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Looking back, my heart got too big when I was coaching. I could rationalize poor behavior that I said I would not accept, because I cared for the kid and wanted to impact their life. If I am being mor…

Looking back, my hea…

Looking back, my heart got too big when I was coaching. I could rationalize poor behavior that I said I would not accept, because I cared for the kid and wanted to impact their life. If I am being more brutally honest, I think at times I rationalized most when the player was really good. Sometimes this was only an internal struggle. Other times I made decisions in a way that violated our standards.It usually did not look like a decision at all. A kid I depended on would cut a corner on something I had told the whole team mattered, and I would find a way not to see it. I would turn to talk to a…

Every generation says the next one is soft. Rob’s dad said it. Dustin’s dad said it. Now coaches are saying it about the athletes in their gyms right now. But before we accept the premise, it’s …

Every generation say…

Every generation says the next one is soft. Rob’s dad said it. Dustin’s dad said it. Now coaches are saying it about the athletes in their gyms right now. But before we accept the premise, it’s worth asking a harder question: what if they’re not softer at all? What if they’re just more aware, more informed, and asking better questions than we’re ready to answer?In this episode, Rob and Dustin take on the lazy version of the “today’s athletes are soft” conversation and push toward something more useful — what coaches actually need to do differently when the people in front o…

I want to talk about the Texas Tech quarterback situation, but not the part everyone else is covering.Brendan Sorsby, a transfer Texas Tech Quarterback, admitted to placing over 9,000 bets totaling ar…

I want to talk about…

I want to talk about the Texas Tech quarterback situation, but not the part everyone else is covering.Brendan Sorsby, a transfer Texas Tech Quarterback, admitted to placing over 9,000 bets totaling around $90,000, including bets involving his own team. Betting on your own games has been a red line in athletics, and the NCAA ruled him permanently ineligible. This week a judge blocked the ban, finding that Sorsby would suffer “probable, imminent, and irreparable injury” without it. He will play in 2026 after sitting two games as ordered by the judge. Texas Tech’s president wrote a letter a…

In his book Maintenance of Everything: Part One, Stewart Brand opens with the story of the 1968 Golden Globe Race. The more I sit with it, the more it feels like a parable for coaching.In 1968, the Su…

In his book Maintena…

In his book Maintenance of Everything: Part One, Stewart Brand opens with the story of the 1968 Golden Globe Race. The more I sit with it, the more it feels like a parable for coaching.In 1968, the Sunday Times of London sponsored a race for the first solo, nonstop circumnavigation of the world. Roughly 30,000 miles. The winner would receive £5,000 ($150,000 in today’s American dollars).The conditions were simple. No outside assistance, and nothing could be brought aboard after the start.Nine men entered. Only one finished.Robin Knox-JohnstonKnox-Johnston was the youngest at 29. He could no…

For our newer subscribers: most of what we publish is about coaching and player development, but every so often we take on a current issue shaping the world coaches and athletes operate in. This is on…

For our newer subscr…

For our newer subscribers: most of what we publish is about coaching and player development, but every so often we take on a current issue shaping the world coaches and athletes operate in. This is one of those pieces.Athletic conferences across the country have been expanding aggressively over the last several years. The recent congressional hearing about college sports got me thinking about it again. While most of the conversation has centered around the major Division I institutions, it has become a trend at NAIA, D2, and D3.I should say up front that this issue is something I care about be…

What separates a program people remember forever from one they forget the moment they graduate? Dr. Hunter Taylor has spent his career chasing that question — first as a basketball coach, then as a …

What separates a pro…

What separates a program people remember forever from one they forget the moment they graduate? Dr. Hunter Taylor has spent his career chasing that question — first as a basketball coach, then as a researcher embedded inside a high school football program, and now as a professor running coaching fellowships across three states. In this conversation, Rob and Hunter dig into the idea of “thick institutions,” why Longevity is the most underrated cheat code in coaching, and what the job demands that no clinic has ever taught.Impactful Coaching Project is a reader-supported publication. To re…

We asked successful coaches in a survey to share a story that showed their culture in action. One of them stuck with me.It was the biggest game of their season. Their best player, the guy they depende…

We asked successful …

We asked successful coaches in a survey to share a story that showed their culture in action. One of them stuck with me.It was the biggest game of their season. Their best player, the guy they depended on, choked. Played horribly and selfishly. The team lost. No single player loses a game, but his approach was a big part of the loss.The coach had a strong relationship with him built over more than two years, and he took the moment to deliver some hard accountability through a direct, intense conversation. What the player said the next day is what the coach will never forget:“No one has ever…

Paid subscribers can scroll to the bottom to watch the full video conversation.This week on Beyond Coaching, I sit down with Dr. Chad Carlson — professor at Hope College, longtime coach, and co-foun…

Paid subscribers can…

Paid subscribers can scroll to the bottom to watch the full video conversation.This week on Beyond Coaching, I sit down with Dr. Chad Carlson — professor at Hope College, longtime coach, and co-founder of Sport Faith Life. Chad studies sport for a living, and he still lives inside the same tension every coach knows: the pull between competition, character, and keeping perspective when the stakes feel high.We get into why coaches carry so much cultural influence, why the hardest seasons usually produce the most Growth, and how easy it is to lose your emotional footing in the middle of a seaso…

The first draft of our new book is done. As a paid subscriber, you’re getting it before anyone else.We’re still working through titles. Right now it’s “Sustaining Success.” Below the paywall…

The first draft of o…

The first draft of our new book is done. As a paid subscriber, you’re getting it before anyone else.We’re still working through titles. Right now it’s “Sustaining Success.” Below the paywall you’ll find the full manuscript along with some early drafts of the book cover.A few things to know before you read:This hasn’t been through editing yet. You’ll find typos, awkward sentences, and formatting issues. Don’t get distracted by any of it. We’re sharing the raw draft because we want your reaction to the ideas, not the polish.What we’re asking for: honest feedback, stories fr…