Jamy Bechler

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

Episode 121: Kevin Eastman, Former NBA Coach & Executive

Kevin Eastman is a corporate speaker and an internationally-known basketball clinician who brings his knowledge and experience in sports to the business world. He speaks on various topics, including championship culture, teamwork, leadership, motivation and individual success.

Over his 40 years in the game, Kevin has coached basketball at all levels, including 13 years in the NBA. He was a top assistant to Doc Rivers with the 2008 NBA World Championship Boston Celtics, and most recently served as an assistant coach and Vice President of Basketball Operations with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Kevin was raised in Haddonfield, New Jersey, and attended the University of Richmond, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He was a scholarship student-athlete at Richmond and in recognition of his unique qualities as a basketball player, the University created the Kevin Eastman Award. The award, which has been awarded just five times in program history, is given to a player who exemplifies the qualities of team leadership, dedication, and outstanding play. He was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame at both Haddonfield Memorial High School and the University of Richmond.

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • What makes the best the best
  • The absolute most important word needed for success
  • How to be truthful and “keep it real” with team members
  • Being the best assistant or #2 possible
  • … and so much more!!!

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Episode 120: Dan Hughes, WNBA Championship Coach

Dan Hughes is the head coach of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm. In just his first year with the Storm, he helped lead them to the 2018 WNBA Championship. Nobody has coached more games in the WNBA than Hughes. He has been the head coach of the Charlotte Sting (1999), Cleveland Rockers (2000-2003), San Antonio Stars (2005-2009, 2011-2016), and the Seattle Storm (2018-current). He has also coached both men and women at various college levels. 

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • Coming out of retirement to coach the Storm to a championship.
  • What makes Gregg Popovich so good as a coach.
  • How to be a great assistant.
  • Creating a championship culture quickly.
  • His non-traditional coaching journey and how it helped him be a better coach.
  • The male and the female player he would have liked to coach.
  • … and so much more!!!

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Episode 119: Matt Brauning – Really interesting guy!

As a 2-time best-selling author, Matt captivates all types of audiences with an honest, hilarious, and exciting look into Leadership, Team Building, and Corporate Culture. He has been speaking since 2006 all over the world including the US, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.

Some of his clients include: U.S. Bank, John McAfee (Founder of McAfee Antivirus), New York Life, Project Management Institute (PMI), University of Southern California, Whittier Law School, The Point Church Network, Keller Williams Real Estate, The YMCA, and others.

Matt has been an entrepreneur since 2002, and is the host of The Purpose Driven Entrepreneur podcast. He also filmed in the movie The Journey with training legends Brian Tracy and Bob Proctor.

He is an avid motorcycle rider, church pastor, and rock climber, climbing technical roped ascents of mountains like Mt. Whitney and Halfdome in Yosemite. After spending time in California, he now resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan with his amazing wife Lola and awesome son Valiant.

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • Super heroes and leadership going hand in hand
  • Why people do what they do
  • What NLP is and why it matters
  • Assigning meaning to things that happen to us
  • How we can change our attitude or cause of things
  • … and so much more!!!

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Episode 118: Don Yaeger, New York Times Best-Selling Author

Don Yaeger is a keynote speaker, corporate business leadership coach, 11-time New York Times Best-selling author and long-time associate editor for Sports Illustrated. As a speaker, he has worked with audiences as diverse as Fortune 500 companies, associations and leadership forums on the subject “What Makes the Great Ones Great.”

He has written 25+ books with, among others, Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton, UCLA basketball Coach John Wooden, baseball legend John Smoltz, and football star Warrick Dunn.

Throughout his writing career, Don has developed a reputation as a world-class storyteller and has been invited as a guest to almost every major talk show – from The Oprah Winfrey Show to Nightline, from CNN to Good Morning America.

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • Living with Walter Payton in the months leading up to his death
  • Being mentored by John Wooden
  • The one book that he’d still like to write
  • What makes the best the best
  • … and so much more!!!

