Jamy Bechler

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

6 Ways to Better Utilize Assistant Coaches

The late great Billy Graham liked to say, “A coach will impact more young people in one year than the average person will in a lifetime.” The quote didn’t distinguish between head coaches or assistant coaches. All coaches have an opportunity to make a difference.

As a head coach, your platform is greater and you may have more opportunities, but your assistants can make a tremendous difference in the lives of your athletes – both from an athletic and personal level. The best programs have great coaches. A good head coach can only do so much if the assistant coaches are not very good.

Having a good assistant coach isn’t automatic even if that person has the knowledge or experience.

Here are 6 ways that you can better utilize your assistant coaches more effectively…

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Our Daily Commute

“All battles are first won or lost in the mind.” (Joan of Arc)

🔊 Click here to listen to the 2-minute audio of today’s email about our daily commute.

The American commute is getting longer and longer. 

According to a Washington Post article, the average American spends a total of 52 minutes commuting to and from work each day. 

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10 Things All Athletes Can Do

Every athlete has a different skillset and level of athletic ability. Not every player will have the natural talent of a Lebron James, Serena Williams, Lamar Jackson, or Maya Moore. But for every all-world player that makes it, there are countless others that had the talent but lacked the intangibles. Talent can only take an athlete so far. In fact, talent doesn’t equal good. The extra stuff can take a talented athlete and make them good. Likewise, there are plenty of athletes that have limited talent but have excelled at the intangibles, leading to success and them becoming valuable members of their team. Talent is only a starting point. No matter how much or how little talent an athlete has, here are 10 things that every athlete can do.

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5 Things to Do When You Join the “I Got Fired” Club

“Hey, Jamy, do you have a minute?”

This was the question the athletic director asked me as I was getting ready to take my college basketball team on a team-building experience. 

It was early January and school had not yet started.

Little did I know that in the next few minutes, I would be receiving my invitation to a well-known club that has plenty of members all across the country.

“Jamy, we are going to go in a different direction at the end of the year and you will not be returning as our head coach.”

And just like that, as one of the younger head coaches at the NCAA level, I was a card-carrying member of the “I Got Fired” club.

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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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Episode 074: JJ Birden, Former NFL Wide Receiver

JJ Birden played 9 years in the NFL as a Wide Receiver after a stand out career as a star track athlete at the University of Oregon, which is known as “Tracktown, USA”.  A 5’10”, 157-pound wide receiver, JJ was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the 1988 NFL Draft and played nine seasons (Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, and Atlanta Falcons). To play nine years in a profession where the average players career last an average of 3.2 years is something special. Two of those nine years was with Hall of Fame Quarterback Joe Montana. He certainly was not the biggest, strongest, or fastest guy on the field, but he knew how to seize his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and maximize his success through dedication and hard work.

He is now a motivational speaker and representative for the health and nutrition company Isagenix. He is an engaging communicator and a leading expert at helping individuals seize their opportunities in life. In his presentations, JJ shares lessons from his experience as a small man in a big man’s game. JJ’s time in the NFL helped shape the message that he now delivers to audiences around the world. After seeing the successes and failures of others at the highest level, he developed a set of principles that others could follow to achieve greatness, no matter how they defined it or what they’re pursuing.

JJ has also written a book entitled, “When Opportunity Knocks: 8 Surefire Ways to Take Advantage.” He and his wife Raina have 8 kids, including 5 that are adopted.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

  • Catching footballs from Joe Montana
  • Playing 9 years in the NFL
  • Adopting 5 children
  • Staying positive in any situation
  • Whether this world-class sprinter ever got caught from behind

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Prepare to Win

(Originally written on July 1, 2016)

July is here. That means one month left until the start of official practices for many athletes. How will you spend this month? Will you be prepared when October and November asks you to pay up for what you did in June and July? 

Bobby Knight used to say “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail”.

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Are You Prepared?

The Penn State University scandal is a situation that we all must pay attention to and learn from.  I will not be writing an Op-Ed piece, nor passing judgment in this brief column.  Rather, I encourage all coaches, administrators, teachers . . . anyone that is reading this to take heed and examine how you would handle this kind of situation.  More importantly, how would you handle other situations that may be once in a lifetime situations.

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