Jamy Bechler

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

11 Off-Season Team Building Ideas

There’s more to a good team than just talent, strategy, and philosophy. The best teams have a high level of trust, respect, and a sense of purpose. This doesn’t happen by accident. Building a strong and healthy team is intentional.

There’s an old adage that says, “One day the winter will come calling and it will ask what you did all summer long.” You reap what you sow, and this is no different for your athletes, your team, or even yourself. The off season is a great time to prepare for the upcoming season. It’s a great time to build strong habits.

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How to Tell if a Coach is a Real Leader or Just a Good Talker

SPECIAL GUEST POST FROM DAN CHRISTENSEN 

Some coaching candidates are excellent talkers.

They know how to describe culture. They have polished answers about leadership, accountability, recruiting, and player development. They understand the language athletic directors want to hear.

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8 Ways to Choose Team Captains

Having a good team captain can make your job easier. Conversely, if your captains struggle to lead effectively, then your team will most likely underperform during the year. Team captains can often make or break your season.

You’d probably love to have a Derek Jeter, Sue Bird, Tim Tebow, or Mia Hamm-type captain, but those are exceptions, not the rule. No matter who wears the captain’s armband or dons the “C” on their jersey, you want to be training them and helping them develop their skills for this leadership position.

As you think about selecting your team captains, maybe you’ve always done it a certain way. Maybe you’re ready for a change. No matter how you select your captains or how successful this process has been in the past, you should always be evaluating your methods so that you can be as good of a coach and have as strong of a program as possible.

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Utilizing Committees On Your Team

There’s no doubt that you want a stronger culture and a successful program. This is oftentimes accomplished when you have athletes that are good leaders. This might manifest itself in the form of strong team captains, upperclassmen, or an overall atmosphere of all players taking responsibility for the team’s leadership.

However, whether the leadership on your team is currently where you want it to be or not, you can do something to make it even better.

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6 Ways to Better Utilize Assistant Coaches

The late great Billy Graham liked to say, “A coach will impact more young people in one year than the average person will in a lifetime.” The quote didn’t distinguish between head coaches or assistant coaches. All coaches have an opportunity to make a difference.

As a head coach, your platform is greater and you may have more opportunities, but your assistants can make a tremendous difference in the lives of your athletes – both from an athletic and personal level. The best programs have great coaches. A good head coach can only do so much if the assistant coaches are not very good.

Having a good assistant coach isn’t automatic even if that person has the knowledge or experience.

Here are 6 ways that you can better utilize your assistant coaches more effectively…

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Using an Application to Select Team Captains

Selecting team captains is one of the most important things that you’ll do all year for your program. You want to select the right individuals who’ll best lead, influence, and impact their teammates.

Utilizing an application during the captain selection process can be beneficial. This article will outline some of the reasons you might want to use this tool, as well as some things to consider if you decide to take advantage of this resource.

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What REAL Leadership Looks Like

You’re a coach, which means you have a position of leadership. However, keep in mind that just because you have a business card, plaque on your office door, or embroidered shirts saying “coach” doesn’t mean you are a good leader. There are plenty of politicians, CEOs, administrators, and yes, even coaches that aren’t maximizing the leadership potential of their positions.

Your status as a coach provides you a tremendous opportunity and starting point to make a positive impact on people. Leadership isn’t about positions or status, but about influence. Anyone can be a leader because anyone can have influence. However, you have a head start because you have power, status, and authority. You have a built-in platform and opportunity to use your power for good … or for bad.

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Content of Our Character

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!!!

Please click here to listen to the 1-minute audio version of this article from the Success is a Choice podcast network.

I absolutely love that we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and have a day set aside for him. I am glad that my son asks questions, and we get to talk about what Martin Luther King stood for, fought for, and died for.

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Merry Christmas!

“Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” (The Grinch)

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I’m not alone as millions upon millions of people celebrate this holiday.

Though we might have fun with Santa, cookies, hiding the Elf on a Shelf, or looking at Christmas lights, those aren’t the real reason for the season.

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2 Flat Tires

“When asked if my cup is half-full or half-empty my only response is that I am thankful I have a cup.” (Sam Lefkowitz)

🔊 Click here to listen to a 2-minute audio version of this story.

A couple of years ago, my family returned from a long Thanksgiving trip in which we rented a car, we found our actual car right where we had left it in the rental company’s parking lot … but it had 2 Flat Tires!

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