Podcasts about wbca

About the Guest(s): Jeff Allen is the distinguished Head Coach of Collin College's women's basketball team, with an impressive track record spanning over two decades. Throughout his tenure, he has earned prestigious accolades including seven-time Conference Coach of the Year, TABC Coach of the Year, and WBCA two-year Junior College Coach of the Year. Allen is recognized for his exceptional ability to nurture talent and guide players through successful basketball careers, both on the court and in life. His strategic approach focuses on building a culture of excellence and emphasizing the importance of teamwork and communication. Episode Summary: This episode delves into the nuances of junior college basketball, the shifts in recruiting dynamics post transfer portal, and how Collin College sets itself apart in developing student-athletes ready to excel at higher levels. Throughout the discussion, Allen reveals insights around the changes in junior college recruiting due to the NCAA transfer portal, highlighting the increasing importance of international player recruitment and high school prospects. The episode covers the distinctive pathway and robust support Collin College offers its players, preparing them for both academic and basketball success. Allen emphasizes the importance of "fit" in a team's culture and how parents can better guide their children through the recruitment process, ensuring that decisions made are in the best interests of their athletic and personal growth. Roberts and Allen also explore the challenging yet rewarding journey of coaching a team heavily comprised of freshmen and the focus on teamwork and perseverance that has defined the program's success. Key Takeaways: The NCAA transfer portal has significantly altered the recruiting process for junior college basketball, shifting focus towards international and high school recruits. Establishing a winning culture and providing robust academic support have been pivotal in making Collin College attractive to prospective student-athletes. Identifying the right "fit" for a player within a team's culture is critical for success at the collegiate level and should be a focal point for parents and recruits. Building strong relationships and networking within AAU circuits influences recruiting outcomes significantly. Junior college can be an advantageous route for many athletes, as demonstrated by Collin College alumni who have advanced to various collegiate levels. Looking for a community of like minded parents growing, learning and celebrating each other? Join the Different Community. Check it out below. https://www.ashleynroberts.com/community Different merch is available! Use code "Podcast" to get 15% off! www.itsjustdifferentapparel.com Ashley on IG- _thisisashleyr Its Just Different on socials- @itsjustdifferentpod

RHONDA FARNEY—Coach Farney has the most career victories of any active girls' coach in Texas and the nation with a record of 1,283 victories and 371 losses (.770 winning percentage) and sixth on the all-time career list as compiled by the National Federation of State High School Associations. She has been a high school head coach for 49 seasons. In 36 years at Georgetown High School, her teams have posted 36-consecutive 20-win seasons and 35-straight berths in the UIL state playoffs, including seven appearances in the state tournament—highlighted by a Class 4A state title during the 2012-2013 season that was climaxed by a come-from-behind 65-60 victory over Dallas Lincoln in the finals to finish with a 34-4 record. She has had more than 86 players compete on the collegiate level, however; her most prized accomplishment is helping over 64 former players to enter the coaching profession. The Howard Payne summa cum laude graduate—still as a teenager—also has served as the head coach at Goldthwaite and Ozona. She was the only girls' basketball coach on the Goldthwaite staff and coached the seventh, eighth, junior varsity and varsity. Farney also coached track at both schools. Farney has earned numerous coaching honors, including receiving the prestigious John Wooden Legacy Award presented by the National Association of Basketball Coaches in March 2022.  In addition, she was honored as the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Pat Summitt National High School Coach of the Year in 2017 and the National Federation of High Schools 2013 National Coach of the Year as well as being inducted into the Howard Payne University Hall of Fame, Texas Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame.  She served as a head coach for the 2003 Women's Basketball Coaches Association/Nike All-America Game in Hartford, CT, in addition to being active in USA Basketball on both the coaching and committee levels. Recently, she was named the Texas High School Coaches Association Female State Coach of the Year for 2022 and was inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in Omaha, Nebraska, in July 2023. Also on the national scene, Farney has chaired the USA Basketball Cadet and Youth Committee, helping select players and coaches for the Summer Youth Development Olympic Festival. In summer 2001, she was one of two high school coaches named by the USA Basketball Women's Collegiate Committee to serve as floor coach for the USA Basketball Women's Junior National Team Trials in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She was assistant coach for the 2005 USA Basketball Women's Youth Development Olympic Festival, where her team won the gold medal. Farney was named head coach for the April 2003 WBCA/Nike All-American game in Hartford, Connecticut. Previously, in April 1996, she traveled to Philadelphia as assistant coach for the WBCA/Nike All-American game. Farney served four years on the WBCA and NFCA Board of Directors and completed a term on the NFCA Basketball Rules Committee. In addition, she was the first female to serve as the president for the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Association, the largest male and female basketball organization in the nation as well as serving as president of the Texas Girls Coaches Association. Coach Farney also holds the position of girls' athletics coordinator at Georgetown and is married to Dr. Bill Farney, retired executive director of the University Interscholastic League, the ruling body of extra-curricular activities in Texas. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kevin-furtado/support

Guest: Doshia Woods, University of Denver Head CoachUniversity of Denver head coach Doshia Woods joins the Basketball Podcast to share insights on creating a positive culture, practice, and life circumstances. Doshia Woods is the head coach of the University of Denver women's basketball team. Woods has spent 20 years on the sidelines at various institutions, including 10 years as an assistant coach at Tulane University. She is known for her positive coaching style and her ability to create a winning culture within her team. Woods is the first-ever African American head coach for the University of Denver women's team and is currently the only Black Division I women's basketball head coach in Colorado. Under her leadership, the University of Denver women's basketball team has shown significant progress and growth.The Topeka, Kansas, native has been a guest on various podcasts about leadership and team culture. A featured speaker for the 2021 The Power of Positive Summit presented by Jon Gordon, Woods discussed her transition from assistant to head coach. Additionally, Woods serves on various committees including the University of Denver athletics department DEI, DU's Black Community Advisory Board, and Tulane University Alumni Council for the school of professional advancement. An active member of the WBCA (Women's Basketball Coaches Association) she has participated as a speaker for multiple roundtables and panels at the national convention, while also serving on committees within the WBCA.Breakdown1:00 - The Act of Discovery3:30 - Two Quotes5:00 - Successful Winning on the Court9:00 - Three-Point Philosophy12:30 - Game Conditions15:00 - Green Light Shooter18:00 - Progressive Coaching21:00 - High Energy25:15 - 26:25 - Hoopsalytics New AD26:25 - Cueing28:00 - Music at Practice31:00 - Getting To The Point33:30 - value of Adaptability35:30 - Reflecting Back as Assistant39:00 - Evaluating Feedback41:30 - Missing Layups43:00 - Positive Culture46:30 - University of Denver48:00 - ConclusionDoshia Woods' Bio:Bio: https://denverpioneers.com/staff-directory/doshia-woods/417Twitter: https://twitter.com/doshwoodsBasketball ImmersionWebsite: http://basketballimmersion.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/bballimmersion?lang=enYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/basketballimmersionFacebook: https://facebook.com/basketballimmersionImmersion Videos:Check out all our all-access practice and specialty clinics: https://www.immersionvideos.com

