It’s very exciting to join a new program and start fresh.
Whether we’re a young coach or a wily veteran, head coach or assistant, there are still some important things to remember as we begin this new job.
Coach Wooden and Me
“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” (John Wooden)
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA’s all-time scoring leader and a few years ago he wrote a book entitled “Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-year friendship on and off the court”.
John Wooden was the legendary basketball coach at UCLA when Kareem (then known as Lew Alcindor) played there.
Episode 110: Former White House Speechwriter John Corcoran
John Corcoran has worked in Hollywood, written speeches for President Bill Clinton and lost his job when Arnold Schwarzenegger became the Governator. Even though he’s lived in California most of his life, he is the world’s worst surfer, although he does speak Valley Girl fluently. His day job is working with small business owners and entrepreneurs as a lawyer and business advisor. He created a website called SmartBusinessRevolution.com where he shows small business owners and entrepreneurs how to use relationships to attract more clients, customers and revenues. John’s podcast has been named by Inc. Magazine as one of the “Top 10 Podcasts for Entrepreneurs to Learn Personal Finance From.”
In Today’s Episode We Discuss:
- Building a network without being sleazy
- How to be the most interesting person in a room
- What it was like to write speeches for President Clinton
- Contributing to an episode of “The West Wing” TV show
- . . . and so much more!!!
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!!!
Episode 080: PGA Caddie Paul Tesori
Paul Tesori is the caddie for professional golfer Webb Simpson. Paul was on the bag when Webb won the 2012 U.S. Open and 2018 THE PLAYERS Championship. In addition to Webb Simpson, Paul has caddied for some of the best golfers in the world including former #1 player Vijay Singh. In total, he has more than 20 wins as a PGA caddie.
We caught up with Paul between THE PLAYERS and the Open Championship (to be held at Carnoustie, Scotland). The memories of the record-setting performance at THE PLAYERS was still fresh in his mind (especially since it is played at TPC Sawgrass, which is Paul’s home course). Webb led THE PLAYERS Championship from start to finish. Along the way, he equaled the course record with his 2nd-round 63, and also the 36-hole and 54-hole PLAYERS scoring records. With the win, Webb became just the 9th player to have won THE PLAYERS and a U.S. Open. The victory also made Webb World Golf Hall of Fame eligible in the future.
Paul is a Florida native and attended the University of Florida. He grew up loving sports and played golf and baseball. He was such a good golfer that he even played 21 events on the PGA Tour himself. Paul and his wife Michelle run the Tesori Family Foundation, which was founded in 2009. The foundation helps supports various charities throughout the country with focuses ranging from childhood homelessness to battered women’s shelters, from children battling disease like cancer to animal rescue charities like the Jacksonville Humane Society.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
- Webb’s runaway win at the 2018 Players Championship
- Why mental toughness is important in golf and life
- What he says to a golfer during a round
- Caddie-Golfer relationships, especially after breakups
Episode 057: Motivational Speaker Tony Gaskins, Jr.
Tony Gaskins Jr. is a motivational speaker, author, and life coach who has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show. Tony built his brand from scratch to where he now has more than 1 million followers on social media. At 22, he became an author. At 23, he became a husband and father. At 25, he started his first company, Soul Writers LLC. At 25, he also got himself on globally televised shows to tell a portion of his story. Tony decided to turn his pain into purpose and live a life of service. Raised in the church and being the son of a pastor, there was something about service that stuck with Tony.
Tony made his fair share of mistakes like most young men from areas like where he grew up. Many of his childhood friends are serving life sentences in prison. Although Tony was introduced to the street life between the ages of 18–23, he finally found his way. At 23, he allowed love to change his life. His wife was unwilling to be with a man who wouldn’t live up to his full potential. That tough love pushed Tony to be more and to do more.
By combining all of his passions Tony became an author, life coach, and speaker. In 2015 Tony began working with an NBA team as the team life coach. Tony also became the life coach for several college teams. His message comes from his mess. He believes that we all are coaches because we’ve all learned lessons that can help someone else. Operating in his gifts also took him around the world as a highly sought- after speaker. Tony has spoken in two other continents and over 10 different countries and counting. Tony was able to accomplish these feats by the tender age of 31.
He doesn’t believe in boxes. “Don’t put me in a box until I’m going in the ground,” he says. He covers a wide range of topics in the areas of life, love, and business. He’s written several books on those subjects with his latest work being The Dream Chaser published by Wiley and available everywhere books are sold.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
- His appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show
- How his background helped shape who he is now
- Writing books to help people
- Working with and connecting with NBA players