Vision of a Champion with Anson Dorrance

Do you want to enhance your game? Listen to NCAA Champion and 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist talk about sharpening your mental edge. On today’s podcast, Staci Wilson joins Anson to talk about how UNC Women’s Soccer and the USWNT use their indomitable will and mental toughness to overcome opponents. They also discuss how players can make a conscious choice to choose a winning mentality that produces success at every level of the game!The vision of a Champion is a production of Creative Allies. Intro and outro music by Conquest.

How do elite players maintain their balance on and off the field? Listen to this podcast to hear the greatest women’s soccer players to ever lace up a pair of boots talk about maintaining your balance. On today’s show, we have Michelle Akers, she could score, defend, and had a unique air game that still ranks as the best header of the ball ever in women’s soccer. She helped the USWNT win the 1991, 1999 World Cups, and the 1996 Olympics. At the 1991 World Cup, Michelle won the FIFA Golden Boot Award as the top scorer with 10 goals. Together, we get a chance to hear Anson and Michelle reminisce about their championship runs with the USWNT and we learn what it takes to maintain your balance.The vision of a Champion is a production of Creative Allies. Intro and outro music by Conquest.

How do they coach young players to become a total athlete? Listen to these two Hall of Fame coaches talk about how they get their athletes to rise to their potential. On today’s show, we have Mack Brown, head coach of UNC’s men’s football program. Together, both Anson and Mack have seen what it takes to become a total athlete, they talk about what can be learned through sport to produce the total athlete on and off the field.The vision of a Champion is a production of Creative Allies. Intro and outro music by Conquest.

In Chapter 17, UNC National Champions Jenn Zaccagnini Beamer and Rakel Campbell talk about, Being a Team Player. They both share, compare, and contrast their different contributions that helped to make their respective teams exceptional. Anson goes on to define what “Being a Team Player” means to him as a coach with 22 National Championships. 

Carli Lloyd has been the face of the USWNT for two decades, and the franchise player Gotham FC of the NWSL. The two-time Olympic Champion, 2 Time World Cup Champion, and two-time FIFA World Player of The Year talks with Anson about chapter 16,  “ Playing Your Best on Game Day.”

Adelaide Gay is a UNC National Champion, academic scholar, competitor, and statistically comes out on the winning side of many of life's challenges. She's a former goalkeeper for the Portland Thorns of the NWSL, and the current keeper for FC Nordsjalland in the Elitedivisionen. While at UNC, she was named first-team Capital One Academic All-America by College Sports Information Directors of America. Today, her coach Anson Dorrance and host Dean Linke talk to Adelaide about her experience at UNC and the Art of Goalkeeping.

In today’s podcast, Anson Dorrance sits down with Texas Tech’s Tom Stone to discuss the weaknesses in the women’s game, and how we can close the gap! Both Anson and Tom discuss the differences in the women’s game from the men’s game, and they discuss the differences between the European approach and our approach to the game. Right now, the USWNT is the best team in the world, Tom and Anson talk about the physical and technical training that we can improve upon to keep our competitive dominance in women’s soccer around the globe.

Jessica McDonald has become an absolute superstar athlete, both on and off the pitch. She has 19 caps for the US Women's National Team and has led the North Carolina Courage to 2 NWSL championships. At UNC, she was a member of the 2008 and 2009 NCAA championship teams. But for Jessica, the path hasn't always been easy. She started her college career at Phoenix College and has had to hustle and grind for everything she has. This podcast will take you through Jessica's humble beginnings starting at Cactus High School in Phoenix, AZ through her World Cup success, and her support of the UNC Women's Soccer program.

Tobin Heath is a rock star. She wants to play soccer, and compete in her life, and everyone's opinion of her doesn't matter. She's a 3-time national champion at UNC and a star of the Portland Thorns and US Women's National Team. Today, her coach Anson Dorrance and host Dean Linke talk to Tobin about how the Competitive Cauldron shaped her life and playing career.

Anson Dorrance and host Dean Linke chat with UNC soccer star Danielle Egan Reyna and former captain of the US Men's National Team Claudio Reyna about the role parents play in youth soccer development, and how they've raised one of the most talented young players in the country, Gio Reyna.

Lucy Bronze on competitiveness, "There's a perception that being competitive is not really a good thing, especially when I was younger, for a girl to be competitive, it's like - no, a girl should be nice. I was just not that girl. I wanted to win at everything. The day that I turned up to Carolina was the day I realized it was ok to be like that." Today, Anson Dorrance and host Natalie Bode talk to Manchester City's Lucy Bronze about her time at UNC and the competitive matrix.