Coach Chelsea speaks with Coach Rouse on Servant Leadership and what it means to serve for the return of Christ. As the head coach of women's basketball and surf, Kyle is entering his 18th year as a basketball coach and 2nd year with Westcliff University. He enters his first year as a surf coach and is in the inaugural season with the Westcliff University surf team. Kyle played high school basketball at Murrieta Valley High School where he won 2 coaches awards and a playoff berth his senior year. He began his coaching career at Murrieta Valley High School with his coaching mentor Steve Tarabilda. He coached there for 5 years in the boy's program before continuing to Murrieta Mesa High School where he coached the boys' program for two years then switched over to the girls' program for another 6 years where his team made the CIF playoffs 5 out of the 6 seasons and setting multiple school records. His last high school season before coming to Westcliff was at Temecula Valley High School where he turned around a struggling program to a winning record and a narrow miss of the CIF playoffs. Coach Rouse also was selected by the WBCA to speak at the Final Four in 2017 as a guest speaker and has served as a mentor coach for 2 years.  Kyle understands the value of community within his leadership and believes positive community involvement is a part of his coaching role. He has joined with Special Olympics, the American Cancer Society, and other community programs in his years as a coach. He believes involving his student-athletes in the community helps them understand the big picture. He also is a board member for the Rick Gabrielson Memorial Scholarship Foundation which allows high school student-athletes to receive scholarships to go to college.  Kyle has been married to his wonderful wife Katie for 9 years and they have 2 daughters.  --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/chefranjohn/support

K-State assistant coach Ebony Haliburton is headed to Dallas, Texas next month after been selected to inaugural class of the WBCA Generation Next program!

A special episode this week on "From the Chair" as we feature WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew. Danielle reveals all that she learned about leadership and life from legendary coach Pat Summitt, helping to launch and lead the WNBA's Atlanta Dream, serving in leadership roles at the Big East and the American and then agreeing to serve as the ED of the WBCA. We talk about the WBCA's role and purpose in women's basketball, outcomes from the recent Kaplan study, her thoughts on WBB media rights, the Final Four and the future of the game. Finally- we feature the work of the Pat Summitt Foundation, of which Danielle is one of the founders, in the role of trying to eliminate or mitigate effects of Alzheimer's Disease. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Danielle leads a dedicated WBCA team that is focused on supporting/promoting women's basketball coaches/players and growing women's basketball across the country. She oversees WBCA's programs and services, budget, marketing, and personnel. Danielle works closely with the NCAA, USA Basketball, WNBA, Women's Basketball HOF, and Women's Sports Foundation.  Her path of success started early. A four-sport athlete at a suburban Atlanta high school, she was a major contributor on a basketball team that won two state championships. At the end of her senior year, Danielle was named Georgia's High School Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She went on to have distinguished academic and basketball careers at Georgia Tech, earning another top scholar-athlete award prior to graduation. The seven years she spent on staff with iconic Hall of Fame basketball coach Pat Summit was life-changing. Senior level roles with the WNBA's Atlanta Dream and Big East and American Atlantic Conferences provided Danielle with a wealth of leadership experiences that prepared her for the WBCA executive director opportunity that came her way in 2014. 

Kiesha Brown Galloway girls basketball and AD, UGA grad &former pro athlete, Bank$hot Basketball, speaker, mentor, traveler, ATLien for life. Former pro hooper. WoodwardAlum. #DawgNation. Living and Loving in FaithNWorks. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Brown attended Woodward Academy in Atlanta, where she was named a High School All-American by the WBCA. She participated in the WBCA High School All-America Game in 1996, scoring eleven points, and earning MVP honors. Brown attended college at the University of Georgia and graduated in 2002. Brown has played for the Washington Mystics, Houston Comets, New York Liberty, Minnesota Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks and Tulsa Shocks. @kbfaith4 kbrown@gallowayschool.org --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kevin-furtado/support

Episode Notes:[09:22] Writing Personal Notes For Each Game[16:51] Taking Care of Yourself as a Coach[23:58] The Lesson Coach Ivey Learned The Hard Way[26:10] Protecting Relationships w/ Players and Staff[29:27] The Differences Between Head Coaches and Assistants[32:09] Bringing Energy to Your Staff and PlayersCoach Forward is an interview-style podcast hosted by Jason Mejeur (Coach J), accomplished Coach, Mentor, and Founder/CEO at MaxOne. To see the MaxOne platform, schedule some time here.I'm excited to be joined today by Coach Jessie Ivey.Coach Ivey is entering her third season as associate head coach at The University of Toledo Women's Basketball. Last year she helped lead Toledo to one of their best seasons in program history, tying the school record for wins in and setting a MAC record for most conference victories in a season on their way to winning the 10th MAC Regular Season Title in school history.Ivey came to Toledo after two seasons as head coach at NCAA Division II Tiffin University and served as an assistant before that at Bowling Green University.As you'll here in this episode, Coach Ivey's approach really sets her apart as a coach who cares deeply about her players and goes the extra mile to build relationships with them based on trust.This approach has led to national individual honors of Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Assistant Coach of the Year - and Ivey was also named to the WBCA's inaugural Thirty Under 30 honoree list.Here is the list of books Coach Ivey suggested reading for coaches:Walk On- Alan WilliamsEleven Rings- Phil JacksonLegacy- James KerrWolfpack- Abby WambachIt takes What It Takes- Trevor MowardThe Culture Code- Daniel CoyleAtomic Habits- James ClearLeaders Eat Last- Simon SinekOutliers- Malcolm GladwellDear Coach- Sara ErdnerDare to Lead- Brene BrownThe Energy Bus- Jon GordonThe Tough Stuff- Cody RoyleEmotional Intelligence for the Modern Leader- Christopher D. ConnorsHeart of a Husky- Mel ThomasWhat Drives Winning- Bret LedbetterBe an Impact Player- Liz Wiseman About Jason Mejeur (Coach J)Jason has 15+ years of experience coaching basketball at the college and high school level and has lived on the sidelines and in the locker rooms working to build teams and inspire athletes. His mission is to build authentic relationships with his players so that he can impact them beyond the basketball court.More recently, Jason founded MaxOne to be a platform that makes coaches' lives easier and helps them use technology to have a bigger impact on the lives of their athletes.Join the discussion with Coach Forward on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Leave a review if you got something out of this!

WSSP High School Baseball and Softball insider, Mike McGivern talks with some of the best coaches and athletes in the area. Hear some of the best interviews from the past few months.

Episode Notes:[6:38] Tough conversations as a young coach[9:45] Deconstructive criticism: Making observations that allow input from that player[14:21] Assist Academy developing leadership and character at Sierra Canyon[15:50] Yearly's- What you need to learn each year as part of the program[21:09] Gratitude letters[23:53] The best leadership is peer-to-peer[25:26] Using language to change the way players approach film, meetings, etc.[28:35] Your “why” is not as important as your “how”[32:39] Adapting while remaining authenticCoach Forward is an interview-style podcast hosted by Jason Mejeur (Coach J), accomplished Coach, Mentor, and Founder/CEO at MaxOne. To see the MaxOne platform, schedule some time here.Today, I'm excited to be joined by Coach Alicia Komaki. Coach Dudley is currently the Head Girls Basketball Coach at Sierra Canyon School in Los Angeles, California.In 2022, Coach Komaki led Sierra Canyon to their fifth California State Championship and was named the National High School Coach of the Year by the WBCA. Overall she has 7 state championship rings, and 1 national championship on her coaching resume. She also became the area's first girls basketball program to three-peat as state champions.A big part of what drives Coach Komaki's on-court success is her passion for being authentic and adaptable as a coach.About Jason Mejeur (Coach J)Jason has more than 15 years of experience coaching basketball at the college and high school level and has lived on the sidelines and in the locker rooms working to build teams and inspire athletes.His mission is to build authentic relationships with his players so that he could have an impact on their lives beyond the basketball court. More recently, Jason founded MaxOne to be a platform that makes coaches' lives easier and helps them use technology to have a bigger impact on the lives of their athletes.Keep up with Coach Forward on social media: Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram. Enjoying Coach Forward Podcast? Consider subscribing or leaving us a review!

