Latest / Momentum Sessions / Mental Skills Need Practice, Too | Zach Brandon

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Mental Skills Need Practice, Too | Zach Brandon · Momentum Sessions

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: I equate thoughts to music.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, let's say you're working out.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: If a song comes on that you don't love and it doesn't fit the vibe that you want, most of us we just hit skip, right?
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: What happens in performance for athletes is it's like they get on the field and they've left their mind on shuffle.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: They're at the mercy of each and every song.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of coaches care deeply about mindset and culture.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: And those of you that are on the call, I know that's true.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: But the challenge really isn't knowing what matters, it's sustaining it week after week.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why I'm excited to have Zach Brandon here on the call with us, the founder of MVP Mindset Consulting.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: He spent years helping athletes and teams build the mental side of performance into their daily routines.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: Zach, thank you for doing this.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: And to get started, from your work with the Diamondbacks and IMG Academy and all coaches at all different levels, what do you see as the biggest mental performance gaps for high school coaches and athletes right now?
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think in particular, when you use that word gap, I would I would kind of echo it in a different context.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: So what I mean by that is I think maybe the biggest gap that exists right now is like the knowing and the doing gap.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I think we're in an era that's like extremely exciting because there's so much great information out there on the mental side.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: There's great books about it, there's podcasts about it, there's courses.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Some people have somebody working with their team, maybe they're working with the mental coach, maybe it's something that the coach is implementing a lot through their own self-study, through their own exploration and their own experiences.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's just a lot of great information.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: And yet, when I talk to coaches about their challenges on the mental side with their players, I feel like I still hear the same issues being presented, despite having more information.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so I don't think it's a it's not a knowing gap.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's not a learning gap because that that exists.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's how do you implement these things?
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's how do you practice these things?
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: How do you treat them like physical skills and you deliberately cultivate them and train them?
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: One at an individual level for athletes, for example.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: But also then, two, I think the other side of it is like how as a coach can you create an environment that develops and cultivates mental skills too?
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I think those two things can kind of go hand in hand.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that gap is really in the doing.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: I think you're really hammering in the taking action part.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: We all kind of know certain things that maybe need to happen, but we're not necessarily taking the action.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: What would really be the first step to starting to truly take action inside of our teams?
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: I think first and foremost, it's kind of like getting to the root of like what are the biggest challenges that your athletes are facing.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, let's take like confidence, for example, because uh again, when you get a room full of uh whether it's virtual or in person, and you ask coaches, uh, a room full of coaches if they value confidence, like every hand in theory should go up.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but there's different ways to foster it.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: And on one hand, you have like mental skills, for example.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: So you can like we can help athletes train things like their visualization, their pot like self-talk, having a good routine, and doing other forms of like mental prep.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: That's all a piece of it.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: However, those things don't compensate for if there are issues for that individual that are more at like an identity level, more at like a self-image level.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think what sometimes happens is like we teach all these different mental skills, we teach breathing techniques, we teach things like meditation and mindfulness, visualization and so forth, all great tools, all tools that can be extremely useful and effective.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: And if our athletes don't have a self-image created or fostered that sees themselves as being highly capable of who they can become, then I think it's it's gonna be, those are gonna fall short.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: They're always gonna like, it's gonna continue to hit this like invisible wall, this invisible barrier.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: So one of like the first things that I like to do with players is like, I want them to tell me who they want to become.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: I want them to tell me like, what kind of player do they want to be?
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: What does that player look like?
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: What does that player believe?
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: What do they sound like?
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: You know, those of you that um, you know, depending on the sport you work with, if they play like video games and stuff, like most guy uh players that are that I know that have played a video game, a sporting video game, they've created themselves.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, hey, here's your chance to create yourself in real life.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like, who do you want to become?
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: But now it's like, let's reverse engineer that to figure out like, once you know where they want to go, I think you can start to ask some really, I think, impactful questions about well, what's different about that version of you and who you are today?
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: What do they believe that you don't currently believe?
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what do they do that you don't currently do?
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: What do they prioritize that you don't currently prioritize?
