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How Does Leadership and Organizational Culture Shape Success, Performance, and the Long-Term Wellbeing of Athletes?
Across every level of sport, from recreational sports to professional organizations, leadership and organizational culture dictate how teams operate, athletes are treated and perform, and how organizations respond to success, pressure, and adversity. For decades, many organizations, leaders, coaches, support staff, athletes, and fans have celebrated performance while overlooking the […]
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Making Kyle Thomas: Mentoring Part Two
Kyle Thomas is the guest of the part two episode of the Culture in Sports podcast on mentorship. Champion Illinois footballer, Thomas is a great advocate for the benefits of mentorship for the young athlete, not just in sports but also for life. He champions having the mindfulness and awareness […]
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How Good Coaching Helped Ronnie O’Sullivan to be World Snooker Champion Again
This past weekend saw the final of the snooker World Championships take place at the Crucible in Sheffield, England. The final was between Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan who was looking to equal the record for most wins in the competition’s history matching Stephen Hendry’s 7 titles. The match was […]
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NCAA in Turmoil: Grambling, Swarbrick, and Emmert
This is without question a time of dynamic change or just plain turmoil in college sports. The last month has seen more than its share, culminating in last Tuesday’s announcement by National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) president Mark Emmert that he plans to step down either as soon as a […]
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Lewis Hamilton much more than your normal athlete
Lewis Hamilton is known by many for the continued success he has achieved in Formula 1 since his debut in 2007 and since then the stevenage born brit has never looked back. He’s managed to achieve the unthinkable and also managed to inspire a generation on his journey and bring […]
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Saber Youman on Athlete Development
In this new podcast which is part one of two parts, Wesley Livingston and Mike Scaramella speak to Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Saber Youman about his views on athlete mentorship. Youman discusses his supported upbringing and the influences of his uncle who introduced him to soccer. He describes the positive […]
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Why Cristiano Ronaldo is a Role Model to so Many
Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portuguese footballer who many argue is the greatest to have ever played the game. He currently plays for Manchester United but has also played for Sporting Lisbon, Real Madrid, and Juventus. Over his incredible career he has won 32 trophies including 3 Premier Leagues, 2 La […]
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Is Bad Behavior in Sports on the Rise?
Last week, Owen Woodward of the Weatherford College baseball team decided to run at full speed and tackle a base runner after his home run hit. While baseball is not known for hits, fights, punches, or other close quarters fighting, there is occasionally a flareup. Woodward was provoked by choice […]
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Why Michael Jordan Was More Than Just a Good Basketball Player
Michael Jordan has always been remembered as a tremendous talented basketball player and athlete and his legacy is something that’s managed to carry on and continue even after he retired. The Brooklyn born athlete managed to win six championships and was the Finals MVP 6 times. He played for the […]
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How Arsene Wenger Changed English Football Forever
Football is such a popular and traditional sport in English culture and has one of the most viewed exciting leagues in the world with the Premier league which has embedded a way of culture how the game should be played. However, this all was to change when Arsene Wenger was […]
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Why Leadership Is So Important in a Team
Leadership within a team is one of the most crucial elements to being successful. Having that person or people who can inspire the rest of team and push them to their goals of winning is so important and without them it is very difficult to win anything. These leaders can […]
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Repairing Culture Through Transparency: Rugby Canada’s Courageous Example
Amateur sports organizations everywhere are making headlines for the wrong reasons. Whether it is human rights abuses casting a shadow over the Winter Olympics, less than desired performances in a long-delayed Summer Olympics, or calls for resignation by the athletes, sports organizations are under fire. Amateur sports are facing unprecedented […]
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Chasing the Perfect Game
In baseball, teams and pitchers chase the perfect game. The last perfect game in Major League Baseball (MLB) was thrown by Félix Hernández in 2012 and there have only been 23 perfect games in MLB. Last week, Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers was on track to make that […]
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Negative Criticism in the Sports World
Steelers’ quarterback Dwayne Haskins was recently involved in a tragic fatal accident on April 9, 2022. As his family, fans, and the sport mourned his loss, sportswriter and analyst Adam Schefter came out with an inappropriate and unprofessional message on Twitter. Schefter wrote, “Dwayne Haskins, a standout at Ohio State […]
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Mercedes Petronas F1 Team Teamwork and Culture
Mercedes F1 team are one of the biggest teams and most successful teams winning seven constructor’schampionships in a row and have dominated the sport in the last decade. In 2010, the companybought the Brawn GP team, rebranding it as Mercedes and since then have been at the pinnacle ofthe sport. […]
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Why Jurgen Klopp is One of the Best Coaches in Football
Jurgen Klopp is a German football (soccer) manager who is currently in charge of Liverpool Football Club. He has had successes in his home country when managing Borussia Dortmund winning the Bundesliga twice, a German Cup and the German Super Cup twice too. He also came very close to an […]
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This is Just the Beginning: U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Gets Equal Pay
Men in today’s sports are some of the highest paid people in the world. They get thousands and millions of dollars over the course of maybe 5-6 years depending on their contracts. Women in sports on the other hand get a fraction of what the men are making. They’re grateful […]
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Maintaining Healthy Dynamics
Too often have we seen (and not seen) how player-coach dynamics fall through, inevitably causing mental or physical suffering to one or both parties. The end result is seen time and time again. Players are on the receiving end of the stick, and coaches usually just continue doing their thing. […]
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Disappearing Pastimes or Resurrection of Old-fashioned Ingenuity?
In this golden age of plenty, we are surprisingly lacking the essentials more profoundly that ever before. I read an article which bemoans the increasing lack of sporting facilities in modern urban Australian cities. Obviously covid put paid to many sporting plans, venues and pools were closed, new construction not […]
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The Power and the Passion
I was in a debate with someone about the ‘power’ in an organization. The gentleman in question was adamant that the power came from the team and that they are responsible for the culture of the work environment. I’m of the belief that the captain steers the ship and guides […]
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Aleix Espargaro – Coached to First MotoGP Win
Last weekend was the Argentinian Grand Prix in MotoGP and history was made as the Aprillia team won their first race as did one of their riders Aleix Espargaro. At the Termas de Rio Honda Circuit Aleix Espargaro took pole position in qualifying and came through on the Sunday to […]
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Training Schedules
Coaches and teams are always looking for a competitive edge. This edge comes in many forms, to include better technique, newer and higher tech equipment, uniforms and other clothing that has less drag or resistance, and ways to make athletes faster, stronger, and more agile. Getting athletes to practice and […]