WSSP's high school insider, Mike McGivern, gets you caught up on all things high school Baseball and Softball in the area with the Majerus Family Foundation Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Show. Guests this hour:  The Greendale high school baseball team with head coach Brian Johnson along with Seniors Will Vaile, Andy Justus and Tristan Ellis!  

WSSP's high school insider, Mike McGivern, gets you caught up on all things high school Baseball and Softball in the area with the Majerus Family Foundation Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Show. Guests this hour:  Allison Phillips of Live 4 Today Tim Dietzen Head coach at Freedom High School Softball Rob Schill, Ava Schill and Cristin Casey from Assumption High School

WSSP's high school insider, Mike McGivern, covers local high school baseball and brings you the latest around America's pastime! Guests this hour:  Bob Lewis gives us his Rick Majerus story Tim Schultz - head baseball coach at Thomas More Tim Roehrig - head softball coach at Kaukauna

WSSP's high school insider, Mike McGivern, covers local high school baseball and brings you the latest around America's pastime! Guests this hour:  Jeff Trask - Oak Creek head softball coach Brianna Rickert - Catcher for Oak Creek softball, hit a big game-tying homer in extra innings to help send the team to state. Jay Wojcinski, head baseball coach at Whitefish Bay and Mitchell Voit, recently named Gatorade Wisconsin Baseball Player of the Year Adam Dobberstein - head baseball coach at Pewaukee

WSSP's high school insider, Mike McGivern gets you caught up on all things high school sports in the area with the Majerus Family Foundation Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Show Show. Guests this hour: Steve Lyga- WFCA Hall of Fame member Mike Budziszewski- Carroll Pioneers Head Coach

WSSP's high school insider, Mike McGivern gets you caught up on all things high school sports in the area with the Majerus Family Foundation Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Show Show. Guests this hour: 11:00- Current Electric Superhero of the Week: Natalie Woods 11:15- Travis Wilson- General Manager and Football Editor for WSN and WFCA Communications Chair

WSSP's high school insider, Mike McGivern gets you caught up on all things high school sports in the area with the Majerus Family Foundation Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Show Show. Guests this hour: Current Electric Super Hero of the Week: C/Captain Payton Varghese from St. John's Northwestern Academy Scott Holler - head baseball coach at Oak Creek Sal Bando Jr. - head baseball coach at Marquette High

WSSP's high school insider, Mike McGivern gets you caught up on all things high school sports in the area with the Majerus Family Foundation Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Show Show. Guests this hour: Members of the Oak Creak softball team: Natalie Fields, Meggin Hoagland, Olivia Joosten, Katie Weins and Riley Grudzielanek Levar Ridgeway, assistant director at the WIAA

Coach Travis Ponton shares his journey from growing up in Virginia to being the Head Coach at Bryn Athyn College. He shares how he got his start in coaching and how he landed his first college job. Coach Ponton has coach at the high school level as well as at the NCAA D1, D3 and NAIA levels. In addition to coaching, he's been involved with Blue Star for a number of years as well. The 2018 WBCA 30-Under-30 honoree provides excellent insight and advice throughout the interview. We touch on many topics including the stigma regarding men coaching women's basketball. Coach Ponton is an elite recruiter who has had great success and has taken Bryn Athyn to heights they haven't reached in years. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/beyondtheboxscore/support

Alicia Komaki is a 5x State Champion at Sierra Canyon in California. 2022 WBCA Coach of the Year, and received the Pat Summitt Trophy, named for the late legendary University of Tennessee coach and awarded annually to the national coaches of the year in each of the WBCA's six membership divisions. Visit www.unitesbasketballplus.com and use Coupon Code - UBPlus for 20% off an annual membership. This episode is sponsored by the Dr. Dish Basketball. Mention "United Basketball & Leadership Podcast" and receive $300 off on the Dr. Dish Rebel, All-Star, and CT models.  Connect with Dr. Dish on Twitter or Instagram @drdishbball

Alex Strouf and Dennis Semrau are back together for a studio show with a fantastic lineup! WBCA's Mr. Basketball and North Carolina Commit Seth Trimble joins the show to kick us off followed by Chris "Z" Zwettler Edgewood's Athletic Director and head coach of the Boys Basketball team, and Andrew Riley Verona's new Football coach rounds out our show!

WSSP's high school insider, Mike McGivern, takes you around the area's best baseball action! Guests this hour: Current Electric Super Hero of The Week - Michael Wrucke from Living Word Lutheran Bill Fanning - new owner of the Kenosha Kingfish

WSSP's high school insider, Mike McGivern, takes you around the area's best baseball action! This week's team of the week is Franklin so we hear from coach Steve Drobot and several members of the team in this hour!

In this new series, Noah sits down with USG's Ministry Operations & Events Manager, Seth Ralston, to discuss USG's attendance at the NABC convention in New Orleans and the WBCA convention in Minneapolis, as well as reflecting on the celebration of Christ's resurrection this upcoming Easter Sunday. Learn more about Uncommon Sports Group.Have questions or topics you would like our staff to answer on the next Coffee Conversations episode? Submit them here!

WSSP's high school insider, Mike McGivern, takes you around the area's best baseball action! Whitefish Bay baseball is rolling to start the season so we're joined in-studio by members of the team! Head coach Jay Wojcinski Michigan commits Jack Counsell and Mitch Voit Louisville commit Michael Lippe UWM commit DJ Kojis Ryan Carew - team captain

WSSP's high school insider, Mike McGivern, takes you around the area's best baseball action! Guests this hour: Current Electric Super Hero of The Week, Zane Farra from Pewaukee High School Brad Ceranski - President of the Wisconsin Fastpitch Association and head softball coach at Fall Creek.

It is nearly tourneys time! After a challenging two-year wait, we are finally ready to see tournament play. Monday on Hoopsville we talk to a number of programs getting ready to play in the NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments. Some are making their first ever trip, others are hosting, and some are looking to surprise the prognosticators. Plus, some of our season-long guests give us their predictions who they think will get to the men's and women's Championship Weekends. Guests include: - Mark Seidenburg, Wilson men's coach - Buzz Anthony, No. 1 Randolph-Macon senior guard - Levi Borchert, No. 3 UW-Oshkosh junior forward - Diarra Oden, Johns Hopkins senior guard - Mike Fuline, No. 11 Mount Union men's coach - Laurie Kelly, Gustavus Adolphus women's coach - Katie Garrish, Southern Virginia senior forward Hoopsville is presented by D3hoops.com and airs from the NABC Studio. All guests appear on the BlueFrame Technology Hoopsville Hotline. Thank you to our partners at the WBCA, Sensible Sports Marketing, and Jersey Genius.

