Jamy Bechler

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

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Jun 03 2019

Episode 122: Bob Vecchione, NACDA Executive Director

Bob Vecchione is the Executive Director of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. NACDA is THE professional association for individuals working in college athletics. Nearly 16,000 individuals and 1,700 institutions belong to NACDA.

During his tenure, NACDA has initiated a multitude of programs that provide value-added benefits to the ever increasing membership. Programs such as the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, NCAA Football, the Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year Award, the NACDA Daily Review, the Disney Institute and the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) are examples of those value added membership benefits created under his tutelage. Vecchione was honored with the Tony Snow Award from the WWP in 2013.

Vecchione is also a member of the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame National Board of Directors, the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission Board and is on the advisory Board of the College Sports Video Summit. He previously chaired the NCAA Football Youth Initiatives Committee.

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • What kind of impact NACDA has on athletic programs and student-athletes
  • How athletic directors can best lead
  • Advice for people wanting to become involved in college athletics
  • … and so much more!!!

[Read more…]

Written by Jamy Bechler · Categorized: Podcast Episodes, Teams & Organizations · Tagged: anton goff, Bob Vecchione, Bob Wilson, Chad Briscoe, Christopher Parker, Coaching, Jacqie McWilliams, Jim Carr, larry desimpelare, Leadership, Martin Methodist College, Mike Hamilton, NACDA, NACMA, NAIA, NCAA, NJCAA, Rob Miller, Rusty Kennedy, Tim Hall, Tim Selgo

Nov 20 2018

Episode 102: Tracie Hitz, Dating & Branding Strategist

Tracie Hitz is a personal and professional branding strategist with more than 20 years of branding, marketing and sales experience in the sports industry. She launched Hitz & Branding, LLC in June 2018 after twenty years in the sports industry. In this new endeavor she helps people set goals, tell a story, land a date, land a job, or land anything they want. 

Immediately before founding Hitz & Branding, LLC., Tracie was the Director of Championships & Alliances at the NCAA. In her first year, she oversaw the 2014 Women’s Final Four sales efforts that led to a sold-out arena in a first-time host city, and the following year she led the charge to record the largest attendance at a Women’s Final Four since 2010. Tracie came to the national office after working in the C-Suite as the Chief Marketing Officer at Old Hat Creative for 3.5 years where she doubled its annual revenue each year working with over 80 professional and collegiate sports organizations.

She was named to the C-Suite for the NACMA Board of Directors in 2008 and was the Board advisor from 2010-2013. She has been a member of the UNC Center for Research in Intercollegiate Athletics Board of Advisors and the IUPUI Tourism, Conventions and Event Management Advisory Board since 2015. She received her bachelorʼs degree in Communication (Journalism) from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri in 1997 and her masterʼs degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern University in 2003.

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • Different branding and marketing strategies for individuals and businesses
  • Career journey in athletics
  • Using social media to tell a story
  • Dating and relationship advice
  • … and so much more!!!

[Read more…]

Written by Jamy Bechler · Categorized: Podcast Episodes · Tagged: Advertising, Alicia Jessop, Andy Carter, anton goff, Ask Questions, Branding, Brian Stanchak, Chad Briscoe, Communication, connecting, Dan Migala, Dan Tudor, Dating, Girl Scouts, Jeff Bain, Kevin Deshazo, marketing, NACMA, Nashville, NCAA, Northwestern University, person of interest, PR, Questions, Relationships, Seth Godin, Social Media, Sue Enquist, Tim Hall, tinder, Tracie Hitz

Nov 02 2018

Episode 096: Toronto Raptors Guard Lorenzo Brown

Lorenzo Brown was the NBA’s 2018 G-League Most Valuable Player and is a member of the Toronto Raptors. He also played with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers, and Phoenix Suns. The six-foot-five combo guard played college basketball at NC State. He led the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in assists as a junior before leaving early to enter the NBA Draft. He was drafted 52nd overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2013 NBA draft.

During Brown’s MVP season, he helped lead the Raptors 905 to the G-League Finals while averaging 18.8 PPG, 8.8 APG, and 5.2 RPG. On  January 12, 2018, Brown became the first player to score in both a G-League game and an NBA game on the same day. He had 24 points and 12 assists for the 905s earlier in the day and then suited up that night against the Lebron James-led Cleveland Cavs on national TV. Brown would play 19 minutes in the 34-point blowout win, scoring 6 points and dishing out 5 assists.

