Hugh McCutcheon

The Great Coaches: Leadership & Life

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at [e-mail] or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

Our Great Coach on this episode is Hugh McCutcheon.

Hugh played Volleyball for New Zealand national Junior and Senior teams before transitioning into coaching. He started as an Assistant at Brigham Young University and was part of the team when it won the the NCAA championships in 1999 and 2001.

He became a head coach for the first time in 2001, leading the Austrian Hotvolleys, In his first season there, the team won the Inter-Liga, the Austrian Cup and the Austrian League championships.

In 2005 he was appointed as Head Coach of the USA mens team and the team went on to win gold medals at the America's Cup in Brazil, the NORCECA Continental Championship in Canada and then ultimately the Gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.

In 2008 he was appointed coach of the USA womens team, and led them to three World Grand Prix golds and a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics.

And in 2011, he was named head coach of the University of Minnesota's volleyball team.

Hugh is a coach with a strong sense of purpose; and the kind of deep-seated wisdom that comes through living and succeeding in multiple countries and cultures. He is articulate and passionate about the importance of coaching in a way that is tailored to the individual.

As a father, he is also aware that the role of sport can play in young peoples lives as it allows them to, in his words, learn life lessons without incurring the same kind of colletral damage you get if you screw up in life.

Some of the key highlights from our discussion were:

The false narrative that anything less than perfection is worth celebrating.

The mission statement he wrote with the USA Mens team that guided them on the path to the 2008 Olympic Gold medal.

And His views on the 3 types of trust needed within high-performing teams, the first being the athletes ability to trust themselves, the 2nd being their ability to trust their teammates and the third focused on the trust between athlete and If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at [e-mail] or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

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