Drury women's basketball's all-world player Paige Robinson joins Bethany Bowman and Wayne Cavadi to talk GLVC dominance, the new rivalry with Lubbock Christian and why the "O" is the best place to play in DII college basketball. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/dii-nation-podcast/support

Crystal Robinson is a retired professional Basketball player and coach who's played the highest level in the Women's NBA. Today, she's a thought leader in the space of conscious leadership, mental health, and diversity. In sharing her life and professional lessons Chrystal talks about: Growing up in poverty in rural Oklahoma and learning to deal with poverty and racism while dealing with her own sexual identity. How Basketball became her coping mechanism. How learning to deal with life's challenges helped build resilience in her career. After writing her book, “Finding Myself”, she admits she still hasn't found herself and continues to learn. Join our Tribe at https://leadership-hacker.com Music: " Upbeat Party " by Scott Holmes courtesy of the Free Music Archive FMA Transcript: Thanks to Jermaine Pinto at JRP Transcribing for being our Partner. Contact Jermaine via LinkedIn or via his site JRP Transcribing Services Find out more about Chrystal below: Finding Myself Book: https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Myself-Crystal-Robinson/dp/1777573726     Full Transcript Below   Steve Rush: Some call me Steve, dad, husband or friend. Others might call me boss, coach or mentor. Today you can call me The Leadership Hacker.   Thanks for listening in. I really appreciate it. My job as the leadership hacker is to hack into the minds, experiences, habits and learning of great leaders, C-Suite executives, authors and development experts so that I can assist you developing your understanding and awareness of leadership. I am Steve Rush and I am your host today. I am the author of Leadership Cake. I am a transformation consultant and leadership coach. I cannot wait to start sharing all things leadership with you   And a special guest on today's show is Crystal Robinson. She's an American basketball coach and former Women's NBA, All-Star. And she was the first black woman to be inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. Now, after chronicling her life's lessons in her book, Finding Myself, she's now an ambassador for the LGBTQ Community, but before we get a chance to meet with Crystal, it's The Leadership Hacker News. The Leadership Hacker News Steve Rush: In the news today, we explore how diversity and inclusion has evolved and diversity education started in the sixties, so it's nothing new to us. And over time we would have all become aware of how it's evolved to take into consideration inclusion. And while many think that diversity and inclusion are the same thing, they're not. Diversity is the act of creating community, comprised of people with varying backgrounds, creeds, ages, differences, and inclusion is finding a way of making sure that all of those people feel really valued in what they do and how they behave. Wait, where did equity come from? Well, it's always been there. In recent years, diversity and inclusion issues have been bolstered by the addition of the concept of equity and unlike equality, which focused on providing equal resources, regardless of context. Equity actually focuses on the process of just being fair. Equality is treating everyone the same. Whereas equity is about achieving the same benefits, even if it means that everyone receives different, there's still fair and justified treatment and experiences. Regular listeners will know that we love the difference that makes the difference. And that's because all humans are different. We all have components of our identities that are both seen like race, gender, identity. And then there are hidden things like our mental health or disability or sexual orientation, and whether you're willing to admit it or not, we all come from different backgrounds and we hold multiple interconnecting identities and biases that show up in our relationships and our workplace. Research also shows that higher levels of diversity may lead to increase conflict and misunderstanding. And often because we struggled with accepting and celebrating our differences. Inclusion doesn't mean that we can just pretend those differences don't exist. It means that we can acknowledge those differences and take advantages of differences to create diverse, equitable, and inclusive communities that we work and live in. And therefore, we now arrived at our current incarnation, this essential tool that features equal and equitable attention on diversity, equity and inclusion. And as I reflect on this, a single piece of the puzzle missing could create an incomplete picture. Diversity is the heart of different voices in any conversation. Inclusion is uplifting, validating and hearing each and every voice and equity as a manner in which we amplify those voices. So, the leadership hack is dead simple. When you're thinking diversity and inclusion, think everyone everywhere, and do you have equity? Not equality. Making sure the right treatment for the right people, the right places at the right times means that we all get to benefit from diverse and inclusive behaviors and diverse and inclusive communities. That's been The Leadership Hacker News, I would love for you to share anything that's on the top of your agenda, so get in touch. Start of Podcast Steve Rush: Crystal Robinson is a special guest on today's show. She's a retired professional athlete and coach who's played the highest level of basketball in the Women's NBA. Today, she's a thought leader in the space of conscious leadership, mental health, and diversity. Crystal, welcome to The Leadership Hacker Podcast. Crystal Robinson: Thank you for having me. Steve Rush: So, let's just start by calling out a few of your kind of credits to your name. So former WNBA player and coach, named an all American by the WBCA, you earn a rookie of the year award and an ABL All-Star, you've been indicted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, indicted into the NAIA Hall of Fame, drafted overall sixth by the Women's NBA. Now author, coach, and ambassador for the LGBTQ community. Wow, that's not a bad backstory. Crystal Robinson: Yeah, I've had a pretty fun and exciting life. Steve Rush: Now, it hasn't been always that smooth sailing to be fair, has it? So, I know from the last time that we met, you grew up in rural Oklahoma. Having had a really kind of tough upbringing, having to navigate some poverty, a lot of racism issues, and then having to deal with and come to terms with your own sexual identity along that, on the journey, I guess. So just tell us a little bit about how early life really was for you. Crystal Robinson: Overall, I guess, at some point in life, you know, I was just a poor kid growing up happy, you know, you don't know you're poor until you learn you're poor, but lots of struggles, but I think everybody in life has struggles. I think in my book, I write about them, but that's really, for me not wasn't the focus of my life. I think I wrote about those struggles basically for people to understand that that are commonalities with all of us. We all have struggles, but just kind of how we end up dealing with them, determines where we end up in life. Steve Rush: Yeah, wise words, is often the case, isn't it? Crystal Robinson: Yeah. Steve Rush: You know, often, most people are faced with adversity of some kind, but it's a reaction to that adversity that makes the difference. And clearly, you know, you face into those really well because you ended up as a professional athlete. So, tell us a bit about the journey of how you ended up in baskets ball? Crystal Robinson: Both my parents were college basketball players. I was just something, they were both all Americans that I was an innate. I was born with a great ability and five years old; they gave me a basketball goal and I started playing on it and fell in love with it. Then the rest was kind of history after that. So, I just excelled, I played basketball all the time. Basketball became a place for me to take out my anger and anything that I wasn't feeling good about. It was a place for me to, you know, just release all of the negative feelings that any negative feelings that I had. Steve Rush: And having the foundations of using basketball if you like as a bit of a coping mechanism, most people will use some form of coping mechanism to deal with some adversity, but there is a different level of coping when you turn into being so good at it. You become recognized in your country as being the elite in your sport. Tell us a little bit about when that kind of pivotal moment happened for you when you became a pro basketball player? Crystal Robinson: It's so funny, you know, there was no professional women's basketball whenever I started playing basketball, you know, we were young girls. We didn't have the ability to look and say, hey, I wanted to be in the WNBA one day. So, you know, I just played all the time. I play with my guy cousins and overall goal was to be as good as my best cousin and things just kind of snowballed from there. Then I ended up being recruited by every college in the country. The town I grew up in, it's a population of about 400 people. It's called Stringtown, Oklahoma. So, you start having people from all over the United States coming to watch you play basketball and offering you scholarships. I'd say at that point, I thought I was pretty good and believe, but I don't think it wasn't until, you know, hindsight after your career, you kind of evaluate and see where your skillset fit in to your professional career. Steve Rush: Yeah, and you've told the story through your book, which is just an amazing read, called Finding Myself and tell us a little bit about how you decided to put your stories down into pages for others to read about? Crystal Robinson: I wanted it to be interesting, one, because, even though I've been a basketball player, I'm not Kevin Duran or Stephan Curry or no one with a big name like that, putting your story down for other people. It was about, you know, helping people, helping people see that. One thing, there's few things that we all have in common. Like it doesn't matter what color you are, what race you are or how rich you are, nothing matters. We're all going to encounter obstacles. Some of them make us stronger. Why does it make some of us stronger, and some of us not? You know, some of us suffer. So, I think that lots of people that are suffering feel alone, but just putting those stories out there that we all suffer at times. It's just about, you know, figuring it out. The perspective on how to navigate it. Steve Rush: Was there an element for you as well, as you wrote the book and you put all the stories down and into kind of words and stories, was there a little bit around another bit of therapy going on there for you at the time as well? Crystal Robinson: Honestly, it was all therapy going on there. Steve Rush: Yeah. Crystal Robinson: Honestly, to tell you the truth, I went to therapy and I was told to journal and I didn't set out and write a book like, oh, I'm going to write a book. I started journaling and just writing things that bother me, things that made me feel good, things that just, I don't know, things. And after seven or eight journals later, I felt better. And I sent and all of it to one of my friends that writes for the Amsterdam News in New York. And she said, this would be a really good book. You should organize it. So that's kind of how the book journey started. It wasn't that I just sat down to write a book. It just kind of happened. I probably have stories together and then put it in book form. Steve Rush: I would love to get into some of the stories if you are okay with that, because there were some really inspirational things that happen to you that we can all get some life lessons from. I remember the time that you talk about it in your book, when you were playing little league baseball, your dad turned up at a game to watch you, he was blind drunk. And despite that, you kind of played a brilliant game. What happened for you in that process and how did you use that as a positive? Crystal Robinson: I think in those moments, you don't ever feel like it's a positive, I think, but for me, I think that it taught me perseverance, you know, and at an early age, I had to figure out how to, you know, really just walk with my head, held high, even though everybody in the town knew that my dad was a big drunk. But my dad was a very functioning drunk. He worked, he went to work at times, you know? I think that taught me, first off, you know, the people who are going to care are going to care. At that point, I think I started to learn to not care about what other people thought, you know, some circumstances we were put under, we don't ask for them. We just have to learn how to deal with them and cope with them. Steve Rush: I would imagine that taught you a huge amount of resilience. Crystal Robinson: Yes. Steve Rush: Not just that occasion, but