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Those types of questions, you start to reveal, they start to tell you what their gap is.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that is a piece of that pie because people are more likely to commit to things that they help create, you know, is a really important adage that I believe in.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so one of the things that I want to do is like I want to help work with a player to create who do they want to become.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: And then now I can help them see, okay, what's the gap between where they're at and hold them accountable to that um day-to-day and practice and training and so forth.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: And if I'm not a trained psychologist or counselor, but I mean, I just get a basic idea of this is where they're at currently, this is where they want to be.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I understand kind of the gap between what's happening.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: How do I do I do that individually with every single player?
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: And then what's kind of the plan for each player to get the other side?
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: I think you certainly could.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: I I think the cool thing is like you can kind of do this with your team too.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: Like I've done this with groups in the past as well, where it's like, hey, like let's let's in a room, let's talk about like where do we want to go?
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what do we want to, what do we want to achieve, but also how do we want to achieve it?
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like, who do we want to be as a group in pursuit of that goal or that vision that we have for ourselves?
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: So you could do this, I think, with a group as well.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: And let me back up just really quickly.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Once you have that vision created for a team, then it's like, okay, well, what are the standards that we're gonna live by?
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what are the principles?
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how do we bring these out?
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: How do we treat one another?
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: How do we train?
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: How do we like take feedback?
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: How do we communicate all those different things?
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: You can start to get clarity on those standards and principles.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: I think you can kind of do the same thing from an athlete lens, where I think is is like almost maybe hopefully encouraging or like a relieving in some ways for coaches is like you can let the athletes guide a lot of this in essence.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, like tell me where you want to go, right?
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: If that's the quote unquote 10 out of 10 that you want to get to, okay, where are you at today?
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I like to use like honestly these like scaling questions.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: I think they can be really useful.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're a six, let's say, okay, and you want to get to a 10, well, what would it look like for you to get to a seven?
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: What is a seven like you look like?
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: What is a seven like you do or believe and so forth?
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: And let them kind of start to help, in their own words, tell you where they need to go.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think you could certainly do these with athletes and start to ask, like, what do you think makes it hard for you to get to a um a seven?
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like, tell me about it.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: And and then I think where you can build off of this is like, okay, tell me about when you were a four.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, what did that look like?
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: Well, what did you do to get from a four to a six or from a four to a seven?
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we just need to be like, I think coaches oftentimes are professional reminders.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I've told you this numerous times.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I just need to make sure that I tell you again when it's the right time and space for you to hear it.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: And and so I think that can also be a way to remind people of how far they've come, how far they've grown.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: And it's in terms of confidence, that's also a way for you to remind them of the evidence for why they should be confident in the first place, because you're helping remind them of their growth and and the progress that they've already made.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: You can almost have like a framework for certain categories and then have them rate themselves and where they want to be, and then almost have them create the plan of how they're gonna get there.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: And you may guide them a little bit, but for the most part, um kids are probably a lot smarter than we give them credit for, they probably have the answers of how they're gonna get to that next level.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: And and I think you bring up a it's a good point too, where like this is also useful for you.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: Whereas a coach, like if you value players that are self-aware, if you value players that are um good self-evaluators, like I know many coaches care about those things.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: This is also your way to audit that.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: Because if a player says, hey, this is where I want to be and this is where I'm at, but that doesn't align with where you see them, or you see a disconnect between that, then I think it creates one good information for you to understand that, like maybe before we start to develop a plan, like we actually just need to get calibrated on, hey, this is the standard that you actually need to be at.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: The other thing that I think it does is um, this is like, I don't know if this is like reverse psychology or or what this is, but this is like I think a really useful um, I hate to say it's not a trick, but like it works.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, when you if you did this with players, you have them define who they want to become, right?
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like you kind of go into the future, define that, figure out where they're at today.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: What's the next step before you start to cultivate the plan or before you teach them?
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: I think a really valuable step that gets forgotten is let me say, let's say you I was having this conversation with you, Matt.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: You just told me where you want to go.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, Matt, like if over the next few months, as we like work together, like if I notice at any point that maybe you're not quite at that standard, like, are you okay if I tell you that?
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like I care a lot about you, and like I want to do everything in my power to make sure that you become this player that you're capable of.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: So are you okay if I tell you, like in those moments when maybe you've fallen off of that?
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like you basically ask a question that they won't say no to.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like in theory, like they probably like, and if they say no, that's a whole separate conversation.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: But now what you've done is you can say, hey, in a month, Matt, remember on April 2nd when you said, like, you want to be a captain or you want to be this kind of player?
