Jamy Bechler

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

  • Home
  • About
  • Store
  • Blog
  • SEARCH FIRM
  • Podcast
  • Media
  • Resources
  • Speaking
  • Training

Jul 03 2026

7 Things I Changed My Mind About as a Coach

Hey Coach, if you’re like me, you’re constantly trying to get better and improve. You probably see things differently now than you did five years ago, one year ago, or even yesterday. In my 20+ years of coaching and athletic administrating, I had my fair share of ups and downs, but I also felt that I got better every year. Leaders are learners and I wanted to always be learning.

I’m a product of those people I’ve been associated with and the environments I was a part of. Oftentimes in coaching, we do things the way others close to us did them. We may coach similar to the way our old coach did back in the day. We might run some of the same plays. Our communication might resemble their methods, as well.

However, through the years I realized that if I’m going to get better and improve as a coach, I must constantly be re-evaluating and honestly assessing some of my actions, words, and philosophies. Especially toward the end of my career in organized athletics, I tried to be as coachable as possible and be willing to adjust, adapt, and pivot when it was necessary.

[Read more…]

Written by Jamy Bechler · Categorized: Personal Growth, Sports, Teams & Organizations · Tagged: basketball coach, buyin, captains, Coachable, develop, fault, Growth, Jamy Bechler, Leadership, Learn, maximize strengths, minimize weaknesses, ownership, parents, Responsibility, Team Captains

Apr 03 2026

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.

[Read more…]

Written by Jamy Bechler · Categorized: Leadership, Personal Growth, Teams & Organizations · Tagged: Bad Coaching, coaching mistakes, Communication, connect, Culture, dead right, Empower, Example, Lead by Example, Leadership, New Coach, New Job, Program Building, Relationships, Responsibility, standards, Team Rules, The Bus Trip, The Captain, The Leadership Playbook, Uncoachable

Jan 18 2026

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.

[Read more…]

Written by Jamy Bechler · Categorized: Leadership, Personal Growth · Tagged: Bill Curry, Clark Kellogg, Content of Character, Dr. Richard Johnson, Gandhi, Honor, impact, Influence, Jr., Legacy, Martin Luther King, Michael Catt, MLK Day, MLK quotes, Quotes, Race Issues, Racial Justice

Jan 17 2026

Making Your Bed

“If you want to change the world, then start by making your bed.” (Admiral William H. McRaven)

I woke up this morning running late and the last thing I wanted to do was take 30-seconds to make my bed.

Click here to listen to the 2-minute audio version of this article

Maybe you’ve been right there with me struggling between listening to that pesky little bed-making devil on one shoulder and that cleanliness-is-next-to-godliness angel on the other shoulder.

After all, that bed is just going to get messed up again that night, anyway, who will ever see it?

[Read more…]

Written by Jamy Bechler · Categorized: Personal Growth · Tagged: Chip Kelly, doing the right thing, Gandhi, Leadership, Make your bed, making your bed, Mike Lindell, MLK, My Pillow, Navy SEALs, Steve Nudelberg, Success, Success is a Choice, Wife, Win the Day

Dec 24 2025

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.

[Read more…]

Written by Jamy Bechler · Categorized: Leadership, Personal Growth · Tagged: Attitude of Gratitude, Christmas, Die Hard, Elf, Good attitude, Gratitude, Grinch, joyful, Merry Christmas, positive attitude, Santa, Substack, Success is a Choice, Thankfulness

Nov 30 2025

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!

[Read more…]

Written by Jamy Bechler · Categorized: Leadership, Personal Growth · Tagged: Attitude of Gratitude, Bad Attitude, flat tire, Good attitude, Gratitude, green lights, Illness, joyful, Perspective, positive attitude, right lights, Success is a Choice, Thankfulness, Thanksgiving, traffic, traffic lights, Travel, trip

Nov 26 2025

10 Fun Facts About Thanksgiving

“The more you practice the art of thankfulness, the more you have to be thankful for.” (Norman Vincent Peale)

🔊 Click here to listen to a 4-minute audio version of this email.