many occasions like it, I guess. Crystal Robinson: Definitely resilience. And I think that just in life, anybody who wants to make it, or just to be successful in life, it takes resilience. I'm sure when you started this podcast, it wasn't easy. You have to get people to come on, you know, you have to get all this things together, and I'm sure there's many, a times that you go through things you might want to quit, but you're resilient enough to know the benefits of it down the road, or you have a foresight to keep going. That's the best way to say. Steve Rush: Absolutely, yeah. And some of that kind of resilience, I guess, was also born about, through your experiences in high school. And I also remember reading in the book that when you were playing high school basketball, you came acquire a bit of, you know, racial slurs and verbal abuse. In that environment, you know, how do you deal with that when you're trying to focus on playing a game? Crystal Robinson: Oh, man. My stance on this has changed so much over the years, just recently in my hometown, I was racially profiled and pulled over, basically taking the jail for no reason until they realized who I was. Then they tried to let me go after like six hours of wasting my time. And I said, no, so they trumped up a charge. And it was just a lot, like, it just kind of changed my stance on just how I am. I think that the racial environment in the world right now has everybody on edge. And I think that I find myself having to go back to a lot of that stuff and a lot of the teachings and a lot of the way that I used to feel, just because of the place that the world is in now and the experiences that I've had. Steve Rush: That's really interesting. You you're most talking as if at one stage in your life or your career, you thought you'd got through that, but it seems to almost have another resurgence. Crystal Robinson: Well, I would say that, I would probably say that I didn't experience a lot of racism as a young kid. I did once or twice in my life, but I live in rural Oklahoma where there's no, we still bury people in black cemeteries and white cemetery. So, racism is definitely alive and well. Steve Rush: Wow. Crystal Robinson: You're really good at sports and you really good at things. You know how it is, people overlook that. And then at the back end of my career, you know, people change, times change and some young cops pull me over and don't know who I am and they just proceed to search, the car, I'll all this stuff because I have my dreads down. And then when the speaker of the house representatives and the judges are called in, like, what are you doing? And at this point I'm a voice. I'm a voice that can bring some attention to it. And it was just a lot, so my stance on that, I find myself, I won't say in prayer, but really having to check myself and think about that a lot more now, just because I feel the world is racially charged right now. Steve Rush: Yeah, it is. I sense that as well, right. And here I sit as a white caucasian guy who has had no racial issues to deal with per se, right? Yet, I still feel there is that racially charged tendencies. In fact, there is this terminology, isn't there? For people who are of my ethnicity called white fragility, where, you know, we're not having the conversation because we're almost afraid to. What's your spin on that? Crystal Robinson: For me, the people who are on that side, people like you, you shouldn't have to carry that burden, it's just like the Taliban. There's a certain amount of people with money that are racist, but everybody has to pay the price for that. Do you understand what I'm saying? Steve Rush: Absolutely. Crystal Robinson: Just like certain amount of my population that might be thugs. That might be certain things, but all of us have to pay the price for that. But those people are louder than people like you. Steve Rush: Yeah. Crystal Robinson: Heard more, and I think that when people stop having that fear and stop feeling guilty, you have nothing to feel guilty about, you know, but I think a lot of Caucasian people have a feeling of guilt and stand on the sidelines because I've had to really reconcile some of my friendships because I feel like some really powerful people stood on the sidelines and are standing on the sidelines that could expose this. And it would stop, but they have no interest in that because they're not boat rockers. They keep going the way it is, it doesn't matter that they hurt my career for no reason. Steve Rush: The whole kind of racial tension that exists today seems to be far louder than it ever has been. And I remember, so I grew up in the outskirts of London, very diverse community, lots of different ethnicities in my community. I didn't even know there was a racial issue until I probably hit high school, right. So, at what point do you think we're going to actually have a face into this and deal with it or do you think we could ever deal with it? Crystal Robinson: I think that there's a group of people that doesn't want it to change. It'll take a lot of bravery on a lot of people's parts for it to change. For some reason in society, there always has to be someone getting stepped on. I don't know why that is. I saw something on the news the other day, not the other day. I saw it maybe today scrolling through on Instagram. And I saw where Mexicans were showing up down there, given the Haitian people water and food, lots of things that they were providing for those people. And I was just thinking it's always the downtrodden that show up first because, no one's more, you know, trying to cross the border or get into the United States or do, you know, more than Mexican people. So, for them to be down there helping the Haitians, it was amazing to me. Steve Rush: Yeah, awesome. I think the more we can celebrate that and promote that, then the better it will be, right? Crystal Robinson: You're saying it so good. What you just said, what you said was basically, media publicizes the bad things. There's not enough said about things like. Steve Rush: That's very true. Crystal Robinson: They keep us at odds because that's what you see. And I shared that story simply because, you know, I said, it's not enough good things being shown in the world today. There are good things happening, so. Steve Rush: Hallelujah to that, yeah. So, as you were growing your career in basketball, and as you becoming more successful, not only had to deal with the racial slurs, but internally there's stuff going on for you, as you were trying to work out your own sexuality and having feelings for the same sex. Tell us a little bit about how you dealt with that kind of confusion and managed to come to terms with that and move forward in your life? Crystal Robinson: Very sloppily, to able to figure those things out. I knew I was different; I knew it wasn't accepted. I knew I lived in the Bible bell. I did go to church, and how are you supposed to be when everyone tells you your whole identity is something that you're going to hell for? I mean, you know, it was a lot at that time. That's all I could say. I didn't really have anybody to talk to. I just went with it. But at a certain point, I just, you know, I think that you get to the point to where either I have one life to live, I'm going to live at the best way I possibly can. And the people who want to be friends with me will be friends with me and the people who won't want. And that's just life in general. Steve Rush: Yeah. Crystal Robinson: I think that once you break it down to, you know, that simplicity of that, no one likes anybody a hundred percent of the time and no matter how good you are, some people are still not going to like you. Steve Rush: It got so bad for you at one state though, you were seriously thinking about taking your own life, right? Crystal Robinson: Oh, yeah. Steve Rush: That doesn't get any deeper than that, does it? Crystal Robinson: On more than one occasion, I felt like that, you know, but I won't say it's because of the way people treated me, it's because I just wanted to fit in. I didn't want it to be different. I didn't want this; I didn't ask for it. It's just who I was. Steve Rush: Yeah. Crystal Robinson: I was born this way. Steve Rush: And you still live-in rural Oklahoma. How have things changed for you? Are you more accepted by those same people? Have they become less bigoted and more educated? Tell us what that fell like for you now? Crystal Robinson: I wouldn't say that. Oklahoma is still about 25 years behind the rest of the world, you know, I have a group of people that are very educated. They travel, they do a lot of things and they don't have no problems with it, but there's always going to be a group of people who will have a problem with it, but won't say it out loud. They might talk behind their back and stuff like that, but I don't spend any energy worried about those people. Steve Rush: Good, and also you can see it and spot it, can't you? Because there'll be little micro behaviors and micro language you'd spot, perhaps because you've had more experience of it than some. And therefore, you can make those choices, right? Crystal Robinson: I think that for me, you know, being a professional athlete people that don't even like you, still will come up to you and ask you for an autograph, you know, that's just a kind of a part of the thing. I just kind of take it for what it's worth, you know? And I think that's one of the strengths that people should work on building is not really caring what other people think, you know, and living your life to the best of your ability for you. Steve Rush: That's really that easy to say though, right. But you've been in the public eye, you've been featured on TV. You've been, you know, press would have followed you. And that's got to take some toll when that's adverse commentary, right? Crystal Robinson: Yes, it's different. I tell you; I really took a completely different stance and approach as a pro athlete. I kind of immersed myself with the fans. They all knew who I was. They spent time with me. If they saw me, be like, oh, hey Crystal, I was around so much that they left me alone. I didn't put a barricade between me and them to set myself apart to where they wanted to be around me. If you understand what I'm saying. Steve Rush: Yeah, definitely, so, yeah. Crystal Robinson: I gave them access, like after games, I might stay two hours and sign everybody's autograph. And that way, when they see me with my family, it's just, hey Crystal and they keep going. You know, I think that that's one of the things that was just different about me. I love basketball. I love what I did. I was blessed to be able to do it, but that's just what it was. It was a great talent. It doesn't really change or sets me apart from people, on the fact that I had some really great experiences. Steve Rush: I love the way you've approached that, by the way, because many people in the public eye aren't accessible and actually become less accessible because of their publicity and their public figure. Whereas actually, I wonder if some of our pro sports people and actors and other people in the public eye, if they gave more of themselves to their fans and their public, whether or not they'd actually have much more of a peaceful life anyway. Crystal Robinson: Well, you know, that is true. I agree with that. But at some point, some of these fans are not normal, right? I mean, I had a teammate named Debbie Black, this man had a whole sex change and change his name to Debbie White and sat outside and he stopped her. Steve Rush: Oh dear. Crystal Robinson: There is some danger to it. Steve Rush: Sure. Crystal Robinson: Oh, and you know, when you get a certain level, like I'm not a star to that point to where people are wanting anything like that, other than the autograph. But, you know, for some people, it is definitely dangerous. As little as I am, I just was, you know, it was inducted into the New York Liberty Ring of Honor. And a media person made up a bunch of lies and tried hard to tell me they wanted me to be in a documentary and all this stuff. My publicists kept telling me this stuff, but she didn't have no credentials. So, a lot of the big things that she should have, so it just didn't make sense to me. And she was not legit. So, stuff like that definitely happen. Steve Rush: So, when I read your book, one of the things that struck me was there were, you know, paragraph after paragraph, there was real crappy experiences, lots of abusive relationships, lots of adversity, but on every occasion, you managed to find it in yourself to kind of lift above that and keep positive. Just for those listening to this who maybe are struggling to find themselves like you did. How did you manage to just keep that positivity? Crystal Robinson: I think it's probably sheer, what's the word I'm looking for? Just the fact that I don't ever like to give other people control over me. I can't be anybody's victim. So, I had to figure out a way to persevere and persevere in a way that I was still whole. I wouldn't say that I found myself. I think I'm still finding myself every day; we grow