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: And you said you gave me permission that if I saw something or I noticed something that isn't aligned with that, I could tell you.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: Now you've made a what can oftentimes be for some a tough conversation.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: You've made it easier because you've already created an agreement with someone.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: And this is something that we like to talk about a lot.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, this is some of the stuff that we would do with the uh diamondbacks, is like there's a difference between expectations and agreements.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: Expectations are often funneled one-directionally.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: Agreements are like, hey, we're mutually agreeing to whatever this standard or this expectation is.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like, hey, are you good with this?
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, you're good with this.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: All right, now we both hold one another accountable to it.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: You can kind of do the same thing with players now from a stand from a standard standpoint.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: And asking for permission to you know, future coach them, future correct them, and they are opting in to that concept.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I said at the top that we kind of see, or at least I see the coaches that I'm talking with here in our community struggling at times not with knowing what matters, but maybe with really sustaining it week after week.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: From your perspective, what makes consistency possible?
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: I think on one hand, consistency is often going to be rooted in how you protect the three kind of finite resources that I think matter a lot as a coach.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: Your time, your energy, and your attention.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: All of those are um limited resources.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like we don't have an unlimited supply of them.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: And if you fail to protect those things, then I think what can oftentimes happen is you become depleted, you become reactive, you become um less effective.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a few, there's different ways.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I kind of have when I work with coaches now, whether it's in one-on-one work or I have this like leadership accelerator that I do, like kind of a group coaching program.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: And we actually worked, we just worked through this recently with them, helping them figure out better ways to protect those, those three kind of core buckets.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I think of it kind of like um I kind of frame it under capacity, like how do you protect your capacity to then lead?
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: So in the same vein, like capability is as if you were at 100%.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: But it's like athletes, where if I ask a professional baseball player, how often are you performing at 100%?
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's very rarely, like very rarely.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, what they've gotten the separator is like, can you perform when you're at 80%?
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: Can you perform when you're at 60%?
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so on.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: And how do you how do you still compete and perform with with that, or how do you still lead within that?
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: So your capacity isn't always going to be 100%, but it's gonna be dictated by those those three variables.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: So let me give like a concrete um example.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: So um I talked to um a professional running coach up in Flagstaff, so we'll keep the theme here in Arizona, and uh he he shared a really cool distinction for me that I love and I've kind of adapted it.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he said, for him, in his mind, one of the biggest competitive advantages for you as a coach is to create a weekly schedule that aligns with your core values or val or built around the things that are most important to you.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: So if you value connection, then your week should hopefully have space in it for you to connect and for to spend time building relationships with your players.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: If you value growth and learning for yourself, then does your calendar, does your week reflect moments for you to read or to or to the podcast or to join like a group like this?
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I don't know, I'm probably preaching to the choir when you have 20 plus people on here that are carving out half an hour to listen to some random person come talk about these things, right?
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like this is this is a prime example.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: So you have to protect those things.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so, but what was cool was the distinction he used is he's like, when yeah, I do that, I feel like I'm going on offense with my time.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: Oftentimes, as a head coach, you feel like you're on defense.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: You feel like you're reacting to all these fires, you feel like there's a constant to-do list that never ends, and you feel like you're the person that everybody's coming to with questions and things that need answers that you don't always have time for yourself.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so are you can you be intentional to protect some of those things that are important to you and build up a weekly schedule around that?
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: So that's that's one way.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and again, a lot more nuance to kind of, you know, I think it's a great question around how do you foster that consistency?
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: But I think it helps when you start to protect those three things because if you don't, I think it 100% makes inconsistency a lot easier to fall victim to.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: And getting back to like practical tools that coaches can try to implement immediately.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: One of the questions we got in the community the other day was from Charlie Smith.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: What are like two to three simple mental skills or routines a coach could implement right away with their team to see increased performance?
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: But just do it in a kind of quick, efficient way.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: Let me give a I'll give a quick analogy and then this is a two-parter.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: So um the first one is like let's go to like self-talk, for example, because again, this ties into like confidence, and we know that how you talk to yourself matters.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I literally just yes, uh, this maybe yesterday or two days ago, I saw an awesome clip from Coach Kay, and he shared this story about running into a former camper of his um at a at a camp he hosted years, like many years ago.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: And the camp, the guy came up to him, and after all these years, he's like, you know, you said something to us at that camp that I'll never forget.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: And he was like, Really?