As soccer has grown in popularity, so too have the number of club teams. Many feel like for those that want to play soccer collegiately, club soccer is the only way to get discovered and recruited. Susan Ellis is a soccer hall of famer, UNC legend, and high school coach at Durham Academy - and she completely disagrees. Today on the show, Anson Dorrance and host Dean Linke talk about the value of high school soccer, being a well-rounded athlete, and the importance of being a reserve on a team.

Sarina Wiegman is the Head Coach of England's National Team. At the time of recording, Anson Dorrance and host Natalie Bode talk to Sarina about her success as the Dutch Women's National Team Head Coach, her time at UNC, what it was like to come over to the United States to play college soccer, and how physical fitness affects how well you can play the game.

Today Anson Dorrance and Dean Linke chat with April Heinrichs, former UNC standout, former US women's national team star, and former head coach of the US women's national team. They discuss technical and tactical development, including Anson's infamous 3-4-3 technique, and how coaches can learn from players.

Tisha Venturini-Hoch is the only athlete who has 4 NCAA championships, an Olympic Gold, a World Cup, and a professional championship. Today, Tisha and her college coach Anson Dorrance, along with host Natalie Bode, talk about the basics of soccer, leadership, cross-training, and having fun with the game. Plus Anson shares an unbelieveable story about calling Tisha's dad Chick Venturini to ask him if she really needed that full ride to play at UNC. Tisha Venturini-Hoch now runs a soccer academy with Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly called TeamFirst. Vision of a Champion is a production of Creative Allies. Intro and outro music by Conquest.

How do the great athletes become elite? What can the coaches do to drive them to their full potential? On today's episode, Anson and host Natalie Bode are joined by Roy Williams, head men's basketball coach at UNC and three time national champion. Together, Anson and Roy have coached some of the most driven leaders in athletics on the planet - Mia Hamm, Michael Jordan, Tyler Hansbrough, Marcus Paige, Tobin Heath, Jessica McDonald, and many others. But not all of them were coached the same way. So today we dive deep into what a coach can do to motivate the great athletes to become iconic.

Today Anson and host Dean Linke are joined by Gloria and Yael Averbuch. Gloria is the co-author of Vision of a Champion with Anson, and they wrote it together when Yael was just 10. Yael dreamed up playing for Anson, but he didn't want to recruit a friend's daughter - except that Yael's talent was too impressive to ignore. On the show, Gloria, Yael, and Anson talk about being a parent of a superstar athlete, how entrepreneurship and athletics are similar (Yael is the founder of the Techne Futbol soccer training app), and how fitness is so important in women's athletics. Vision of a Champion is a production of Creative Allies. Intro and outro music by Conquest.

In today's episode of the podcast, we will move on to chapter three of Vision of a Champion titled "Your Game and Why It's Great." In this chapter, Anson and host Natalie Bode are joined by special guest Crystal Dunn to further detail what truly makes soccer live up to the coined term "the beautiful game," how soccer brings all kinds of different people together, specifically by explaining some of the different soccer personalities that exist and how each of the different personalities are an asset in a team setting. Crystal Dunn played at UNC from 2010 to 2013 and was an integral part of the 2012 National Championship team. Her success didn't stop there as she moved to the NWSL and the Washington Spirit, becoming the league MVP and Golden Boot winner in 2015 -the youngest player ever to be awarded that trophy. Vision of a Champion is a production of Creative Allies. Intro and outro music by Conquest.

Paul Riley is the uber successful coach of the NWSL's perennial power North Carolina Courage. He has won three consecutive NWSL shields and three of the last four NWSL championships. Today, Anson Dorrance, Dean Linke, and Paul talk about where their work has taken them, the challenges women's soccer continues to face currently and make some comparisons about the state of US women's soccer today compared to right after the amazing 1999 World Cup Championship.

On episode 1 of the Vision of a Champion Podcast, Hall of Fame Coach and Women's Soccer Legend Anson Dorrance, along with host Dean Linke, talks to quite possibly the greatest of all time, Mia Hamm.

"The vision of a champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion when nobody else is watching.” On the Vision of a Champion Podcast, 22 time national champion and 8 time coach of the year Anson Dorrance - along with co-hosts Dean Linke and Natalie Bode - talk about what it means to be a champion with elite athletes and coaches who have been a part of Anson's Hall of Fame journey - Tobin Heath, Roy Williams, Lucy Bronze, Crystal Dunn, April Heinrichs and more are in the upcoming season, and you don’t want to miss it. Subscribe now, and we’ll see you soon with the first episode, with women’s soccer legend Mia Hamm.