Jamy Bechler

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

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!!!

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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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That Time My Wife Got Her Way … and I Was Glad

“Every man wants a wife who is beautiful, understanding, economical and a good cook.  But the law allows only one wife.”
 

I hit the jackpot.  My wife is all of those.  However, I am also like most husbands in that I think I am always right.

She puts up with my delusions and still loves me.

She knows how to pick her battles and doesn’t protest every silly thing I say or decision I make.  If she did, she’d constantly have a picket sign in her hand marching around the sidewalk in front of our house.

However, a few years ago, she memorably put her foot down and didn’t let me get away with making a silly decision.  It was the best thing she could have done because the results of that decision have been life-altering.

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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

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Episode 090: Former NFL Tight End Brandon Bostick

Brandon Bostick is a former NFL Tight End. He is originally from South Carolina and starred at West Florence HS before going to Newberry College. While at Newberry, he played Wide Receiver and scored 19 touchdowns in only 39 total collegiate games (24 starts). Brandon’s journey has been a story of overcoming the odds to achieve his goals. He played two full seasons with the Green Bay Packers. He would also spend time with the Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, and New York Jets during his NFL career. Unfortunately, on January 15, 2015 in the NFC Championship Game, he was involved in a play that would be the low point in his career. He fumbled an onside kick, which gave the Seattle Seahawks one last chance to score. The Seahawks scored and would eventually win the game in overtime, advancing to the Super Bowl. Despite this setback Brandon has maintained a positive attitude. He is a good example of a person being resilient and understanding how blessed he is. He had a great career and got to play with some of the best to ever play the game of football. 

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • His journey to defy the odds and become an NFL player
  • What it was like playing with Aaron Rodgers and in Green Bay
  • The qualities of successful NFL players
  • Advice for bouncing back and overcoming setbacks in life

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Episode 075: Show Hope’s Emily Chapman Richards

Emily Chapman Richards is the vice president of Show Hope, an organization whose mission is to care for orphans and reduce barriers to adoption. Show Hope was founded by Emily’s parents Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman. If those names sound familiar, it is because her mother is a New York Times Best-Selling author and her father is a 5-time Grammy Award Winning recording artist. 

Born and raised in Franklin, TN, Emily has enjoyed watching Show Hope grow from a dream in her parents’ heart to an organization that has helped thousands of children come to know the love of a family.  Emily met her husband, Tanner, on a blind date at a local Starbucks. Married in 2008, Tanner and Emily are the proud parents to three beautiful ladies—Eiley, Della, and Verity.  

After earning her BA in International Studies and Religion from Baylor University (‘07), Emily continued her education while living abroad, graduating from Queen’s University Belfast (‘12) with a Masters of Theology. Emily enjoys traveling and talking theology over a cup of coffee.  She is a visionary and a dreamer, and has long remained a passionate advocate for adoption and orphan care efforts. 

In today’s episode, we discuss:

  • Growing up as the daughter of a Grammy-Award winning artist
  • Persuading her parents to adopt a child
  • The origins and mission of Show Hope
  • The fun story of how her parents met
  • Dealing with tragedy

[Read more…]

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…]

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