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what did I say?
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: And he was like, He you asked us who's the most important person you talk to every day.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: And the guy was, and then Coach K said, yourself.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: And so why not treat yourself like your best friend?
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: So I love this because this applies to coaches, this applies to athletes.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I think on one hand, we know how valuable it is um for you to have thoughts that align with that version of you that you want to become.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: So here's a simple analogy that I think in my experience kind of resonates with a lot of players.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I equate thoughts to music.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, let's say you're working out.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: And for those that work out and you listen to like uh music while you do so, if a song comes on that you don't love, that doesn't fit the vibe that you want, most of us we just hit skip, right?
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: We just move to the next one.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then same thing, we get back into our workout again.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: If another song comes on that we don't quite feel, like we hit skip again and carry on our way.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: What happens in performance for athletes is it's like they get on the field and they've left their mind on shuffle.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: They're at the mercy of each and every song that they've ever listened to.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know about you all, but like I could pull up my phone right now.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: There are songs that I skip almost every time because I'm like, uh, I'm not really feeling this.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know why I still have it on my phone, but I do.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: But for many of us, we have thoughts that have become outdated, that no longer serve us, that we can stit continue to listen to.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: And so one of the analogies that I invite players to do, um, we do it, we kind of call it like uh creating um a new playlist is to audit like, are there thoughts in essence?
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like if your thoughts were songs that you listen to, what are some songs or thoughts that you feel like you need to like let go of?
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: What are some that you feel like don't serve you anymore?
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where you can tie it back to that that um aspirational self that we talked about at the beginning.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like, are there any songs that you kind of feel like run through your head or thoughts run through your head that don't align with that version that you want to become?
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: Then once you do that, okay, now we can replace them and you can audit them and basically you go from an old playlist to a new playlist.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think that's that's one way, uh, like an analogy that I'll use.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: And so you help them audit the thoughts, then you help them remix uh the thoughts, like change them, like convert them to something that's more helpful.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: And then you got to train it, then you got to practice it.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, how do we incorporate this into a visualization practice?
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: How do we incorporate this into drills?
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: And how do we incorporate this into your practice routine or in the weight room and so forth?
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: So that for me is one.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: But my ad to this is the following.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: I think a big misconception about mental strength is that it's not just about positive thinking, it's about taking like positive action no matter what you're thinking or feeling.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: Not about positive thinking, it's about taking positive action no matter what you're thinking or feeling.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I say that because I've spent a lot of time around elite performers that like they have self-doubt, like they have fear, they have insecurity, like all of that.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I don't know many that are immune to those feelings and those thoughts.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: The difference is how they've chosen to still take purpose-driven action, irrespective of those thoughts and those feelings.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: So a really simple, simple way that I um teach this is um through a word that we use every single day.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's and okay.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: If you use the word and more intentionally, this will kind of I think dramatically change because you can feel one way.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: I feel scared, and I can still go out and compete with my best stuff.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: I feel nervous.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I've had good performances where I felt nervous before, right?
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: Or I'm I'm afraid of what the coach might, you know, say to me after this.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I've had previous feedback sessions with them that weren't that bad, that actually were really helpful, and it actually helped propel me.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like all those things, like when you teach somebody how to use and more intentionally, it helps them not get stuck in their thoughts.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: And more than anything, it helps uh reduce that gap that we talked about, that knowing, doing gap.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: It helps you go from not getting stuck to like now getting into action.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: And and and that to me is I think a big separator.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: So uh help them develop a better playlist and then to teach them and.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's really helpful.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: I think because I've heard I've been on other calls where I've heard um coaches say, yeah, my players are saying I'm scared or I don't know what to do.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_01: And so kind of using what you just laid out, that second idea is you can validate that's a normal feeling.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Have and what else are you feeling, or what else can we do to keep to get them into that action taking?
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: If we tie some of these habits to um also improving to team culture or creating the culture we want, do you have maybe a weekly habit that has the biggest impact on team culture?
