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How Wearable Fitness Trackers Are Changing Athlete Performance and Recovery
Wearable fitness trackers have become a staple in everyday wear, but more noticeably in professional sports, promising real-time insights into performance, recovery, and injury risk. Before the development of wearable trackers, coaches had to monitor athletes on the field to make conclusions about their performance and overall well-being. Today, some […]
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Shaping the Future: What Kind of Organization Do We Want to Be?
Defining the future of an organization is a fundamental strategic process that underpins the direction, purpose, and values it aspires to uphold. In sports coaching, determining the kind of organization we want to be, shapes not just the broader institutional framework, but also the coaching practices and the experiences of […]
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Understanding Your Organization’s Values: The Foundation of Effective Coaching
Coaching in sports goes beyond the realm of performance metrics and winning strategies. It shapes the culture of an organization and profoundly impacts athletes’ lives. At the core of this influence are the organization’s values, the guiding principles that help to navigate the complexities of the coaching role. Values of […]
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Identifying My Preferred Leadership Style
Effective leadership is a crucial aspect of coaching. By identifying and understanding your preferred leadership style, you can lead more authentically and make a greater impact on your athletes and your team’s performance. Understanding Leadership Styles Leadership styles are distinct methods of guiding, motivating, and influencing others. Recognized styles include […]
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The Vital Role of Emotional Intelligence and Self-Awareness in Coaching
Emotional intelligence and self-awareness are essential elements in effective leadership, including sports coaching. Defined as the ability to recognize, understand, and manage our own emotions and the emotions of others, emotional intelligence has emerged as a key factor contributing to effective coaching and leadership (Goleman, 1995). The Components of Emotional […]
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The Influence of Personal Values and Beliefs on Coaching
In the arena of sports coaching, personal values and beliefs act as an invisible guiding hand, shaping our interactions, decisions, and coaching practices (Hardy, Jones, & Gould, 1996). The Role of Values and Beliefs in Coaching Values represent the principles we consider important, guiding our behavior and decisions (Rokeach, 1973). […]
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Understanding and Honoring My Moral Compass
Our moral compass is a critical part of who we are as individuals and leaders. It comprises the personal values, ethics, and principles that guide our actions and decisions (Shao, Aquino, & Freeman, 2008). A moral compass is extremely influential in a team’s culture. The Essence of a Moral Compass […]
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Envisioning and Becoming the Best Version of Myself
The journey to becoming the best version of oneself is a personal and unique path that requires introspection, understanding, and a commitment to self-improvement. This journey is not about reaching a state of perfection but embracing constant evolution and growth. Unpacking ‘The Best Version of Myself’ The concept of the […]
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Embracing Authenticity in Leadership and Coaching
Authenticity has emerged as a critical aspect of effective leadership and coaching. Leadership researchers often cite authenticity as a key characteristic of successful leaders, linking it to improved leadership effectiveness and employee engagement (Banks et al., 2016). Understanding Authenticity Authenticity involves aligning actions with inner values and beliefs, embracing one’s […]
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What Are My Perceptions and Biases? The Unseen Factors in Sports Coaching
In the realm of sports coaching, this insight from da Vinci always holds true: “All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions”. Our perceptions and biases, often operating subconsciously, can significantly positively or negatively impact our coaching practices and decisions. Understanding Perceptions and Biases Perceptions refer to the way […]
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How Do I Communicate? Exploring Communication Styles in Sports Coaching
Interaction with others is part of the human connection. However, many will spend an entire lifetime refining their communication skills. As a coach, communication is essential to athletes, the team, and reaching success. Effective communication is critical for coaching success, influencing everything from team dynamics to performance outcomes. Understanding Your […]
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Why Do I Love Coaching?
“Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their growth,” said legendary business coach, Sir John Whitmore. This sentiment rings true across all coaching domains, including sports. The passion for coaching sports goes beyond winning games; it is about nurturing talent, fostering personal growth, and inspiring others to achieve their […]
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Why am I here? The Importance of Coaches Knowing Their ‘Why’ in Education and Training
Education and training are extremely important. There are so many different trainings and reasons for the education, many times it is a requirement for working for a company, being a coach or athlete on a team, or as a student, teacher, or professor at an educational institution, and other times […]
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The Crucial Role of Self-Understanding in Leadership and Coaching
The realm of leadership and sports coaching is complex and multifaceted, with countless variables influencing outcomes. However, one factor stands out as particularly foundational: self-understanding. As leadership expert John C. Maxwell once said, “You must know yourself to grow yourself” (2015). This profound statement encapsulates the essence of why self-understanding […]
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Who is a Leader, Who is a Hero
The passing of Willis Reed, former New York Knicks star, Basketball Hall of Famer, New York legend, is in many ways more painful than the loss of my boyhood idol, Tom Seaver. Reed is a character we at Culture in Sports would have to create if he didn’t really live, […]
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Coaches Do Make Mistakes
Coaches do make mistakes. Are these “mistakes” intentional or actual mistakes that a human being can make? Are coaches and other sports leaders willing to self reflect, identify toxic and abusive behavior, and take corrective action? Or will they double down on their behavior at the expense of others? We, […]
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Another Super Bowl, Another Barrier
The first Super Bowl with two African American starting quarterbacks,sent me thinking back to two pioneers, who inspired me as a fat white kid growing up in Upstate New York and destined to put my hand on the dirt as a lineman, but who grew up loving the quarterback position. […]
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Recovery From Toxic Culture
Teri McKeever, former head coach of the University of California, Berkeley’s women’s swimming and diving program, was recently fired due to allegations of toxicity and abuse from former athletes and staff. These allegations have been reported over many years by athletes, and have adversely impacted the short and long-term mental, […]
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The Best in the Very Nearly Worst of Times for the NFL
It was a game with no outcome that will be the one that we will all remember. On Monday night January 2, 2023, the largest viewing audience of the then-17 week old 2022 football season, some 23 million plus Americans, gathered to watch a game between the AFC East leading […]
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The Life That Came After Was the Miracle for Franco Harris
There are athletes who are touched by destiny or maybe they grab destiny in their hands before it falls to the ground unused. Franco Harris, who died overnight on December 21, was one of those athletes. His passing comes just two days shy of the 50th anniversary of his Immaculate […]
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Keep Your Eyes on the Prize: A Note of Advice for College Athletes & the Transfer Portal
We are about to hear far more about the transfer portal- the NCAA mechanism that lets college athletes switch schools- than we ever have before. The portal undoubtedly will, either separately or together with Name, Image & LIkeness (NIL), be described as undermining all we hold dear- loyalty, responsibility, devotion. […]
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Make Good Choices
Since my daughter was in middle school, me and my wife have told both of our kids to make good choices…and not eat yellow snow. Even though our daughter is 21 and our son is 17, we still say it repeatedly to them, well to make good choices, that is. […]
