Best Youthsports Podcasts (2024)

1
#402 How to Build and Exceptional Youth Sports Club with Mike Kelleher and Derek Broadley of Charleston SC 1:28:21

1h ago1:28:21

1:28:21

This week on the podcast, we dive into the qualities of an exceptional youth sports experience with Mike Kelleher and Derek Broadley of Charleston SC in South Carolina. We discuss the importance of vision and core principles, the need for a curriculum that coaches of all abilities can implement, how to get buy in from coaches who do not want to fol…

1
#401 2x Olympic Champion Ashton Eaton and 2x Olympian Gabriel Costano on the Importance of Their Multi-Sport Childhoods, the Character Lessons Learned from Sports, and Transitioning to the Workforce After ... 1:19:01

1h ago1:19:01

1:19:01

Ashton Eaton is a 2x Olympic Gold Medalist (2012 and 2016) and a 5x World indoor and outdoor champion in the decathlon. He was the former world record holder in the decathlon and still holds the world record for the heptathlon. At the University of Oregon, he was a 5x NCAA champion and all American. Yet he grew up in Central Oregon a multi-sport at…

1
#400 Phil Jackson, 13x NBA Champion Coach and Player on Coaching Jordan, Kobe and Shaq, Lessons from Vince Lombardi, and More 1:18:11

6d ago1:18:11

1:18:11

It is hard to believe but we have reached episode 400 of the Way of Champions Podcast, and we wanted an incredible guest to celebrate this momentous occasion. Enter Phil Jackson, a 2x NBA Champion as a player with the NY Knicks and an 11x NBA Champion coach with the Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers. He coached all time greats such as Michal Jordan, Scot…

1
#399 Acacia Walker-Weinstein, 2x NCAA Champion Coach of Boston College Women's Lacrosse 1:20:44

13d ago1:20:44

1:20:44

Acacia Walker-Weinstein joins us this week on the Way of Champions, continuing our October run of champion coaches. Walker is the Head Women's Lacrosse coach at Boston College, the 2024 NCAA Champions. As either a player or coach, Walker has participated in 20 of the last 21 NCAA Tournaments and was a part of Northwestern’s three consecutive NCAA t…

1
#398 Frank Busch, Hall of Fame University of Arizona and Team USA Olympic Swimming Coach 1:07:09

26d ago1:07:09

1:07:09

In the world of swimming, you would be hard pressed to find a coach whose resume matches that of American Swim Coaches Association Hall of Famer Frank Busch. As a collegiate coach at The University of Arizona, his teams won 2 NCAA Championships and his swimmers won a combined 80 individual and relay national championships. He was a 6x NCAA coach of…

1
#397 Roy Williams, Hall of Fame NCAA Basketball Coach with North Carolina and Kansas: "You have to leave every player you ever coach with something that is still positive 30 years later" 1:19:53

1M ago1:19:53

1:19:53

Roy Williams served as the men's head coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels for 18 seasons and the Kansas Jayhawks for 15 seasons. With a total of 903 wins, Williams took his teams to nine Final Fours in his careers at Kansas and North Carolina and won 3 NCAA Championships at UNC. Williams is the fifth NCAA Men's Division I head coach to reach 900…

1
#396 The Champion Sports Parent: Practical Wisdom for Raising Confident, Competitive, Mentally Tough Athletes 1:13:16

1M ago1:13:16

1:13:16

In this weeks episode, John and Jerry discuss their brand new book The Champion Sports Parent: Practical Wisdom for Raising Confident, Competitive, Mentally Tough Athletes. They wrote this book as a companion to last year's The Champion Teammate, so that parents can best support their children along their athletic journey. Many parents have grown f…

1
#394 Ted Kroeten, Founder of Joy of the People, on the Massive Importance of Free Play in Athletic Development 1:07:46

1M ago1:07:46

1:07:46

In this replay from 2019, John talks with Ted Kroeten (@Joyofthepeople), founder of Joy of the People, a free play soccer program in Minnesota. Kroeten leads the way in rethinking and delivering player development always championing kids and possibilities based on his experienced, dedicated, and innovative soccer career. Joy of the People’s mission…