and we change, but, you know, I didn't want those experiences to control my life. And I think that when you get stuck in places, those experiences control your life. Steve Rush: Yeah, I love that. Was there a particular time though for you, as you were coming to terms with who you are today and the great work that you do now, where you thought, yeah, I'm happy, I'm content. I've found myself for now. When was that moment? Crystal Robinson: I would say I haven't. Steve Rush: Oh, great. Crystal Robinson: I definitely different. There're people who have the same jobs for 50 years. And I applaud them to be able to do that, but I'm not that kind of person. I'm the kind of person who I was great at sports. I mastered something in the business world, thought leadership world now, and I'm trying to master that. I'm pretty comfortable being uncomfortable. And for me, the experiences in life is not, I don't want to be at the same job for 30 years. I want to experience as much as I can. So, lots of people look at that and they say, oh, you're not settled, or you don't do this, or you don't do that. But you know for me, that's how I choose to experience life. Steve Rush: That's fabulous, and the reality is of course, for those people who are comfortable and aren't in control, probably aren't actually growing as much as those that are restless and are comfortable being uncomfortable. Crystal Robinson: I would really agree with that statement. I think that, you know, young ages at sports, I went away from my parents and stayed for long periods of time to be able to play basketball. And then I went to Europe, I played in Europe for eight years. I have had so many different kinds of experiences in so many different countries. And to me, that's what life's about. Like, I don't have no opinion about Italy. If I can't go there, I spent four years there. I live like the people, you know? And to me that's where I found value in life. Steve Rush: Yeah, can you knock up a great Italian pasta dish though? Crystal Robinson: Oh, I can make, pasta, actually my own tomato sauce. Steve Rush: Awesome. Crystal Robinson: So, I lived in Italy. I actually had a translator my first year. And then the second year I was there, I stayed in that country for four years. One of my teammates was going to college to learn English. So, I helped her with English. I had a Spanish background, so it just kind of came together. And then by the end of that year, I was completely fluent. So, I loved Italy and most countries that I did play in, I just really tried to understand their culture and at least learn enough words to be able to live like them. Steve Rush: Empathy is everything. So, you had a super pro career, then you coached pro basketball. So how much of that experience in your sporting life is now shaping your approach when you coach others? Crystal Robinson: Well, I think that leadership is leadership. Like as a player, I was a leader on the team and I think that as a coach, I have the opportunity, you know, we kind of were trailblazers. There was no WNBA. We started something and these young players are figuring it out, you know. When I played, there was no free agency. Now there's free agency. True free agency, where girls can go out and get their own endorsement deals. The league owned all our likenesses. So, we couldn't shop our names around. So, there's so many things that I still have a hand in with the younger generation, helping usher this end for them and help them make decisions that I still am highly involved in, in basketball. Steve Rush: That's great. So, on the basis, you're still finding yourself, which I love by the way, what's next for you? Crystal Robinson: What's next for you? We will see, I took a year off of work to promote this for basketball. To promote my book and who knows next year, I could end up back in basketball. But I only want to be back in basketball in an head coaching basis, just because it's a lot of work at the pro level. You don't really have a life; coach has a life because the assistants do all the work. Steve Rush: But you've earned that even the ability to be able to pass on that knowledge and to help guide, and actually also helps other people lead in that space as well, doesn't it? Crystal Robinson: How much public speaking as I can possibly do. I like to influence, so those are probably the two things that I would end up in. I'm already public speaking. I do a lot of that. Next month, I'll start doing a lot more of it. But eventually I'm sure basketball would probably call me back into it. Steve Rush: Is it a bit of a drug for your, basketball? Crystal Robinson: It used to be. Now is a completely different challenge. Now it's a challenge of convincing people. As the head coaches about psychology, you have all these great players. Convincing them to give up seven shots and give up a $50,000 potential bonus to help your team win. Like it's all psychology of moving people. And to me, that's a great challenge. It's easier to do things than it is to get people to do them. So, I'm still very driven towards perfection and figuring that out. And I think that, you know, as an assistant coach, most of the time I've been hired, it's been because of my ability to problem solve and my ability to keep the locker room good. So, I'd like to try that from a head coaching angle. Steve Rush: Cool, look forward to seeing you on the WNBA circuit soon then. Crystal Robinson: Yes. Steve Rush: Yeah, awesome. So now I'm going to turn the lens a little bit. Crystal Robinson: Okay. Steve Rush: Now you talked about leadership as a player and as a coach and having been a thought leader in your space as well. I'm going to ask you to try and think of, to distill all of those great leadership learnings that you have. And to narrow those down into your top three leadership hacks, what would they be? Crystal Robinson: My top three leadership hacks. The first one, probably be, treat people how you want to be treated, you know, being relatable. I think that one of the things that I've learned as a leader now with this younger generation, if they don't relate to you, you can't convince them to do anything you want them to do. It's going to be a fight and struggle with everything, you know, being relatable. Second thing I would say is, I was recently told by someone that I went into business with, you know, I'm a partial owner of a business and he told me, you can't tell people what to do if you don't know what to do. So, I suggest you get down there on the bottom level and learn what to do. So, I think, know what your employees are, what the people you're leading have to do. So, you can go back to relate to them, to help them along to be able to do it a better way. And then I would say, make sure everyone, it's not input. Everyone has to feel valued, you know, as a head coach in sports, you have this always a balancing act, you know, of treating everybody the same, but then you have players that score 30 points and you have player the score, no points, being able to make them feel important, no matter what their role is, I think is something that a leader should be able to do. Steve Rush: Yeah, that's great advice. It's not all about scoring goals, isn't it? Crystal Robinson: Yes, not all about that. I'm telling you, the best teams I've ever played on. It was a bunch of mediocre players who completely knew their roles and work together to make it happen. And it takes good leadership, and for me, I was in college, I could average 65 points a game, but in games where I could score 10 points and we could still win, I'd give my teammates their opportunities to shine. So, when I take over games, they, got out the way and they were very conducive to what we were trying to do. Steve Rush: The next part of the show Crystal, we call it Hack to Attack. So, this is typically where something in your life hasn't worked out well. And we know already having learned some of the stories from you already in this short conversation and having read your book, you've had a bunch to choose from, but maybe if there was one experience in your life that was perhaps at adversity, but you now use that specific advent for something that's positive in your life or work, what would be your Hack to Attack? Crystal Robinson: I was drafted into the American Basketball League and I was almost the last pick taken because I ended up leaving the NCAA school and going to a really low-level school, but I was still beating everybody at a high level. The American Basketball League where I was rookie of the year, and I was first team, all everything, it folded after two years. And I had no idea what I was going to do with my life at that point. I had a teaching degree, but I didn't know exactly what I was going to do. And then I got drafted in the sixth overall pick in the WNBA. Through that time period before that happened, I had gained some weight. I've kind of given up and whenever the WNBA came into play and I was the sixth overall draft, it just changed my life and my outlook on everything. And in terms of, you know, I almost given up hope, like I had been given this gift of basketball, and it would just snatch from me. I just made up my mind that, no matter what happened to WNBA, if anything ever happened, I was going to land on my feet and have a plan and be ready to go. Steve Rush: Yeah, and sometimes it's just being available and open to coincidence as well, isn't it? Crystal Robinson: Yeah, it is. Steve Rush: Sometimes when you're driving so hard to achieve things, you don't often see what else is going on around you. Crystal Robinson: And not being prepared for it. Steve Rush: Yeah. Crystal Robinson: You know, I just thought it was going to last, you get caught up in that euphoria, just wasn't prepared for it. When I retired from basketball, I retired at a very early age. I retired at the age of 34. I probably could have still played for four more years. But I knew basketball wasn't what I was going to do forever. I'd done everything I could possibly do in it. And my body was sore, so I retired. Steve Rush: Yeah, get out of the top. That's what it's about, right. So, if you could go back and meet Crystal at 21 and give her some advice, what would be your words of wisdom to her then? Crystal Robinson: I think my words of wisdom would be, always be kind and never give up, even when you don't see a way, don't stop. That would be my advice to my young self. Steve Rush: very profound, and indeed your pussy cat like that. Crystal Robinson: She just got closed and now she's making noise to get out. Steve Rush: So, Crystal. Your book by the way, is a fantastic read. So, any of our listeners who want to get their hands on a copy of Finding Myself, where's the best place for us to send them to? Not only get a copy of your book, but to learn a little bit more about the work you do now? Crystal Robinson: Amazon.com or go to susanhum.com. It's a thought leadership platform where I speak for a foundation called Still Rose. I'm also on the board of a foundation called Code Red, it's a foundation. It's a lot to that foundation. One of them is sex trafficking. And one of them is school shootings. We designed an app that schools don't have surveillance systems in them, but this app goes on teacher's phones. And if in a situation like that, it turns into a surveillance system, it's route it to a private company. And then I'm on a foundation of a board of Go Friends. You can also go to gofriends.com and read things about me. And basically, we go into prison systems, female prison systems, and we teach goal setting to try to help them when they get out of prison, hopefully they can stay out of prisons. Steve Rush: You're doing some fantastic work, honestly, from the journey you've been on, the adversity you've been through to now still being in the service of others. I just wanted to drop my hat and say, thank you. And thank you for being part of our community here on The Leadership Hacker Podcast. Crystal Robinson: No, thank you so much for having me. These are the podcasts that I love. I would much rather prefer to talk about this stuff than basketball in general. So, thank you for having me. Steve Rush: It's our pleasure. Thanks Crystal.         Closing   Steve Rush: I genuinely want to say heartfelt thanks for taking time out of your day to listen in too. We do this in the service of helping others, and spreading the word of leadership. Without you listening in, there would be no show. So please subscribe now if you have not done so already. Share this podcast with your communities, network, and help us develop a community and a tribe of leadership hackers.   Finally, if you would like me to work with your senior team, your leadership community, keynote an event, or you would like to sponsor an episode. Please connect with us, by our social media. And you can do that by following and liking our pages on Twitter and Facebook our handler there: @leadershiphacker. Instagram you can find us there @the_leadership_hacker and at YouTube, we are just Leadership Hacker, so that is me signing off. I am Steve Rush and I have been the Leadership Hacker.    