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Episode 117: Jacqie McWilliams, CIAA Commissioner

Jacqie McWilliams became the first female commissioner of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 2012. As the first African American female commissioner in the NCAA, McWilliams is a sought after speaker and is recognized on a local, regional, and national level. She has served on numerous boards, and currently sits on Collegiate Women’s Sports Awards, John B. McLendon Foundation Board, NCAA Board of Governor’s Cultural Diversity Committee, Hampton Nation Advisory Board, M&F Advisory Board and the Black Enterprise Charlotte Convention Steering Committee.  She is active in her church community and chairs the HBCU initiative committee for the Crown Jewel’s LINKS of Charlotte, of which she is a member.

The CIAA conference, based in Charlotte, N.C., consists of 13 Division II institutions. Twelve of those schools are historically black colleges and universities. The annual CIAA basketball tournament, the largest of 16 CIAA championships in a variety of sports, features 22 men’s and women’s games in the same week. It generates more than $55 million in economic impact for the host city. McWilliams earned a bachelor’s in psychology from Hampton University, where she played basketball and volleyball. She earned a master’s in sports management and administration from Temple University and went on to work as a college coach and administrator for the NCAA.

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • The importance of Historically Black Colleges & Universities on student’s lives
  • How the CIAA is impacting student-athletes
  • Career advice for the athletic administration path
  • … and so much more!!!

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Episode 116: Jim Carr, NAIA President

Jim Carr is the president of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The NAIA provides opportunities for more than 65,000 student-athletes to play sports at the collegiate level. The NAIA is headquartered in Kansas City. The men’s basketball tournament is the longest running basketball tournament in the nation. Under Carr’s leadership, the NAIA has grown a great deal and has been at the forefront of innovative programs such as the “Champions of Character” and the “Return on Athletics”. 

Carr joined the NAIA in July 1998 as Managing Director and General Counsel and was promoted to Chief Operating Officer, while retaining the title of General Counsel, in 2000.  In September 2006, Carr became the seventh President and Chief Executive Officer of the NAIA. He is a graduate of Millsaps College, has an M.S. in sports management from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a J.D. from Duke University.  He serves on various boards and councils, including USA Basketball, the Kansas City Life, Baptist Trinity Lutheran Foundation, the Police Athletic League of Kansas City, Missouri Bank and Trust and the Downtown Council of Kansas City.

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • Recruiting tips for parents
  • Qualities that make a good coach
  • Differences between the NAIA and the NCAA
  • Opportunities for student-athletes to grow and develop
  • … and so much more!!!

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Episode 115: Kaya Jones, Recording Artist

Kaya Jones was one of the singers for The Pussycat Dolls, which is one of the most popular girl groups in history having sold more than 15 million albums & 40 million singles worldwide. She was discovered and first signed to a deal by R. Kelly in 1999 (when she was 13 years old). Kaya has worked with Britney Spears, Mick Jagger, D12, R.Kelly, Dada Life, Calvin Harris, Backstreet Boys, Eminem & Katy Perry to name a few. Kaya has also developed the Hollywood Doll brand, which designs and manufactures a line of dolls, and fashion and beauty products for young girls. And, at the age of 26, Jones became the youngest female in history to start her own record label, HueMan Race Records. Kaya has brought her own sound to the masses and developed her career as a solo artist.

 

In 2017 her song “What The Heart Don’t Know” shot up the chart to #3 behind Taylor Swift and P!NK. She stopped the promos for the song in order to focus on raising money for Hurricane Harvey and was successful in raising almost 3 million dollars for the relief efforts. She also went to Houston to help feed and distribute clothing to churches and food to victims, as well as first responders. In 2017, Kaya became a very out-spoken supporter of President Trump. On October 1, 2017 she was in Las Vegas and on stage with Big and Rich one hour before the worst mass shooting in US history. She became an Ambassador for the NDC (National Diversity Coalition for President Trump) and also a Director for the URC (Urban Revitalization Coalition for President Trump. In 2018, Kaya had the honor of singing the National Anthem for the President and Vice President of the United States over the course of two days at CPAC.