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: I think one, um, and I'm I'm pretty sure I'm not totally skewed or biased because I saw this recently.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: There was a really cool kind of like viral moment of um from the Lakers, where I don't know if anybody saw this, but um JJ Reddick, the head coach, was giving shout-outs to players about different uh achievements that they had, um, you know, guys who had now, after another season, like I think LeBron James now is like the winningest player all time in the regular season.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: He talked about Luca scoring a certain number of points now in his career, and he just kind of was giving all these shout-outs to guys.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: Well, then it was kind of cool because then the GM came in and uh he showed uh an um uh an unbonounced video to JJ Reddick where his like two boys um basically congratulated their dad on on winning 100 games now in his career.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: So it was kind of a cool moment.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: But I share this because one of the single biggest drivers of human behavior is the sense that you're making progress.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think one of the best things that you can do from a development standpoint is not just help people address their weaknesses and fix the problems and fill their gaps, but make sure that you also help them see their progress, help them see their wins.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I I interviewed on my own podcast um recently, he's like a uh one of the leading researchers on the neuroscience of trust.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the things that he talks about, like when you look at high trust teams and organizations, one of the core variables, one of the core building blocks of trust, um he uses the word ovation, which is in other words, like giving shout outs, giving recognition, reminding people of what's good.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: Because um part of our standards need to be not only what we should not do per se, but it also needs to be celebrating and recognizing the things that we care about.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's something that we as coaches um can be really like deliberate with because um what gets celebrated gets repeated.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: So if you want something more of it, then I think we have to shine a spotlight on it.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: So that that for me is like an easy one from a culture standpoint that um I think there's different ways to be deliberate with, but I think it can be super helpful.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of the coaches on this call are wearing a lot of different hats from teaching to coaching to they got their own family.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_01: What's maybe a mental habit or two that can help a coach stay kind of steady and energized over a long season or a long school year in general?
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's such a good question.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'll share a quick analogy.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know how many of you on here have um kids.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I have two very young kids currently, and this is timely because we're about to hop on a plane tomorrow morning as a family.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: And uh we've flown before with them, but you know, those that have flown with kids know that flight attendants often are very deliberate to come up to you when you're traveling with kids to remind you to like put your uh oxygen mask on before assisting with your kids.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I think we've all heard that phrase uh many times.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: I think we've all um, you know, I think inherently understand how that ties into leadership, how that ties into coaching.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: What I've come to realize is that um coaches, though, are so selfless in many ways, and we pour so much into everyone else that we default to like, no, we're gonna put everyone else's oxygen mask on first.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: And they don't always have a system for themselves, they don't always have someone that can help them.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I had this conversation with a coach recently, I shared this the same analogy, and I told him inevitably there's gonna come a moment where you should put your oxygen mask on and take care of your time, your energy, your attention, and so forth, and you still choose to give it to someone else.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_00: So when that cut when that happens, my invitation to you is know who in your life will put your oxygen mask on for you and give them permission to do so.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: Whether that is a loved one, whether that's an assistant coach on your team or a coach on someone else on your staff, whether it's your athletic director, whether it's um, you know, you work with a coach on the outside, like whoever it is, like finding that person that can just remind us sometimes, because it's like players, like when we're in the pressure cooker, we get so fixated on doing our job that we sometimes don't have the perspective to realize that maybe we're drowning or that maybe that we're struggling more than we need to.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: But one thing I know for a fact is that a better you will create a better environment for them.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so um, to me, I think it's actually one of the more undervalued um or undervalued forms of player development is making sure that you're investing in yourself as a coach first.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_01: And Zach, how can someone work with you or consume some of your content?
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_01: What's the the best way to connect with you?
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, so I have a couple of ways.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_00: One, just like in terms of like free content that I like, like I try to share a lot of these types of principles and ideas and stories a lot.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to have a podcast that's called Win More, Live Better.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so during the week I share kind of short form stories, principles and so forth, kind of with my own voice and perspective.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: And then um, usually every other week or so I'll I'll interview a coach or a thought leader, somebody kind of, and we tie it into coaching.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's a very geared towards coaching um themselves, like for coaches themselves, and or things you can use with your players.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_00: So that's one.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um I do have a newsletter, it's called Winning with Words.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, winning with Words that you can find um online too.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so that's one if you like these stories and concepts to kind of share some of those on a on a weekly basis uh in that medium.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: And then I have some other um resources as far as like, you know, if coaches ever want to talk more individually and kind of like I think coaches have a lot of game plans for everybody else, but they don't always have a game plan for themselves.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: So if that's something you ever want to uh riff on or jam on or have somebody uh to assist with, I'm uh I offer like kind of a free call where we can kind of discuss that and then have some other um resources too.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_01: So we got the podcast, we got the newsletter.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a subscriber to both.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then yeah, you can reach out to Zach directly if you want to work with him or um look at more of his offerings.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_01: That would be awesome.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_01: Zach, if we just do a couple quick rapid fire type of things here.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, of course.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_01: But is there one mistake coaches make around mindset that you would love for them to maybe potentially shift?