Oak Creek head baseball coach and AD, Scott Holler, is joined this week by his co-host, Tim Gotzler, the head baseball coach at Menomonee Falls to put a bow on the 2021 Wisconsin high school baseball season! Guests this hour: Luke Nowak - All-State OF from Menomonee Falls and East Carolina recruit. Alex Binelas - former Oak Creek and University of Louisville standout, recently drafted in the third round by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Oak Creek head baseball coach and AD, Scott Holler, is joined this week by his co-host, Tim Gotzler, the head baseball coach at Menomonee Falls to put a bow on the 2021 Wisconsin high school baseball season! Guests this hour: Rob Hamilton - head coach at Sun Prairie (Division 1 champs) Mike Roemhild - head coach at Boyceville (Division 4 champs)

Jennifer Rizzotti grew up playing sports with older boys. Undersized then and throughout her career she chose to work harder, smarter and make up for a smaller stature with a bigger heart and ambition. It worked as Jennifer had a great college career serving as point guard for the UCONN Huskies basketball team and playing professionally before becoming a coach for more than 20 years. Along the way she nabbed most every post season award including the Honda Cup in 1996, the Associated Press Player of the Year, All American, All Academic American and Wade Trophy. The advice given as a player served her well as a coach, including knowing your teammates, what motivates them and building relationships. She credits Geno Auriemma, her collegiate coach, with building the national championships and being a model for coaching. He wants athletes who value teamwork and who are willing to work harder in practice than in a game. And he expects good academics; good character and good players.Check out what Jennifer has to say about eight basketball players of the CWSA family who also won the Honda Cup. She describes her professional experiences as a dream for making a living as an athlete and having an opportunity to compete at the highest level every outing, her ultimate competitiveness and need to pay attention to details. Jennifer shares with the audience her experience as President of the WBCA and what comes with paying attention to something bigger than yourself. She credits sport with teaching her the life lessons of humility and appreciation, that no success happens by yourself, and the possibility of having lasting impact as a leader. We hear what success looks like to Jennifer.Jennifer is using her growth mindset in her current position as President of the WNBA franchise, the Mohegan Sun. Let's cheer that franchise on during this big professional pivot for Jennifer Rizzotti. But first let's cheer on the USA Women's Basketball team in Tokyo at the Olympics where she will be on the bench as an Assistant Coach - a culmination of decades of contributions to USA basketball.Host: Chris VoelzA co-production of WiSP Sports and the Collegiate Women's Sports Awards.For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women's sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World's First and Only Podcast Network for Women's Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Contact us at info@wispsports.com.