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • Signing a recording contract as a 13-year old
  • The time spent with the musical group The Pussycat Dolls
  • Being part of a Grammy nominate country album
  • Her political and religious views
  • … and so much more!!!

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Episode 114: Bob Wilson, NAIA Hall of Famer

Bob Wilson served as the athletic director at Vanguard University for more than 20 years. He earned the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Athletic Director of the Year honors twice (2002, 2012). Wilson also coached basketball at the collegiate level for more than 24 years. Wilson served the NAIA in significant ways over the years, including chair of NAIA Region II, chair of the National Administration Council, president of the Basketball Coaches Association, men’s basketball rater, and chairman of the NAIA Basketball Tournament. In addition, Wilson served as vice president of the GSAC, and was a member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. He conceptualized the Champions of Character initiative on the Vanguard campus when he created VU’s Gold Pride program. During his tenure, the department won 16 Champions of Character Team awards, two student athletes were voted Leroy Walker winners, and two head coaches were named Coach of Character. In March 2007, Wilson was inducted into the NAIA Men’s Basketball Hall of Fame. He is the author of “The Ripple Effect” and currently serves as a partner with Comprehensive Athletics Consulting, LLC.

 
In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • Developing student leadership
  • Creating a championship culture
  • Hiring and job search tips
  • … and so much more!!!

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Episode 113: Kara Lawson, WNBA Champion & Basketball Analyst

Kara Lawson is the Washington Wizards’ TV analyst and former star player at the University of Tennessee, as well as in the WNBA. She first joined ESPN in 2004 as a women’s college basketball analyst while playing point guard for the Sacramento Monarchs of the WNBA. She has served in a variety of capacities – game and studio analyst, play-by-play and sideline reporter while covering men’s and women’s college basketball as well as the NBA. Lawson was a member of the Women’s Basketball Olympic Team, which won a gold medal in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and she captained the US Team to a gold medal in the 2011 World University Games. Overall,  in addition to winning an Olympic Gold Medal, she has won a WNBA title, been a WNBA all-star, won two high school state championships while also competing in the NCAA Final Four as a member of the Lady Vols. Off the court, Lawson is a passionate advocate for fitness and personal health. She is a member of the Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Campaign, is active with Race for the Cure and also volunteers for the American Cancer Society. In 2010, Lawson began working with various chapters of the Alzheimer’s Association.

In Today’s Episode We Discuss: 

  • Playing for Pat Summitt at Tennessee
  • How athletes can be better leaders
  • What qualities make up a great coach
  • . . . and so much more!!!

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Episode 112: Justin Kittredge, CEO of ISlideUSA

Justin Kittredge is the CEO and Founder of ISlide USA, which manufactures, markets, and sells premium custom athletic sandals.  The company was founded in 2013. In 2016, he appeared (along with NFL star Antonio Brown), on Shark Tank asking for an investment. Ultimately, he turned down an offer of $500,000. ISlide’s can be found on the feet of some of the world’s biggest celebrities, including Tom Brady, Ellen DeGeneres, Ice Cube, and Lebron James.  Justin spent a decade working as the Director of the Basketball Product Division at Reebok. Justin and his team worked to create, market and sell NBA basketball shoes throughout the United States and abroad. Justin was the Guinness World Records™ holder for the most completed basketball free throws in two minutes in 2010. By completing 64 free throws in 120 seconds, averaging a basket every 1.875 seconds, Justin beat the previously held record of 60 shots by Olympic silver medalist and basketball star, Laurent Sciarra, of Paris, France. He also holds the record for most completed blind folded free throws in two minutes and is in the process currently of getting a new record approved.

In Today’s Episode We Discuss: 

  • Boston sports figures
  • Turning down $500,000 on Shark Tank
  • The unique celebrity marketing strategy of ISlide
  • Hiring the right people
  • . . . and so much more!!!

[Read more…]

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