Jamy Bechler

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

Episode 047: Alicia Jessop from RulingSports.com

Alicia Jessop is a much sought after expert in the sports business industry. She is the founder of RulingSports.com and a sports law professor at Pepperdine University. Her expertise lies at the intersections of sports, business and the law. With a law degree from Chapman University School of Law, cum laude, with an emphasis on entertainment law and a bachelor’s of science from the Colorado School of Mines in economics, Alicia’s educational background provided her with the tools necessary to analyze some of the most pressing and complex issues facing the sports world today. This background has allowed Alicia to become a sports contributor to Forbes.com and The Huffington Post, after launching the widely read sports law website, RulingSports.com. Through covering sports on a national level, Alicia received opportunities to visit and speak with students at universities across the country. Through these opportunities, Alicia realized that her passion was teaching others about sports, business and the law. In August 2013, Alicia became a professor at the University of Miami, teaching Legal Aspects of Sport and Sport Governance. She moved on to Pepperdine University at the start of the 2017-18 school year. Alicia is an attorney licensed to practice law in California and Colorado.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

  • How she went from a practicing lawyer to a sports expert in one day.
  • Some of the positive things going on in sports
  • The work that she is doing for orphans in Haiti
  • Why she left “The U” for Pepperdine University

[Read more…]

Episode 046: Southeastern University Basketball Coach R-Jay Barsh

R-Jay Barsh is the head men’s basketball coach at Southeastern University. The 2017-18 season marks his sixth season at the helm of the Fire program. At the time of this episode being released, Barsh just won his 100th game moving the 7th ranked Fire program to 12-2 on the season.

In only his second season, he was a finalist for the Don Meyer National Coach of the Year Award as he guided the Fire to a 27-7 record and the program’s first-ever NAIA National Tournament appearance. Before coming to Southeastern, Barsh was the assistant coach at Tacoma Community College.  While at Tacoma, he was considered one of the top recruiters on the West Coast and was even featured in The Bleacher Report for being a main catalyst for the Titans recruiting and developmental success. He also coached at Pugent Sound University, as well. Before he began his coaching career, he enjoyed a successful playing career at Tacoma Community College from 2001–2003. In his first season, he led the Titans to a NWAACC title and a 30–3 overall record. In 2003, Barsh was named Second Team All-Conference and found himself in a unique position, having won NWAACC titles as both a player (2002) and a coach (2012).

Off of the hardwood, Barsh has always felt the call of God on his life and has used basketball as the vehicle to deliver the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For over the past 10 years, he has been an integral part of Northwest Basketball Camps (NBC), which is a Christ-centered camp that utilizes basketball to impact the hearts and minds of young people through Jesus Christ. Through NBC, Barsh has led several camps around the world, including in Italy, the United Kingdom, and Alaska.  He is also the founder of SkyMotivation, which is a ministry he uses to help young people grow in Christ. His website for the ministry has testimonies, devotionals, and even an area where viewers can ask questions about their faith.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

  • How he defines and measures success as a college basketball coach
  • What he is doing to help develop his players both on and off the court
  • Advice he has for a coach (or leader) going through a losing streak

[Read more…]

Episode 045: Sports Spectrum Host Jason Romano

Jason Romano is the host and producer of the Sports Spectrum podcast where he interviews athletes, coaches, and other personalities on the intersection of sports and faith. He is also a speaker, author, media consultant and church leader with 20 years of professional broadcasting experience on the regional and network level. For 17 years, Jason was a Senior Manager and Producer at ESPN. He has created and produced content for shows such as SportsCenter, Monday Night Football, Mike and Mike in the Morning, Sunday NFL Countdown, College Gameday, MLB’s All Star Game. During his time at ESPN, Jason produced content for ESPN Radio, helped lead and grow the talent booking department, building relationships with the biggest names in sports as well as creating and managing the NFL on ESPN’s social media channels, growing them to over 6 million followers on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Jason has spoken to thousands of people at conferences, colleges, companies and churches. He’s a big advocate of social media, having built up large followings both for ESPN’s social feeds as well as his own personal brand. Jason’s first book, “Live to Forgive” was published in January of 2018.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

  • The amazing guests that he has had on his Sports Spectrum podcast
  • Why it is so hard to forgive others and why we need to forgive
  • Who is on Jason’s bucket list for future podcast guests
  • His experiences and 17 years at ESPN

[Read more…]

Episode 044: Lolly Daskal, Top-50 Leadership & Management Expert

Lolly Daskal is the go-to executive leadership coach for Fortune 500 companies. She has been named by Inc. Magazine as a Top-50 Leadership and Management Expert. The Huffington Post honored Lolly with the title of “The Most Inspiring Woman in the World”. She regularly writes for the Harvard Business Review, Inc, Fast Company, Huffington Post, and Psycholgoy Today. Her newest book is called The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness. It has appeared on the New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller charts. Lolly is the founder of Lead from Within, a successful leadership firm that offers custom made programs in leadership and organizational development. Lolly also has more than 1 million followers on twitter.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

  • How Lolly is able to read a book every day
  • Why leadership is important for everybody
  • What to do when you have a gap in your life and leadership
  • How to measure success when working with Fortune 500 companies

[Read more…]

Episode 043: Mike Hamilton, Executive Director of Show Hope

Mike Hamilton is the Executive Director of Show Hope, a position that he has held since December 2014. Show Hope is an orphan care and adoption ministry started by Christian music entertainer Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife Mary Beth. A man of deep faith, Mike has extensive experience in leadership and development, serving 26 years in intercollegiate athletics at Clemson University, Wake Forest University. Most notably, he was the athletic director at the University of Tennessee and their $105 million budget.  Mike also served on the board for Show Hope, as well as other local, regional, and national nonprofits. Mike is also the CEO and Founder of Winfred-Henry Partners, LLC, which provides athletic consulting. Mike and his wife, Beth, live in the Nashville area and have five children through adoption.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

  • The environment and pressures of big-time SEC athletics
  • Job search advise, including why many coaches get hired or fired
  • Ways that Show Hope is impacting lives and making a difference in the world
  • The interesting story of Bruce Pearl getting hired at the University of Tennessee

[Read more…]

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