Thanksgiving in the United States is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November and is a great reminder of all the blessings we have in our lives. Here are 10 facts that I find interesting about the holiday.

[Read more…]

Written by Jamy Bechler · Categorized: Leadership, Personal Growth · Tagged: Attitude, Attitude of Gratitude, charlie brown, Detroit Lions, fun Facts, Gobble, grateful, Jingle Bells, John C. Maxwell, John maxwell team, Mary had a Little LAmb, Nick Vujicic, Pilgrims, Thankful, thanks, Thanksgiving, Trivia, Turkeys

Nov 25 2025

Only Thankful Person

“It’s not happy people who are thankful, but rather thankful people who are happy.”

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

Back in Ancient times, leprosy was one of the worst illnesses a person could have. Not only was it a nasty skin disease that caused extreme pain, but it was also contagious.

Lepers were social outcasts as everyone shunned them and avoided them at all costs.

[Read more…]

Written by Jamy Bechler · Categorized: Leadership, Personal Growth · Tagged: Attitude of Gratitude, Bad Attitude, Bible, flat tire, Good attitude, Gratitude, green lights, Illness, Jesus, Jewish, Jews, joyful, lepers, Luke, New Testament, Perspective, positive attitude, right lights, Samaritan, Success is a Choice, Thankfulness, Thanksgiving, traffic, traffic lights, Travel, trip

Sep 10 2025

Honoring Fallen Teammates

“Did you ever know that you’re my hero and everything I’d like to be? I can fly higher than an eagle for you are the wind beneath my wings.” (Bette Midler, Wind Beneath My Wings)

Click here to listen to the 2-minute audio version of this story

Dustin Hale was only a year older than me, but I thought the sophomore basketball player was a pretty cool guy. We didn’t really hang out away from the basketball court, but he meant a lot to me.​

That summer he passed away as the result of a freakish accident.

[Read more…]

Written by Jamy Bechler · Categorized: Leadership, Personal Growth, Sports · Tagged: 9/11, Bette Midler, Captain, death, Dustin Hale, Funeral, High School, Honor, Influence, Jersey, Jonesville, Legacy, Soccer, student leadership, Teammate, Terrorists, Todd Pelini, Wind Beneath My Wings

Sep 04 2025

I Didn’t Quit Running

🔊 Click here to listen to the 2-minute audio version of this article.

As a middle schooler, my mother wouldn’t let me play tackle football. I figured I’d be able to talk her out of it prior to entering high school.

I guess I overestimated my lawyering skills.

[Read more…]

Written by Jamy Bechler · Categorized: Leadership, Personal Growth, Sports, Teams & Organizations · Tagged: Beth Bechler, Coaching, Cross Country, High School Football, High School Sports, Jonesville Comets, Jonesville High School, Maximize potential, Mom, Mr. Peacock, Perseverance, Quitting, Running, Student-Athletes

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 20
  • Next Page »

Featured Blog Posts

  • What Athletic Directors Say About Coaching Searches
  • How ADs Can Interview for Real Culture-Building Coaches
  • 11 Interview Tips to Give you an Edge
  • Red Flags in Coaching Interviews: What Athletic Directors Should Not Ignore
  • 11 Off-Season Team Building Ideas
  • How to Tell if a Coach is a Real Leader or Just a Good Talker
  • 8 In-Season Team Building Ideas
  • The Case for Structured Interviews in Coach Searches
  • 8 Ways to Choose Team Captains
  • How to Evaluate Whether a Coach Will Work Well in Your Department

Blog Categories

  • Business
  • Job Search
  • Leadership
  • News
  • Personal Growth
  • Podcast Episodes
  • Sports
  • Teams & Organizations

Sign Up For Leadership Insights

Join Thousands Of Others Who Follow Jamy On These Platforms:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2026 · Jamy Bechler · Providing Insights on Leadership and Success · site design: red letter design