1
#394 Juwan Brescacin, Professional Football Player and 2x CFL Grey Cup Champion 1:08:04

2M ago1:08:04

1:08:04

Juwan Brescacin (@jbrescacinjones82) is a former collegiate football player at Northern Illinois University and the 15th overall Canadian Football League draft pick in 2016. He played 8 years professionally in Canada, winning two Grey Cups (2018 and 2022) before retiring and founding the High Point Athletes Foundation. Today he is pursuing a master…

1
#393 Brett White, Author of Behave: The Power of Coach Behavior in Shaping Athletes' Performance and Personal Growth 58:37

2M ago58:37

58:37

Brett White is a seasoned sports coach and leadership expert with over 17 years of experience in football (soccer) coaching. He currently serves as the Head Coach for Bonnet Bay FC’s First Grade team in the SSFA Premier League. He has a rich history of fostering talent and managing large teams, having served as the Coach & Player Development Coordi…

1
#392 Dr. Joe Baker on the Tyranny of Talent, How it Compels and Limits Achievement, and the Damage Early Labels Can do to our Kids 1:02:24

2M ago1:02:24

1:02:24

Dr. Joe Baker (@bakerjyorku) is the Tanenbaum Research Chair at the University of Toronto, Canada. He is a world-leader in research on talent identification, developing sport expertise, relative age effect, and high performance athlete development and has held visiting researcher/professor positions in the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany. His…

1
#391 Rasmus Ankersen, Southampton FC Director of Football, Author, Film Maker, and More: How to Identify the Talent That Whispers 57:15

3M ago57:15

57:15

In this excellent conversation from 2021, we are joined by Rasmus Ankersen (@RasmusAnkersen), an internationally known author, speaker, and film producer and one of the worlds leading experts on talent identification and development. Today he is one of the founders of Sport Republic, which is the majority shareholder of Southampton FC, where he als…

1
#390 Ken Ruoff and Jean Linscott, Authors of What is the Goal? The Truth About the Youth Sports Industry 1:06:34

3M ago1:06:34

1:06:34

Ken Rouff and Jean Linscott are the authors of What is the Goal? The Truth About the Youth Sports Industry. Today we discuss their new, book, many of the problems with the youth sports industrial complex and how it more often than not negatively effects children and drives them out of sports. Ken, jean and John share their own parenting experiences…

1
$389 Neill Collins, Former Barnsley and Tampa Bay Rowdies Manager, on Building Relationships, Trust, Values, and Taking the Long View in a Short Term Focused Environment 1:16:09

3M ago1:16:09

1:16:09

Neill Collins is a former professional soccer player, with nearly 600 appearances across clubs such as Sunderland, Leeds, Wolves, Sheffield United, and the Tampa Bay Rowdies. As a player he won promotion to the English Premier League with both Wolves and Sunderland, and played under managers such as Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy. In 2018 he became he…

1
#388 Mike Lee, High Performance Coach to NBA Stars on Developing a Champion's Mindset 1:03:59

3M ago1:03:59

1:03:59

Mike Lee (@whoisMikeLee) is a globally recognized keynote speaker, internationally sold author, and coach who shares high-performance leadership lessons from inside the hearts and minds of NBA’s elite. His work helps individual contributors, leaders and organizations elevate engagement, win the war for talent, and create cultures of belonging in a …

1
#387 How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women with Maggie Mertens, Author of Better, Faster, Farther 58:07

4M ago58:07

58:07

Maggie Mertens www.MaggieMertens.com) is a writer, journalist, and editor located in Seattle. Her essays and reporting have appeared in The Atlantic, NPR, Sports Illustrated, ESPNw, Deadspin, VICE, The Cut, Glamour, Pacific Standard, Refinery29, and Creative Nonfiction, among others. Her work has also appeared in The Year’s Best Sports Writing 2021…

1
#386 Tara VanDerveer Returns! The All Time Winningest NCAA Basketball Coach on Retiring from Stanford, Her New Coach Mentorship Role, and How Championships are Won in the Locker Room 1:17:41

