we are all experiencing.

There is no doubt this pandemic has affected your team in some way – from games or the season being canceled, to quarantining and experiencing isolation, to wearing masks and staying six-feet away from teammates. No matter who you are, you’ve been affected in some way to some extreme.

Here are some ideas for making the best of a bad situation and trying to have a healthy and strong culture throughout this pandemic.

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Episode 133: Jim Johnson, A Coach and a Miracle

Jim Johnson won more than 400 games as a high high school basketball coach. He only had one losing record in his 30 years of being a head coach. However, he is probably best known for what he did in 2006.  His kindhearted gesture of giving an autistic student (now known affectionately as “J-Mac”) on his team the chance to make his dream come true has captivated the hearts of millions of Americans. How could it not? With the help of his teammates, J-Mac scored twenty points (including six three-point baskets) in just over four minutes, becoming an instant national celebrity.

Coach Johnson has been featured in major news outlets around the country, making a number of radio and television appearances, including the Oprah Winfrey and Jim Rome shows. He has met President George W. Bush, Governor George Pataki, and Senator Hillary Clinton, to name just a few luminaries. His team was paid a visit at school by NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, and J-Mac’s magical moment won the ESPY for “Best Sports Moment” at the ESPN awards show later that year.

You can find out more about Coach Jim Johnson and his book “A Coach and a Miracle” by visiting www.CoachJimJohnson.com

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • The inspirational story of J-Mac
  • Getting fired after his first year of coaching
  • Building a culture & turning programs around
  • … and so much more!!!

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Goals for 2020

“The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago.  The second best time is now.”  (Chinese Proverb)

The year 2020 should be your best year ever.  Do you plan on setting some “New Year’s Resolutions”.  Resolutions are really just goals that we set for ourselves.  The following is a list of 25 of my favorite quotes about achieving goals.  I hope that some of these inspire you to achieve your goals for 2020.

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Episode 132: Compete Every Day with Jake Thompson

Jake Thompson is the Founder & Chief Encouragement Officer at the global lifestyle brand Compete Every Day.  He is a speaker, writer, & active participant in life. Prior to launching CED, Jake spent years in both the sports representation industry & later, as a creative & strategic marketing consultant. Now, he is focused on utilizing his passion for changing lives to remind all that their life is worth competing for. For Jake everyday is a competition against pride, comfort zone, fear, complacency, snooze alarms, bad habits and bad relations. Jake teaches people through speaking podcast and popular apparel brand to compete everyday.

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • How to win each day
  • Dealing with comparisons
  • Handling the haters
  • … and so much more!!!

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Episode 131: “The Bus Trip”

Today’s episode is a celebration of “The Bus Trip” being released on 11/25/2019. It is a modern-day sports leadership fable that chronicles a particular bus trip that a team takes. The season has been very challenging and the situations that occur that day help nudge the players to change how they do things. Even though it is a work of fiction, “The Bus Trip” presents very real issues and solutions. The first five minutes of this episode involves the author, Jamy Bechler, talking about why he wrote the book. The next five minutes has him interviewing a current college athlete, Lexis Garcia, who read the book.

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Be Kind to Everyone

Mark Twain said it best when he stated that “Kindness is a gift that the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” 

Ellen Degeneres came under fire when she was caught on camera at a nationally televised Dallas Cowboys game sitting next to former U.S. President George Bush. It seems that some people are so angry and disagreeable that they think everyone else should be also.

It got so bad that Ellen had to address it on her show the next day.

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Episode 130: U.S. Marshal Peter Elliott

The U.S. Marshals is the oldest American Federal law enforcement agency. The service was created way back during the presidency of George Washington.  Joining a long and storied list of American lawmen, in 2003, Peter Elliott was appointed by President George W. Bush as a U.S. Marshal. Since then, he has been retained by presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Elliot is one of only 94 U.S. marshals appointed by the president to oversee a judicial district within their state. He is the longest-serving U.S. Marshal in Ohio history. 

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • The amazing success of the witness protection program
  • How he got 850 fugitives (including 300 felons) to peacefully surrender one time … without tricking them!
  • Partnering with law enforcement agencies all over the country
  • Why it’s important to continue tracking fugitives
  • Creating the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task 
  • … and so much more!!!

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9 Ways to Become the Most Valuable Parent on Your Kid’s Team

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Thank you for being a parent and thank you for letting your child play sports, as it can build and develop so many characteristics that can help them be successful later in life. Frederick Douglass once said, “It is easier to build up strong children than it is to repair broken men.” Parenting is hard – unless being perfect is natural for you.  Parenting an athlete can be even harder at times because it is so public.  It might not seem easy to build up strong children and raise them the right way – especially, when it comes to their athletic careers – but it is so worth it. All we must do is turn on the TV, scroll through social media, or interact with people on a daily basis and we see the need for more positive values such as respect, responsibility, and gratitude. When we positively develop our children, we are helping to influence and shape the future. Our children are the future leaders. How will they be taught to lead? Sports is a microcosm of life and a great means by which to teach our children lessons that they might not experience as much or as quickly otherwise. Just like we want our children to be better members of the community, we also want them to be the most valuable teammate that they can be for their team. In the same way, as parents we can also play a big part in making the team better. Here are 9 ways that you can be the most valuable parent on your child’s team …

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Episode 129: Pure Sweat Basketball’s Jon Beck

Jon Beck is a must-follow on twitter for coaches and athletes. After his stellar playing career at Division I Arkansas State University, he went on to have a successful career as both a boys and girls basketball coach in Tennessee. He has been trained at Nike Skills and Pure Sweat clinics and coaches academies and has worked Nike Elite camps and completed a summer internship in Los Angeles, CA for Drew Hanlen of Pure Sweat Basketball, where he has worked with several NBA players.

He now offers skills academies and team clinics, as well as individual and team training to players as a Skills Coach for Pure Sweat Basketball. Throughout his career, his focus has been on player development and skills coaching. His passion is to help players reach their full potential on and off the court. He is continually working to improve his craft as a coach, while developing great relationships with coaches and players.

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • How to coach today’s athletes
  • What the best players do when they work out
  • Building a strong culture
  • Pure Sweat Basketball
  • … and so much more!!!

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