Brown initially attended Centennial High School in his native Roswell, Georgia, where he averaged 20.8 points as a senior and was named a fourth-team Parade All-American and the Georgia 5A player of the Year. He would eventually spend a post-graduate year at Hargrave Military Academy. 

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • His basketball journey and lessons he’s learned
  • What he’s learned from Demar Derozan and Kyle Lowry
  • What makes Toronto’s “Bench Mob” so valuable
  • How he embraces his role on the team
  • Qualities of a great coach
  • … and so much more!!!

[Read more…]

Written by Jamy Bechler · Categorized: Podcast Episodes, Sports · Tagged: Adversity, Allen Iverson, anton goff, Basketball, Bench Mob, Brandon Bostick, Chris Oliver, Cleveland Cavs, Demar Derozan, Detroit Pistons, Drake, dwane casey, Eric Platte, Fabulous, FailForward, G-League, Grit, Jerod Ward, Jerry Stackhouse, JJ Birden, Kevin Harrington, Kyle Lowry, Lebron James, Minnesota Timberwolves, Most Valuable Player, NBA, Nick Nurse, Nicole Arbour, North Carolina State, Overcoming Adversity, Pat Williams, Peseverance, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Plan B, Resiliency, Rex Kalamian, Scott Wood, Social Media, Toronto, Toronto Raptors, Tracy McGrady, Underdog, vince carter

Oct 29 2018

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…]

Written by Jamy Bechler · Categorized: Podcast Episodes, Teams & Organizations · Tagged: Alan Stein, anton goff, Athletic Director, Brian Stanchak, Chad Briscoe, College Athletics, dwane casey, Glen Wright, head coach training center, Hiring, Human Resources, Jay Korff, Jr., Kent State, Kent State University, Laing Kennedy, larry desimpelare, Leadership, Maryland Baltimore County, men's basketball, Mid-Major, Mike Hamilton, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, Ryan Odom, Teamwork, Tim Hall, Tony Bennett, UMBC, Virginia

Feb 02 2018

Episode 064: NCAA Director of Leadership Development Curtis Hollomon

Curtis J. Hollomon is the director of leadership development at the NCAA. His primary duties include strategic advancement of the department, marketing and branding efforts, and program oversight of Resolution Initiatives, NCAA Champion Forum for Football, and Pathway Program (DI). Before coming to the NCAA in 2005, Hollomon was the assistant athletics director for operations and development at St. Cloud (Minnesota) State University. Prior to his duties at SCSU, Hollomon served as assistant to the directors at the Georgia Tech Athletic Association, a nonprofit organization responsible for maintaining the intercollegiate athletics program at Tech. A 1999 graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Hollomon was a three-year letterman in football and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in history, technology and society. He holds a master’s degree in sports administration, which he obtained while at St. Cloud State.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

  • The great work that the NCAA is doing in the area of leadership
  • Knowing your “why” and what your passions are
  • Developing student-athletes to turn pro in something other than sports
  • Winning an ACC Football Championship while at Georgia Tech

[Read more…]

Written by Jamy Bechler · Categorized: Podcast Episodes · Tagged: Alicia Jessop, anton goff, Bobby Cox, Celia Slater, Curtis Hollomon, Football, George O'Leary, Georgia Tech, Jamy Bechler, Leadership, Mike Hamilton, NCAA, Social Media, Tim Selgo

Dec 26 2017

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…]

Written by Jamy Bechler · Categorized: Podcast Episodes · Tagged: Adoption, Alan Stein, anton goff, Athletic Consulting, Bethany Christian Services, Brian Stanchak, Bruce Pearl, Chad Briscoe, Charity, College Athletics, consulting, Curtis Hollomon, Dan Wood, Daniel Hare, Hiring Process, jason romano, Job Search, Lane Kiffin, larry desimpelare, Management by walking around, NCAA, Pat Williams, Rick A. Morris, Rob Miller, Shemy Schembechler, Show Hope, Steven Curtis chapman, Tennessee, Tennessee volunteers, Tim Selgo, Tom Peters, Tracie Hitz, troy kirby, University of Tennessee, Winfred-Henry Partners

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