Providing Insights on Leadership and Success. Coach Bechler is a John Maxwell Leadership Team Member.
As a college student, I spent my summers as a life guard and camp counselor. During the weekends, the camp director would take the staff for boat rides around the lake. It seemed like every five minutes, he said, “See that turtle over there” or “Look at that turtle sunny itself on that log”. I don’t think I saw a turtle before he saw it at any point during that entire summer. Funny thing is that I also never saw a turtle on my own when I went out on the boat out without him.
Swen Nater won two NCAA Championships as a basketball player for the legendary John Wooden at UCLA. He would become the first player to ever be a NBA first round draft choice despite never starting a college game. During the 1973-74 season, Swen would earn ABA Rookie of the Year status. He would go on to play professional basketball for 12 years for the Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, Spurs, and Nets. He is the only player in basketball history to lead the ABA and the NBA in rebounding. At the 2004 NBA All-Star game, he was officially named “Mr. Clipper”. After retiring as a player, he would go on to help start the Christian Heritage athletic department and lead the men’s basketball team to a National Championship. Today, he is a highly sought-after motivational speaker and executive of a Fortune 500 company.
Patti Phillips is the CEO of women leaders in college sports. This is the nation’s premier organization that develops, connects and advances women working in collegiate athletics. Patti Phillips is the former president of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2015, she was a recipient of the NCAA’s Champion of Diversity Award. Phillips has served as the CEO of the Women Leaders in College Sports (formerly known as NACWAA) since 2010. In her time as CEO, the association has seen triple-digit growth in membership, has been rejuvenated with a renewed focus on advancing and empowering women, has undergone a name change and organizational transformation, and has established itself as the premier leadership association for women in athletics. Under Phillips’ direction, the association provides a road map, resources, and coaching for women wanting to advance into leadership positions. It also launched the Women Leaders podcast in 2017 which highlights the successes and career paths of women leaders both in and outside the industry.
Laura Gassner Otting has appeared on Good Morning America and the Today Show talking about how to live a limitless life. Her book “Limitless: How to Ignore Everybody, Carve Your Own Path, and Live Your Best Life” has been a Washington Post and Amazon best-seller. Highly recognized for her impact within the nonprofit sector, Laura Gassner Otting is Founder & CEO of Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group, a member of multiple nonprofit boards and a thought leader on mission-driven work. With her unique insight and a vast breadth of experience, Otting’s writing has been featured in numerous high-profile publications, including The New York Times, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Money magazine and more. She is the author of Change Your Career: Transitioning to the Nonprofit Sector and Mission Driven: Moving from Profit to Purpose and its companion book, The Mission Driven Handbook: A Resource for Moving from Profit to Purpose.
Dr. Jon Steinbrecher is the commissioner of the Mid-American Conference. He has held the position since 2009. He was previously the commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference.
In July of 2019, Steinbrecher became the first Division 1 commissioner to be elected to a NCAA council leadership position when he was elected as vice chair of the NCAA Division 1 Council.
Steinbrecher has previously worked on the NCAA Football Oversight Committee and the NCAA Football Competition Committee, and currently serves on the NCAA Transfer Working Group, as well as the Developmental Model Council of USA Football.
Steinbrecher is the only commissioner in the NCAA’s first division to serve as a commissioner at all three levels of the first division, which includes the Football Bowl Subdivision, the Football Championship Subdivision and the rest of Division 1. Steinbrecher was previously the commissioner of the D-1 Summit Division (1994-2003) and the Ohio Valley Conference (2003-2009.)
Heather Macy is a college basketball coach and author of “Two Feet Forward”. She is also the founder of the non-profit Influence and Impacters.
Macy is a highly requested speaker at civic organizations, hospitals, schools, non-profit organizations, plus in private industry. During these presentations, topics like teamwork, accountability, and discipline to achieve success are explored. One of only 300 coaches in the country Macy received a Certification in Emotional Intelligence (EQ) in 2016. She currently travels speaking to teams and organizations on how to use EQ to become an elite performer.
She has been a successful coach everywhere that she has been. She is the all-time winningest coach at NCAA Division I East Carolina University. She has coached at Spartanburg Methodist College, East Carolina University, Francis Marion University, Pfeiffer University, UMBC, High Point University, Lenoir-Rhyne College, and Catawba College.
Macy was the lone women’s basketball head coach invited to speak at the NIKE Championship Basketball Clinic in Las Vegas, Nev., in May 2015. The Las Vegas clinic is widely regarded as the largest college basketball clinic in the world. She spoke at the same clinics in Orlando, Fla., and Las Vegas in 2011, while being chosen as a featured speaker at the 2008 South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association clinic in North Charleston, the 2009 Triad Coaches Clinic in Winston-Salem, N.C., and the NIKE Coaching Clinics in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Cleveland, Ohio and Wisconsin Dells, Wis.
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.
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.
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.
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.