Ambitious Coaching Podcast

Dan Taylor, head girls' basketball coach at King's School, joins us to share how he approaches culturally engaging coaching. Dan serves on three diversity, equity and inclusion committees within Washington State, and mentors coaches on relationship building and community engagement. In our conversation, Dan shares about mentorship, leading during a period of polarization and cancel culture, and how to connect with Generation Z.

Dr. Kelly Schloredt, a team clinical psychologist for the University of Washington's athletic department, discusses mental health in emerging adults with an emphasis on the pressures faced by student-athletes. She explains why emerging adults are at elevated risk for mental health disorders, the signs and symptoms we might see in an athlete whose mental health is compromised, and how coaches can support mental health for their athletes and teams.

Dr. Joanna Michelson—an expert in adult learning and teacher education—unpacks the emotional experience of learning while highlighting how coaches can best support their learners. We discuss biases, blind spots, and other interferences to teaching and learning, while contrasting those with environmental and relational elements that strengthen the learning process. Whether your focus is on athlete, staff, or personal development, our conversation pinpoints how educational leaders can facilitate learning and growth for themselves, as well as for those they lead.

Sam Moore: Supporting Female Athletes(Part 3): Adolescent Development by Ambitious Coaching Podcast

Sam Moore: Supporting Female Athletes (Part 2): Why Traditional Periodization Fails Female Athletes by Ambitious Coaching Podcast

Sam Moore: Supporting Female Athletes (Part 1): Equity in Applied Sport Science by Ambitious Coaching Podcast

In this conversation with Dr. Brian Gearity, we examine how coaches use their power, and the role athletic leaders play in helping young athletes develop their identity, both in and outside of sport. We discuss the difference between toxic vs. healthy masculinity, as well as the consequences that young male athletes face when immersed in toxically masculine sport cultures.

Join us for this conversation with Da'Mon Perry, Assistant Athletic Director at University Prep middle and upper school in Seattle, as he talks with us about innovative online learning, his personal experience as a Black athlete during today's fight for social justice, and how he keeps students feeling connected and supported.

Marcus Jackson of the Boys and Girls Club of Seattle shares about personal and cultural identity, his experience as a first-generation college student, and supporting youth through painful experiences.

Pain and sport psychologist Dr. Kevin Alschuler discusses adaptive vs. maladaptive pain coping strategies, the behaviors associated with resilient athletes and teams, and methods for coping with uncertainty during COVID-19.

Student-athletes need the leadership of coaches now more than ever. Dr. Julia Mahfouz, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Idaho, shares how coaches can use the challenges of COVID-19 as an opportunity for social-emotional learning, as well as methods for helping athletes cope with the loss of their sport season.

An expert in the fields of child, adolescent, and pediatric psychology, Dr. Kastner sheds light on the neurochemistry of emotions, including the types of emotions we should expect to see in young athletes whose brains are rapidly developing. Dr. Kastner shares specific strategies that coaches, youth leaders, and parents can deploy to successfully navigate emotionally-charged moments in ways that strengthen relationships and foster social-emotional growth. Conducted in the fall of 2019, this is another of our most popular interviews.

Dr. Julie McCleery, principal investigator of the Ambitious Coaching™ Research Project, veteran coach, and parent of three active teenage boys, shares win-win strategies aimed to align coaches, parents, and athletes in ways that benefit everyone and center athlete well-being.