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: This is a little bit of a soapbox, uh, so I'll try to keep it very brief.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I think this goes hand in hand with the and piece of it is um make sure that you you allow players to like feel those emotions.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, so like we use we like to use the term like players should be fearless.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_00: Again, I know professional baseball players, Olympians, and so forth, that like they have fear, they have doubt, and they're still extremely good at what they do.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: In a lot of ways, it drives them.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_00: I think what you often need is a better relationship with your fear, better relationship with your self-doubt.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: And so, um, so I think being just careful to like sometimes use that language can sometimes signal to people that like, oh, I can't feel this.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: And then if they do feel it, they think, well, then something's wrong, or that I'm effed up, or that I'm like, now I I can't perform.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like, so I think you just some sometimes you have to be a little mindful of of your language and then help them again, then take more productive action from there.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_01: One habit you would hope every team should integrate into their season.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: I've had a lot of coaches reference the importance of deliberately carving out space for connection.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I think in an era where, you know, it's I see this all the time.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_00: I've seen this for years now in the big leagues where like the game ends, and guys instead of spending time with another one another and hanging out and like cracking beers and all those things, and not to say that those are always the healthiest forms of recovery, but like the social component has been like neglected because people just go to their phones.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I think again, with kind of the the acceleration of technology in a lot of different spaces right now, I think that need and and desire that like innate need and uh desire for human connection matters.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so I think one, as a coach, like you deliberately carving out time to make sure that you're you're building that because I don't think you can delegate relationships.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like you can't just say, hey, the rest of the staff, like you all go take care of that, I'll take care of this over here.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like that just doesn't work well.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so um and then I think creating space for the players uh as well to kind of come together.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_01: Zach, I've already kind of asked the similar question a few different ways, but I'm gonna ask it as the last question.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, if a coach walks away from listening to this um or watching this, and they implement just one thing, what would you love them to do?
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_01: What's that one thing that would be most impactful for the entire team?
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's like when we talk about development, again, um I just think this is kind of a broad answer, but like I think the coach and leaders development needs to happen alongside the players.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_00: I've seen for years, like in different aspects, this wasn't just in professional baseball, this has been in other settings where um they, you know, season ends, player has their sit-down, end-of-the-year exit meeting.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: They talk about, hey, we need you to be better, XYZ here.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_00: And then they're expected to show up in a few months and be better in those particular areas.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: But what does that look like for us as coaches?
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_00: What does that look like for us as leaders?
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_00: And how are we trying to also kind of grow um alongside?
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_00: So I think I think the bid like the biggest thing for me is like one, you should have a system, which many of you are you're already on here, like doing um for your players to grow, but also make sure you have one for yourself.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_00: But I I probably am again preaching to the choir because if if again, if we've got a couple dozen people on here um who are uh you know taking their time to like have like listen in and tune in and see if they can maybe learn something, uh we we that's a good sign.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I think more coaches um just simply doing that, it'll help in all facets, yourself and your players.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Zach, thank you for the insights and your time today.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_01: Since we're only a couple hours away from each other, we'll have to meet up one of these days.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_00: Let's do it.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_00: No, thanks for the invitation, Matt.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_00: I think what y'all are doing here is is awesome and really cool.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, yeah, if there's any questions or things like that, I'm I'm a very open book.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_00: So if there's things that I can share, pass along, resources and things like please please don't uh please don't hesitate to to reach out.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_01: And you've got one additional podcast subscriber.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_01: It's a good one.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_01: Michael's an awesome coach up in Colorado.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_01: So all right, guys.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_01: Zach, thank you.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Zach.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, thank you all.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, it's Matt.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for listening.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_01: This conversation that you just heard originally happened inside of Momentum Sessions, a free community for coaches who take culture seriously.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_01: If you'd like to hear the full conversation, join future calls, ask questions live, and connect with other coaches working on culture and leadership, visit Momentum Teams dot com slash sessions.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_01: We'll see you there.