WSSP's high school insider, Mike McGivern is joined by a number of coaches and players from around the state!

WSSP's high school insider, Mike McGivern, is joined by co-host Scott Holler, the head baseball coach at Oak Creek to get you caught up on all the action as we wind down the state baseball playoffs! Guests this hour: Continued conversation with Marty Paulson (Fond du Lac head baseball coach) Head baseball coach at Kenosha St. Joe's, Ryan Gavinski Andy Niese - Eau Claire Regis head baseball coach Greg Featherston - head coach at Jefferson

WSSP's high school insider, Mike McGivern, is joined by co-host Scott Holler, the head baseball coach at Oak Creek to get you caught up on all the action as we wind down the state baseball playoffs! Guests this hour: Tim Gotzler - head baseball coach at Menomonee Falls Marty Paulson - head coach at Fond du Lac

Mike McGivern is joined by Oak Creek AD and head baseball coach, Scott Holler for the WBCA Coaches Show! Guests for this hour: Michael Roemhild - head baseball coach at Boyceville High School, winners of the Dunn - St. Croix Conference. Brian Henson - Greater Metro Conference commissioner.

Mike McGivern joined by co-host, Scott Holler, the head baseball coach and athletic director at Oak Creek High School, as they discuss the latest on the high baseball action around the state. Guests this hour: Kenosha Tremper head baseball coach, John Matera. Adam Dobberstein, head coach at Pewaukee.

The Wisconsin Baseball Coaches' Association Show (Hour 2): Mike McGivern is joined by co-host, Scott Holler, the head baseball coach and AD at Oak Creek. Guests in this hour: Sophia Schoenfeld, this senior at Waterford High School is our Current Electric SuperHero of The Week. Kimberly athletic director and head baseball coach, Ryan McGinnis.

The Wisconsin Baseball Coaches' Association Show: Mike McGivern is joined by co-host Scott Holler, the head baseball coach and AD at Oak Creek. Guests this hour: Sean Smith - head baseball coach at CMH and owner of Stiks Baseball Academy Steve Drobot - Franklin head baseball coach

Sydney Reinhard is the Current Electric Super Hero of the Week. Josh Schaub, the Commissioner of the American Association of Independent Baseball breaks down why his league is so fun to watch. And finally, AJ Vuckovich from the Visalia Rawhide talks about his time in Minor League Baseball and remembers his time beating McGivern in the State Basketball Sectionals.

Jay Wojcinski, Head Coach at Whitefish Bay and a few of his players join Mike McGivern to talk everything baseball. Leah Porath joins the show as well.

Our High School Insider, Mike McGivern, takes a look around the state's baseball action. Guests this hour: Mark Fuller - assistant coach at Wisconsin-Whitewater. Rob Zerjav - President and CEO of both the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders

Our High School Insider, Mike McGivern, takes a look around the state's baseball action. Guests this hour: Current Electric Super Hero of The Week, Emma Burkard from Arrowhead. Scott Staude - VP of the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches' Association and head coach at Burlington. Lakeshore Chinooks GM, Eric Snodgrass.

Jerry Petitgoue www.wisbca.org Bring History up to date Being completely organized Psychology Body Language Team First Award Teaching your athletes to compete Competing starts in practice Out work people Mentors Sam Okey Kobe Bryant www.Competitive-Mindset.com Competitive Mindset Social Media Twitter Instagram Billy Kegler Basketball Billykeglerbasketball@gmail Twitter: @BillyKeglerBall Instagram: @BillyKeglerBasketball --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/bill-kegler/support

The Wisconsin Baseball Coaches' Association Show: Mike McGivern is joined by co-host Scott Holler, the head baseball coach and AD at Oak Creek. Guests this hour: Sean Smith - head baseball coach at CMH and owner of Stiks Baseball Academy Steve Drobot - Franklin head baseball coach

The Wisconsin Baseball Coaches' Association Show (Hour 2): Mike McGivern is joined by co-host, Scott Holler, the head baseball coach and AD at Oak Creek. Guests in this hour: Sophia Schoenfeld, this senior at Waterford High School is our Current Electric SuperHero of The Week. Kimberly athletic director and head baseball coach, Ryan McGinnis.

Scott Holler slides over the main chair this week and he's joined by co-host and Waukesha West head coach, Chad Montez. In this hour they are joined by: Brooks Braga of BRX, co-owner and director of training at BRX Performance. Andy Sroka of Prep Baseball Report.

Scott Holler slides over the main chair this week and he's joined by co-host and Waukesha West head coach, Chad Montez. In this hour they are joined by: Andy Sroka of the Prep Baseball Report Tim Gotzler, head baseball coach at Menomonee Falls Marty Pitts, the head baseball coach at Kenosha Indian Trail.

Mike McGivern and Oak Creek head baseball coach and athletic director, Scott Holler, catch up with some standout baseball coaches from across Wisconsin.