Jamy Bechler

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

Episode 106: Greg Tonagel, Indiana Wesleyan University Basketball Coach

Greg Tonagel is the head men’s basketball coach at Indiana Wesleyan University. Tonagel and the Wildcats have won three NAIA Division II National Championships in a five year spans with titles in 2014, 2016, and 2018. Since Tonagel took over the program in 2005, he has become the winningest coach in program history both in total wins and winning percentage. Prior to coming to IWU, Tonagel served as Director of Basketball Operations at Valparaiso University, where he also played for legendary Homer Drew and appeared in four NCAA Tournaments as the starting point guard. He also led his LaPorte High School team to the last single class state finals in 1997. Much of the unprecedented success of the Wildcats can be attributed to the culture Tonagel built at IWU.  The IWU culture is built around two Biblically transforming principles; I am Third and Fearless. This has helped the influence of IWU basketball to extend far beyond the court. Tonagel and his staff have been committed to using basketball as a platform for discipleship.

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • What any coach can do to create a better culture
  • Why IWU is so good year in and year out
  • How he convinces great players (including DI transfers from IU and Kansas) to come to IWU
  • … and so much more!!!

[Read more…]

Episode 104: Chris Oliver, Founder of Basketballimmersion.com

Chris Oliver is the founder of Basketballimmersion.com and is one of the most respected basketball coaches and clinicians in North America. He regularly speaks at top coaching conferences and clinics, including CoachingU in Las Vegas. Chris is also currently the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Windsor, a position he has held since 2005. He is a 3x recipient of the Ontario University Athletic Conference’s Coach of the Year award. Chris graduated with a Bachelor of Kinesiology from McMaster University, a Bachelor of Education degree from Brock University, and a Master’s in Physical Education and Coaching Studies from the University of Victoria. Oliver is also an NCCP Level Four coach.

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • Having “less boring” practices
  • Building a better culture in your program
  • Ways that players can make better decisions on the basketball court
  • … and so much more!!!

[Read more…]

A Letter to My Freshman Self

Dear Freshman,

You should be proud. You are in select company. Not everyone can be a student-athlete. Not everyone will finish their four years as a student-athlete. It’s hard. It’s hard to find the balance between your studies and your sports. It’s hard to commit so much time to your sport, meet new people, make new friends, and take care of all of your responsibilities. It’s hard to challenge yourself every day and not take a second for granted. Here are a few pieces of simple, yet very important advice to help you out as you start out on this wonderful journey.

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Episode 095: Tim Hall, UMBC Athletic Director

Tim Hall is the Director of Athletics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). He was also appointed President of the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (ADA) in the summer of 2017 and has served as the chairman of the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics. During the 2018 NCAA Tournament, the UMBC Retrievers Men’s Basketball team made history when they became the first ever No. 16 seed to beat the No. 1 seed when they beat Virginia by 20 points, 74-54. Tim has previously served as the Athletic Director at the University of Missouri at Kansas City.  Before heading up his own departments, he was the assistant A.D. at Eastern Kentucky University, Saint Xavier University, Youngstown State University, and Kent State University. 

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • The historic upset that the men’s basketball team had in the 2018 NCAA Tournament
  • Social media creativity of UMBC athletic communication staff during the tournament
  • Ways to build a mid-major athletic program
  • Hiring and keeping good team members
  • What makes UMBC so special

[Read more…]

3 Ways to Make Your Boss Better

We all have a boss.  We all answer to someone.  Board of directors, supervisor, coach, parents or wife.  Even the president of the United States has a boss in the form of millions of citizens.

We may not be in as crazy a situation like the worker in the following video, but you may see some similarities in this “Office Space” clip.  If you are like me, then you’ve had bosses that have been good and bosses that have needed some improvement.

 

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Culture Is A Choice

“Don’t tell them what you’re going to do – that’s vision.  Do what you’re going to do – that’s culture. Culture eats vision for lunch”.  (John C. Maxwell)

When I first heard this, I wrote it down and thought that it sounded good.  However, the more I thought about that statement the more I started to see the truth of it.

We need both a strong culture and a positive vision to reach our fullest potential.  If I have to choose, however, I will take a strong culture any day of the week over a clear vision.  Even the clearest vision may not be realized if the culture is poor and weighing you down.

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When Preparation Meets Opportunity

You’ve probably heard of guys like Tom Brady, Joe Montana, John Elway, Terry Bradshaw, and Peyton Manning. These are some of the best quarterbacks in the history of the National Football League. But none of them – or anyone else for that matter – has ever done what Ryan Fitzpatrick has accomplished through the first 3 weeks of the NFL season. Ryan Fitzpatrick (“FitzMagic” as he is known) has thrown for more than 400 yards in all three games. No NFL quarterback has ever thrown for 400 yards in three straight games. Ever!

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5 Things I Wish I Knew As A Young Coach

As a college basketball coach for nearly 20 years, I had many experiences that I was proud of. But, I also made my share of mistakes, especially early in my career. Now that I have left coaching to work with teams as a leadership trainer and consultant, I look back on my career and offer up five things that I wish I knew when I first started out in coaching.

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Winning with Millennials

“Don’t Criticize them; They are just what we’d be under similar circumstances.” (Abraham Lincoln)

OMG! Millennials are everywhere. HELP!

It seems that everywhere we turn, Millennials are shaping, influencing and dominating the world around us. What in the world are we to do?!? [Read more…]

Champions in the White House

“We don’t have to agree on anything to be kind to one another.” (Toby Mac)

One day while I was a high school student, a bunch of us were playing pickup basketball at a nearby gym. I was playing well and doing my fair share of trash talking that day. Finally, my friend had enough of this as some of my verbal barrage was directed at him.

He told us that he didn’t want to play any more and that we all had to leave. You see, he was the one that had the key to the gym and had opened it up for us to play. He literally took his ball and went home. He didn’t have very thick skin and didn’t react to the situation very well. I, on the other hand, was not very respectful as I acted like a punk.

Most of the time, showing respect to people (even those that you don’t think deserve it) is more a reflection of your  character  than it is a reflection of theirs.

[Read more…]

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