4M ago1:17:41

1:17:41

Tara VanDerveer was the head women's basketball coach at Stanford University from 1985 until her retirement in 2024. VanDerveer was a 10 time Pac-12 Coach of the Year and the 1990 National Coach of the year, and led the Stanford Cardinal to three NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championships: in 1990, 1992 and 2021. She took a leave of absence i…

1
#385 Urs Koenig, former UN Peacekeeper and Author of Radical Humility on How to be an Exceptional Leader AND a Good Human 1:02:27

4M ago1:02:27

1:02:27

Urs Koenig is a veteran executive coach, professor, ultra-endurance champion, former UN Peacekeeper, author, and keynote speaker. All these seemingly disparate paths led him to one idea: that the best leaders lead from a place of humility. Urs has captured those ideas in his new book, Radical Humility: Be a Badass Leader and a Good Human. His lesso…

1
#384 How to Find Your Identity, Define Your Purpose, and Take Your Team to The Next Level with Owen Eastwood, Author of Belonging (replay) 1:06:57

4M ago1:06:57

1:06:57

This time of year there is a lot of fear in sport, We see it in the Copa America and Euro Soccer championships, Olympic Trials, and even on the youth level as our kids tryout for teams. In this podcast replay from 2021, we are joined by Owen Eastwood (@oweneastwood), one of the world’s most sought after high performance coaches. He has worked with …

1
#383 Dr. Jay Martin: Lessons from the BEST Coach You've Never Heard of 1:01:35

5M ago1:01:35

1:01:35

Dr. Jay Martin is entering his 48th season as the Ohio Wesleyan Men's Soccer Coach in 2024. During his tenure his teams have amassed 750 victories, making Martin the winningest NCAA Men's soccer coach of all time. His teams have also won 2x NCAA Championships and 26 Conference Championships, so he knows a little something about culture and winning …

1
#382 Stetson Lawrence, Professional Bull Rider and 9x PBR World Championship Finalist 48:32

5M ago48:32

48:32

Stetson Lawrence (@StetsonLawrence) is a former professional bull rider with Chippewa Sioux Native American heritage. He was on the professional tour for over a decade and ranked in the top 25 in the world, reaching 9 PBR World Finals and being the first to ride many of the world's toughest bulls. Bull riding is both an art and a sport where mental…

1
#381 Katie Steel, Author of The Price She Pays: Confronting the Hidden Mental Health Crisis in Women’s Sports - from the Schoolyard to the Stadium 1:10:05

5M ago1:10:05

1:10:05

Katie Steele (@thrivementalhealththerapy) is a licensed marriage and family therapist and cofounder of Thrive Mental Health, an outpatient mental health clinic in Bend, Oregon. She is also the founder of Athlete’s Mental Health Foundation, a 501(c)(3) launched in January 2023. Competing in track and cross-country at the University of Oregon and Flo…

1
#380 Jeff Jones, Asst. AD for Athletic Performance at Arkansas St. University, on Breaking Character Development into Skills, and Helping Athletes Overcome Adversity 1:02:39

5M ago1:02:39

1:02:39

Jeff Jones (@jonseyjeff1) has spent the past four years as the Arkansas St. Red Wolves’ Assistant Athletics Director for Athletics Performance. He has 19 years of coaching experience at the collegiate level, including prior stops working with football at Arkansas State, Boise State, Auburn and Appalachian State. Jones came to Arkansas State owning …

1
#379 Andrew Simpson, Founder of Player's Fitness and Performance, on How to Create Magic Moments in the Gym 54:58

5M ago54:58

54:58

Andrew Simpson (@coachandrewsimpson), Founder of Player’s Fitness & Performance (PFP), fell in love with fitness while in college. He discovered that by transforming his own energy, athleticism, and mindset, he was able to change his life for the better and knew he needed to help others do the same. In 2013, Andrew established PFP and began a lifel…

1
#378 John and Jerry Discuss our New Book The Champion Sports Parent, Managing Loss and Disappointment, and More 58:25

6M ago58:25

58:25

Welcome to a new edition of one of our famous fireside chats, where John and Jerry discuss some of the common questions we receive. This week we are discussing our new book The Champion Sports Parent, which will be released in late summer. The book is a companion to our 2023 bestseller The Champion Teammate, and is a guide to help parents be the be…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Youthsports Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide