January 10, 2024 • 41 mins
On this episode, we welcome coaching legend Becky Burleigh, renowned for her unparalleled 31-year coaching career, including a remarkable 27-year tenure as head coach at the University of Florida women’s soccer team.
Coach Burleigh shares her extensive insights into high-performance coaching, leadership strategies, and the game-changing moments that shaped her remarkable career. Don’t miss this engaging discussion packed with invaluable advice and anecdotes from one of the most influential figures in college soccer coaching. (8’)
Episode Links:
Learn more about What Drives Winning – https://whatdriveswinning.com/
Visit the What Drives Winning on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WhatDrivesWinning
Visit United Soccer Coaches Convention at https://unitedsoccercoachesconvention.org/
Join United Soccer Coaches - https://form.jotform.com/80245641719155
Learn more about United Soccer Coaches with guest Amanda Evans on WWFShow episode 223 – https://wwfshow.com/2023/12/25/episode-223-amanda-evans-gisele-thompson-angela-hucles-mangano/
More WWFShow Links:
Follow Women’s World Football Show on Facebook, Instagram, and our blog at wwfshowblog.com.
Listen to Women’s World Football Show on Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, Spreaker, TuneIn Radio, Google Play, Castbox, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and direct from our website at www.WWFShow.com.
Original Broadcast Date: January 9, 2024
Women’s World Football Show is hosted, written, edited, and produced by Patty La Bella.
Additional assistance for this episode by Becky Burleigh.
Women’s World Football Show website design and theme music by Patricia La Bella
Women’s World Football Show® is a registered trademark and its audio and logo cannot be used without expressed written authorization.
Coach Burleigh shares her extensive insights into high-performance coaching, leadership strategies, and the game-changing moments that shaped her remarkable career. Don’t miss this engaging discussion packed with invaluable advice and anecdotes from one of the most influential figures in college soccer coaching. (8’)
Episode Links:
Learn more about What Drives Winning – https://whatdriveswinning.com/
Visit the What Drives Winning on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WhatDrivesWinning
Visit United Soccer Coaches Convention at https://unitedsoccercoachesconvention.org/
Join United Soccer Coaches - https://form.jotform.com/80245641719155
Learn more about United Soccer Coaches with guest Amanda Evans on WWFShow episode 223 – https://wwfshow.com/2023/12/25/episode-223-amanda-evans-gisele-thompson-angela-hucles-mangano/
More WWFShow Links:
Follow Women’s World Football Show on Facebook, Instagram, and our blog at wwfshowblog.com.
Listen to Women’s World Football Show on Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, Spreaker, TuneIn Radio, Google Play, Castbox, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and direct from our website at www.WWFShow.com.
Original Broadcast Date: January 9, 2024
Women’s World Football Show is hosted, written, edited, and produced by Patty La Bella.
Additional assistance for this episode by Becky Burleigh.
Women’s World Football Show website design and theme music by Patricia La Bella
Women’s World Football Show® is a registered trademark and its audio and logo cannot be used without expressed written authorization.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:09):
Hey, everyone, Welcome to episodetwo hundred and twenty four of Women's World
Football Show. I'm so happy you'rehere. I'm your host, Patti Labella.
How you doing. I hope yourNew Year's shaping up great so far.
I hope it's going awesome. Andyou still have a few New Year's
resolutions left. You haven't left themon the wayside just yet. You know,
I can't do resolutions. I justfeel like I just have too much
(00:32):
going on, right, I'm sureyou know what I mean. Just too
much. We got work, we'vegot family, kids, pets, hobbies,
soccer of course, and then yougot to put a resolution on top
of all that. Just too much, too much for me. Oh and
also listening to our favorite podcasts.Got to put that on our list too.
And on this episode, I'm tellingyou, it's moments like this that
(00:55):
I mean, if I ever wonderabout you know why after over a decade
of doing this podcast, I stilldo it. Sometimes it kind of creeps
into my head, like why amI still doing this? It's episodes like
this one that puts it all intoperspective for me, puts all those questions
behind. Because on this episode,we have a legend of the sport,
former head coach of University of Florida, the legendary coach Becky Burley, is
(01:19):
here. I can't even form wordsin my mouth to describe how excited and
honored I am to have her on. I mean, just an amazing accumulation
of success from one of the bestcollegiate coaches in this country. So just
an amazing, amazing honor to haveher here. And if you're not from
(01:42):
the States, or you don't followcollege sports here in the US, maybe
you don't know coach Burley, butyou're going to get so much from this
interview. People pay money to hearsome of the incredible advice and stories and
all that she has to share andall the knowledge that she has as just
from the wisdom of coach Burley.I mean, she has over thirty one
(02:05):
years of head coaching experience under herbelt, and even though she's retired from
collegiate coaching, she's still coaching onanother level. She's teaching in the classroom
at University of Florida and also teachingfrom the podium with her organization What Drives
Winning. So I mean, it'sjust an incredible honor to have her here.
If you've been listening to this showfor any amount of time, you
(02:27):
know that I have a secret wishlist, a secret guest wish list that
I keep in my back pocket Idip into every now and then, and
Coach Burley has been on that listfor years. So to have her here
just the dream come true. Andonce you hear from her, you'll know
why. You'll know why. Andlike I always say, it's all about
timing, like the perfect timing tohave these like great guests on. And
(02:51):
I think that right now is agreat time to hear from Coach Burley,
especially as we're on this like kindof precipice of change in coaching, and
she has boys, she has somegreat advice and great nuggets I guess to
take with with us, not justin the coaching realm. Obviously, if
you're a young coach, or you'rea coach, or you want to be
a coach, you want to hearthis interview, You're going to get so
(03:14):
much out of it. But justliving day to day, just living in
a working in a workplace and thingslike that. I mean, just there's
just so much to take from CoachBurley, So so so excited to share
this interview with you. I mean, just the dream come true. But
before we hear from the coach,there are some notable happenings going on in
the world women's soccer, So let'sjust go over a few and then we'll
(03:36):
introduce coach Becky Burley. But didyou hear did you hear about Sam Kerr
brutal the Aussie star injured RACL duringChelsea warm Weather training camp or Morocco.
Devastating, just devastating. I meanthat's going to keep her off the pitch
for probably the rest of the WSLseason, depending on how bad the ACL
(03:58):
injury is. I mean it couldkeeper out of the game for at least
six months. So that affects,you know, like I said, the
Chelsea women FC, it affects theMatilda's and the Olympics. I mean just
so much art and we're just sendingout good wishes and positive vibes for Sam
Kerr. As we know, shesigned with Chelsea FC back in twenty nineteen,
has gone on to score ninety ninegoals and one hundred and twenty eight
(04:21):
matches. She's also, of course, played a pivotal role in four WSL
title wins three FA Cup wins,two Women's League Cup victories. I mean
just goes on and on the Women'sCommunity Shield in twenty twenty so a big
part of Chelsea. Also, likeI said, a big, big blow
to the Matilda's as they head intothe Olympics this summer, so sending out
(04:44):
our good wishes and in Sam CRU'sabsence, the Blues will likely turn to
two American forwards. Recent US nationalteam youngster me Offischal has signed with Chelsea,
of course, she's been cursed backupand Kat Maccario signed with the club
this past summer. And Kat Maccarioshe's just returning from suffering her own ACL
(05:04):
injuries, but she's in training nowwith Chelsea running again, so that's great
news. So I have to keepan eye on how this affects the club.
Plus remember they lost their head coachEma Hayes in twenty twenty four to
the US women's national team as well, So we'll keep an eye as always
on the WSL this season, whichis heading into week eleven of the twenty
(05:25):
three to twenty four season as we'rerecording this, so a lot of stuff
going on. There's also a rumorI don't know if you've heard of this,
and maybe as of this recording,it'll be a done deal. But
there's also a rumor that us WM'snational team defender Emily Fox will be signing
with Arsenal. It's a little rumorgoing on. I think it's I think
it's a done deal, though nothinglike I said, has been released as
of this recording. But usually youknow, when the team accidentally blips the
(05:51):
picture of somebody who might look likeEmily Fox on an led screen and they
quickly take it down. I thinkthat that's probably a Dundale NWSL champions Gotham
FC, have you heard of Imean, I'm sure you've been paying attention
to this. They've been busy thisholiday season. They signed, of course,
(06:12):
four World Cup champions US WM's nationalteam players, Crystal Dunn, Tieranna
Davidson, Rose Level and Emily's Sonnetall signed with Gotham FC. Big moves,
all right, really big moves.But I don't know. We always
say, you know, you canalways you can pack your team with big
names, but doesn't always mean thechemistry is there. There's a mesh,
right. I guess it helps thatthey all play together on the US woman's
(06:35):
national team. But still, youknow, I don't know. We'll see
how how it plays out. I'msure Laura Harvey is in her lair right
now, rubbing her hands together,saying, we'll see you this summer,
Gotham when half of your team isat the Olympics. I don't I don't
know. I don't know, justsaying that Laura Harvey lost two big players,
(06:56):
actually lost three with Megan Rapino,but likes s she'll be I don't
know. We'll see what happens duringthe nw CELL college Draft and and see
if Laura Laura Harvey sometimes doesn't reallystep up in the college draft, she's
traded in her drafts away. Imean, she's more of a bringing the
tired and true type of players.But we'll see. Uh if Gotham is
(07:17):
on the right track picking her pocketbecause like I said, summertime Olympics,
half the team's going to be gone. Maybe interesting. Hey, Also,
since we're talking about college players inEngland and all and the NWSL college Draft,
big congratulations to ony Atcighini for winningthe mac Harmon Trophy. The English
(07:42):
native Ocighini, of course, playsfor or played for a Florida state University
a big part of their NCAA championshiprun, and she recently signed with Juventus
in Italy, so won't see herat the NWSL College Draft, but we
will keep an eye on her overthere in Syria. And by the way,
I'll be at the NWSL College Draft, so stay tuned for that.
(08:03):
It's on January twelfth, and I'llbe getting a lot of interviews and be
doing some tiktoks and Instagram stories andthings like that, So I make sure
you check in on January twelfth andafter, and of course we'll have interviews
on our next show. But I'mspeaking of college soccer and Florida FSU,
(08:24):
not to be confused with University ofFlorida. Let's not do that. Let's
do it. Let's get into ourfeatured guest, the legendary, the incomparable
head coach of University of Florida.A former head coach I should say,
Becky Burley. Now, for thoseof you who may not be familiar with
Coach Burley, she spent about thirtyone seasons coaching collegiately, starting at a
(08:46):
small college called Barry College in Georgiaat only twenty one years old, and
during her five year coaching tenure atBarry, coach Burley guided the Lady Fury
to two NAIA National Championship Not tooshabby for a kid in her early twenties.
She then spent twenty seven seasons atthe helm of the University of Florida
(09:07):
soccer team. Really built that programup from nothing. Coach Burley led the
Gators to an NCUBA Championship, fourteensouth Western Conference titles, twenty two nc
DOUBLEA Championship berths, and just oneof only two females only one in the
D one in NCUBA soccer history.With five hundred career wins, Coach Burley
(09:31):
finished her thirty one season coaching careerin the top ten on two nc DOUBLEA
Division one winning his coaches charts numberfour with five hundred and thirteen wins and
number eight with seventy four point fivepercent winning percentage. Not too shabby.
And if you're, like I said, if you're a young coach, or
you're a coach, or you wantto be a coach, your ears want
a perk up in this interview becauseshe's got a lot of knowledge, a
(09:54):
lot of experience to share with us, and she does. I mean's just
amazing. No. So if youfollow the NWSL, you might know Becky
Burley because she became an interim headcoach for Orlando Pride from July through December
of twenty twenty one before retiring fromcoaching to work full time for What Drives
Winning with her business partner, BredLedbetter, And she talks a little bit
(10:16):
about that. Just an amazing organization. She now works as a Professor of
Practice at the University of Florida,teaching the What Drives Winning classes and high
performance coaching, and works also asa consultant to professional and collegiate teams of
all sports. And just just anamazing person. And you know, I'm
always a little intimidated by coaches,but Coach Burley put me at ease.
(10:39):
She's so easy to talk to,so generous with her information and knowledge.
So let's do it. One ofthe winningest coaches in collegiate sports. Please
welcome Coach Becky Burley. Hey,coach, welcome to the show. Thank
you for taking the time today.I know that you're super busy as you're
gearing up for the upcoming United Soccercoach is convinced as we're recording this so
(11:01):
I really appreciate you taking the timetoday. Yeah, it's gonna be a
fun week out in Anaheim. I'mlooking forward to it. Well, we're
looking forward to having you. I'mout here in southern California already. I'll
tell you it's a it's a prettycool sixty three degrees, so you might
have to wear a sweater or somethingwith your sunscreen. Hey, it's better
than most of the conventions where you'rewearing a big coat. Well as one
(11:24):
of the winningest coaches in college soccer, I mean, in college sports.
Actually, it's such a huge honorto have you here and I have more
than a few questions for you.But before we get into all that,
as we all know, you've beenretired from college coaching for the past few
years, but still very involved inthe coaching community and using your skills to
help the next generation of leaders witha program called What Drives Winning. Can
(11:46):
you tell us a little bit aboutwhat drives Winning, what it is,
what your role is in the program, and also how our listeners can get
involved as well. Sure. Well, Actually, what Guys Winning came about
kind of serendipitously. My business partner, Brett Ledbetter, is a basketball person,
so I don't think we would haveever crossed paths, except that I
was listening to Daniel Coyle speak inNew York City, who wrote he wrote
(12:09):
the Talent Code, the Culture Code, and afterwards I went up to him
and said, Hey, you know, we'd love to have you in Gainesville
if you're ever in this neck ofthe woods. Well, I think he
lives in Alaska, so I'm notsure if it's a really realistic request,
but you never know. And sohe said, well, I was actually
just there a few weeks ago,and I was like what. So he
(12:30):
knew someone on Billy Donovan's staff.Billy Donohan was the basketball coach at Florida
during my time there, and Icalled it was Mark Dagnalt. I called
Mark when I got back to Gainesvillebecause I wasn't that familiar with Mark.
And now Mark is the head coachof the Oklahoma City Thunder and he introduced
me to Brett Ledbetter and so that'skind of how it all went down.
(12:52):
It was kind of crazy, andthe one drives winning. I mean,
really, how we started this waslike, how could we take a conversation
that we were having at the Universityof Florida with all of our head coaches,
how could we take that on anational level and have conversations about something
besides the ex's and o's because we'reall coaching people and there were so many
overlaps on the things that we're gettingin the way of teams and were challenges
(13:16):
for coaches, and they were allon that human related side. And so
we started having an annual conference,and so Brett and I co founded the
conference together. Didn't really know whatwe were doing when we started, but
it seemed to really strike a nervewith a lot of people in terms of
their desire to have conversations about thatkind of stuff. And then it sort
of just took off from there.And so now we do some consulting,
(13:39):
We do a lot of social mediaposts, and basically just tried to give
people resources that, you know,for example, like I might not have
had when I started my coaching career. Yeah, and I really encourage everybody
to go to the website and checkit out too. I was looking at
the other night and just like somany great coaches involved, and just the
wealth of information I think just foranybody, not just coaches. That's true.
(14:03):
I mean we get a lot ofpeople involved in business and military and
education that are interested in this contenttoo, And it's so simple. I
mean, it's really about how youmanage people, and that's what we're all
doing. And you know, youcan find all that stuff on YouTube.
It's just a what Chrise winning channel, or you can find it at what
drives Winning combo on x or whattries Winning on any of the other social
(14:26):
platforms. Great, well, we'llhave all that on our show notes.
You know, all the links tothat, so people can find you guys
pretty easily. It's so awesome becauseyou have such a wealth of knowledge and
you're still coaching on another level.When you decided to retire from college coaching,
I mean, because it was sucha big part of your life for
so many years, did you havean idea of what that next phase of
your life would look like? Youknow, I had been working with Brett
(14:50):
a little bit because he was workingwith my team and then we were running
a head coach's collaboration at Florida,and so I always envisioned that that could
be something that I could, youknow, potentially move into and help Brett
with because I mean, he's really, really, really good consultant and gets
more requests that he can ever fulfill, and so it sort of wound up
(15:13):
that you know, I could takeon some of that and it's just been
a really great partnership ever since.Yeah, well, I mean great for
everybody involved. I think, because, like I said, you have a
twenty seven year career, and Imean, I'm sure, just like I
said, a wealth of knowledge whenyou look back on your career on those
all those years, How has youror how had your coaching philosophy changed or
(15:35):
evolved through those years? And alsowhat philosophies remain the same it was always
constant. You know. That's areally good question because I think right now,
in particular, coaching has evolved somuch, like so rapidly even in
just the last you know, twoor three years, that if you don't
evolve, it's really hard to stayrelevant in that field. And so I
(15:58):
think there's always the ability to,like, how do you relate to the
people you coach, because I'm notgetting any younger and they are the same
age coming into college, and sothat gap just kept getting bigger and bigger,
and clearly I had to be authentic. You know. It's not like
I need to be like some TikTokhipster, but at the same time I
(16:19):
had to understand it like that's whereTikTok was, where they were getting a
lot of their information or the mechanicsof how TikTok kept their attention or Snapchat
or Instagram or whatever. And soit was kind of like more trying to
continue to be able to relate tothe modern athlete, but then stick to
(16:40):
some of the principles that are justyou know, tried and true, like
how you build your character and howthat impacts you both on and off the
field. That's so interesting that yousay that, because I always think that,
like, especially coaching at a highlevel on high level college coach,
how did you navigate that balance betweenlike the coaching game and then also coaching
(17:02):
that character development as well, becausethat's a big part right of what you
did well. You know, Ithink sometimes the game is the better teacher
than even me or anybody else.I mean, it lends itself to being
put into situations where you have todecide how you're going to respond, and
so it's almost just like it's thegreatest teacher. It's like, let the
game teach those situations that come up, you know, like is that your
(17:23):
best self? How you responded ifit's not, like what could be better
for you? And how can Ipartner with you to help you get there?
And that's where I think that partof like collaborating with this generation of
athletes is really important too. Andeven for me as a coach. I
mean when I was coached, nobodyreally asked my opinion. You know,
(17:45):
it was a lot of telling.But that's that's just what coaching was at
that time, you know. Andnow I think being a collaborator is a
really valuable skill in coaching and findingways that you can still hold people accountable,
but with love and with support asopposed to, you know, get
on the line, because that justdoesn't work anymore. And not only does
(18:07):
it not work anymore, I meansome people get fired for things they go
over the line, and so it'sit's definitely trying to evolve, but stay
true to the things that you knowwork. Yeah, being a collaborator.
That's so interesting is that like kindof the biggest advice that you give to
like young coaches today. You knowthat it's such a hard thing to advise
(18:29):
people because I feel like you know, I've had this debate with Anson Dorn's
Forever, the UNC soccer coach.He talks about like, the first ten
years of your career, you're justtrying to prove yourself and so to collaborate
is hard because you're still trying tojust prove to people that you actually know
what you're doing. And we've beenThe debate we've had is like, how
do we speak that up to whereyou don't have to spend so much time
trying to prove yourself and you canstart to spend time on the things that
(18:52):
later in your career you realize mattersso much more. But it's it is
a challenge because it's like, howhow do you become collaborative And again,
at the same time, you knowyou're not slack, You're not having you
know, it's you can still havestandards for your team. You can still
hold people to standards, but howdo you do that in a way almost
(19:15):
like that they want to do itinstead of they have to do it.
We're kind of at an interesting timein coaching, aren't we. Do you
feel that that is the under statementof the year right there? I think
back. I think back, likewhen you came into coaching, right,
you were young. I mean youwere coaching kids that were your age right
(19:36):
or are older. And I recommendthat, yeah, I don't recommend that.
That's what I'm wondering. I'm wonderingif like that can even be a
thing today. But here's what's sointeresting about that, you know, And
I honestly, this was not Thiswas not something I planned. I certainly
didn't even recognize it until much laterin my career. But because I started
being a head coach so young.I was twenty one when I first started
(19:57):
coaching at Fairy College. They weregood already. They had won the national
championship, the NAI National championship twoyears before I got there. And so
then they hired this twenty one yearold coach. And I'm sure you've got
to think that some of those playersare like seriously, and so I knew
not by any like because I'm sosmart, but more just for survival.
I'm like, all right, Igot to find a way to add value
(20:18):
to these players because I don't haveany positional power here. I'm I had
four players on that team that wereolder than me, so like it was
more about serving, it was moreabout adding value and helping them and influencing
behavior as opposed to you know,setting the line and saying these are our
rules and this is it. Youknow, it had to become more collaborative.
(20:41):
Well what came of that is fiveyears later I moved to Florida,
and so now I'm thinking, youknow, I've got a little bit of
credibility to Anson's point. You know, we've won two NAI national championships at
this point, so I feel likeI kind of know what I'm doing.
But now I'm at Florida and it'slike a whole different thing. Like,
i mean, the spotlight is bright. All the coaches there are freaking amazing.
(21:04):
Like I'm sitting in coaches meeting andI'm looking like Hall of Fame there,
Hall of Fame. They're like,these people are amazing. And so
again like now I'm recruiting a differenttype player. You know, I'm recruiting
Abby Wambach. I have Daniel Fatapolis, who's the nation's leading scorer on my
team. You know, like allthese players Heather Mits who played on a
national team are coming through this program. And so again, even though now
(21:26):
I'm five years in, I'm onlytwenty six at this point, and so
I still don't really have that positionalpower. And so again, like I
just continued and continued and continued toget reps at this coaching through influence as
opposed to power. And I thinkthat really set the tone for my entire
career without me even knowing it.Wow. And so like when you think
(21:48):
back about mentorship, I think justby you talking like Anson was probably a
big mentor for you, is mentorshipand coaching? Like how is that even
coachable? I mean, is thatsomething you can teach? Or do you
just become a mentor organically through yourexperience? You know? I think it's
interesting that even like the word mentor, it kind of for me And maybe
(22:10):
this is just me, it likesort of implies like this hierarchy. And
I think what I've found works sowell is like having a thinking partner,
someone who can challenge you, butat the same time, like someone that
you can feel like you can bevulnerable in front of. And that's I've
been so lucky in my career.You know. When I went to Barry,
(22:32):
I think all those coaches they werelike, oh man, she's really
young, She's gonna do a lotof help. So they were they were
more than willing to write. Andthen I get to Florida and the Florida
coaches are like, oh boy,like we don't we don't even have a
program at Flora. She's gonna startall that by herself. And then she's
really young and so like, itforced me to be comfortable with asking people
(22:52):
for help because there was no otherchoice. And I think again, like,
without really knowing it, it settone for me to never really be
afraid to ask questions and to havepeople help me. I've had our tennis
coach sit on my bench during agame and give me feedback. I've had,
you know, the volleyball coach MaryWise, who's like the winningest coach
(23:14):
in America. Like she's two doorsdown for me, and so like running
scenarios through her, like hey,what did you do when this happened with
you with a player? And Imean all of that was just so valuable
to my development and it made mecollaborative not only with my team but with
other coaches. And I think thatreally set the framework for me to be
able to move into this space,to be able to work with other coaches.
(23:37):
Yeah. Wow, what a greatlesson for people listening because to ask
questions is so intimidating, Like youcould have been so intimidated, like you
know what, I'm going to tryto figure this out by myself. But
the fact that you ask questions,and then on top of it, the
people that you were asking, we'reprobably more interested in helping you because you
made that step to ask them.I just think it's a great lesson for
(23:59):
learning. I know a lot ofus get really intimidated. We don't want
to ask, especially when you're amongstcoaches. They can be kind of intimating
sometimes well, and I will tellyou that most people don't say no like
when you ask people. I mean, you know, Okay, let's go
back to Anson for a second,because you know Anson would say I am
like the only opponent of his thatlikes him. I don't think that's true,
but he always says that. Butthe reason I like Anson and respect
(24:23):
him, I mean, he kickedour ass a lot. But the reason
I respect and like him is becauseyou know, here I am, I
remember being a player, not evena coach hit and I am at a
D three Methodist college in Fantvielle,North Carolina. And he's got this massive
unc soccer camp with all these WorldCup players acting as counselors, and I'm
(24:45):
on one of them, and wehave these camp games at night and I
am like scared shitless because I'm playingwith like Carla Worden Overbeck is like my
center back partner, and I'm like, oh my god, like and so
just his willingness to like let peoplein and to you know, like if
(25:06):
you called him and said, hey, can I come watch a practice?
He would say yes to someone likeme who there's no reason for him to
say yes to, like there's nothingI can do in return for him.
And I think that really showed mea pattern of what it looks like to
kind of pay the sport back.That's so awesome you guys are you guys
are part of a generation that's likeI mean, I think the legendary is
(25:30):
probably the only word that comes tomind when I think about you guys.
I'll switch gears a little bit totalk about Soccer Coaches Conventions coming up.
You continue to return to the conventionevery year. I think it's like your
thirty second time at the convention.What do you like about the convention in
and of itself? On why doyou think it's important for coaches of all
levels really to attend, you know. I think that was really drilled into
(25:52):
be by my college coach. Mycollege coach was Joe Pereira. Joe's college
coach was Hank Steinbrusher. Hank steinberschSure was the head of the United Soccer
Coaches as well as the head ofUS Soccer. You know, I can
remember like going to the convention andJoe introducing me to Hank and you know,
here, I am like really starstruckbecause this guy's like running our national
(26:14):
team, and and I just thinkI saw like the opportunity to sort of
learn from a bunch of different peoplewho I would never have exposure to normally
because they live in different parts ofthe country, or because there's just you
know, maybe it's on the men'sside, and I didn't have access to
the men's coaches, And so Ithink early early, early on in my
(26:36):
career, like it was like anhonor for us to feel like going to
the convention was going to give youthat opportunity to meet and mingle with so
many people that you would never getto meet with. It's gonna be my
first time at the convention, soI'm looking so forward to it. We're
gonna have a table on media row, so hopefully if I if you see
this some crazy lady white waving atyou, you'll know we definitely the meeting
(27:00):
person. And of course you'll bepresenting at the convention. What's one of
the key takeaways or messages that youhope that every coach leaves after attending one
of your presentations. You know,if I had to pick just one thing
which gets really challenging, I wouldjust say that willingness to be a question
asker instead of a teller. Ijust think the days of coaches being tellers
(27:22):
are a little bit over. Andnot to say that you know, of
course, like when you're coaching ina game, you're not going to ask
a player, So do you thinkyou should do this or that? You
know, like there are times togive instruction, But I do think,
especially as as it opposes to leadershipdevelopment, that is a really important space
to help people coach themselves instead ofjust telling them what to do. Because
(27:48):
ultimately, if someone coaches themselves,there's going to be buy in because it's
their idea, but it's also goingto really gain confidence in themselves because they
put together the idea and they followedthrough on that and then they're like,
wow, like this is pretty good, or maybe it doesn't work and they're
like, Okay, this is oneway I know now that I can try
something different to see if that works. But I think like coaching yourself is
(28:14):
really really important. How you talkto yourself, how you process things that
you do well, how you processthings that you know maybe are considered failures
by the outside. Like all thosethings, like becoming a better inner coach
would be like the thing that Iwould want people to take away the most.
It's so exciting to to just thinkabout that next stage of coaching or
(28:34):
this next I guess, the nextgeneration of coaches coming in, because it's
a lot different than when I wasa kid. You know, it's hard
being you know, coached and yelledat constantly and picked on constantly by coaches.
Those days hopefully are gone and justthis change I guess that we're at
right now as far as coaching goes, it's exciting. It's fun you know,
(28:56):
it's funny because if you ask peopleabout like what you were just describing,
like maybe a moment that didn't goas well for them when they were
a kid playing like everybody can comeup with that, even if it was
fifty years ago, they can comeup with it. You know. I
recall I was playing on my veryfirst youth team and we all had to
rotate in goal, and so Ididn't want to rotating goal, but it
(29:18):
was part of the deal, andit was it was came down to the
last game was my chance, andit was the second half. And in
the first half we were just allover them. There weren't even any shots
on goal. And so I said, said the coach, I'm like,
I don't really want to play ingoal because there's nothing happening down there.
And so of course it didn't matter. I had to take my chance,
my turning goal. And then weended up losing one nothing, okay,
(29:42):
And as we were getting our likesecond place medals from this coach who I
adore by the way, he says, it got exciting, didn't it.
And I'll never forget that because itwas like, you know, he didn't
yell at me or anything like that, but just like the idea of like
how those kind of moments stick withyou so many years after the fact,
(30:03):
and certainly when you have something maybemore traumatic than that because that was not
traumatic. It can really make adifference on someone's self confidence or the voice
that they use to coach themselves,all of that. And I'm really aware
of that and hope that I cancontribute to a positive voice in the players
that I coach. Yeah, forsure. I mean for many of us,
(30:26):
it's traumatic or just like embarrassing towhere you just remember it for the
rest. Like you said, likefifty years, I still remember running laps
just because I was so horrible.I just had to run laps all the
time, and they got to thepoint where I just stopped running and just
was kicking rocks. You know.I was just like, I guess I'm
not, you know, cut outfor this, But I mean yeah,
I mean they it kind of setsat precedence in your head of what you
(30:47):
can and cannot do, and sothe fact that they're coaching is changing today.
It's just it's really exciting. Ihope you write a book. I'm
waiting for the Becky Burley book.He's written five and they're amazing. Like
the one that we have about nowis really one of my favorites. It's
all it's called question based leadership.And it's all about what we're just talking
(31:10):
about. It's a book fifty twoquestions that like tools that you can start
a conversation for leadership with with withyour athlete and or whoever you lead.
It doesn't have to be an athlete. But it's like, it's crazy to
me, Like what it unlocks whenyou start asking questions? Yeah, and
you know, that's actually something that'son my to do list to make myself
(31:32):
better is to ask better questions,not just like interview questions, but just
in life in general, because sometimeswe get ahead of ourselves. So like
oh, yeah, yeah, Iknow what you're talking about, and you
go and do it when you reallydon't, You know, are there's so
much more you can learn. It'sso interesting that you say that, because
I teach all of Brent's books areclasses at the University of Florida, and
the Master's program is an online highperformance coaching program, and so we actually
(31:56):
teach the art of asking better questionsin the class. And it's it's just
not a skill that comes naturally tomost people because that's again not how we
were coached or led. And sobut what's cool to see is over the
course of a semester. With practice, people get way better. It is
just the intentionality of, Okay,how do I ask a question and then
(32:19):
stay out of the way, like, don't share my own experiences, don't
judge the person's answer. How doI just allow them to take it where
they want to take it, andthen me sort of continue to ask them
more questions based on their answer withouthaving a planned question. And that's what
scares people the most, is likethe ability to sort of be on the
fly with your questions. But ifyou're an intentional listener, that's not as
(32:43):
hard as you think, right,right, It's a habit, right,
that you have to get into becausesometimes you just forget, oh yeah,
I should ask you a question.Well, that's so rewarding. And that's
on my books on my reading list, and we'll also have a link to
that so people can get on thewebsite and buy it. Personally, Becky
Burley, what drives you personally tocontinue? I'm just to continue to stay
(33:07):
involved in the coaching community and theteaching community, you know, whether it's
through what drives winning or through theUnited Soccer coaches or whatever you're doing.
Why do you feel that that drawI guess. You know, I think
I think a lot of it isbecause I really feel like I was very
blessed on my coaching journey, Likedespite the fact that I sort of got
(33:28):
dropped in the deep end that wasthat was a challenge, and I feel
like at every stop I was supernervous. So, for example, when
I became the head coach at BarryCollege at twenty one, I was like,
what the Heck's I just do?And then five years later, I'm
so excited, Like I remember like, oh my god, I've got this
Florida job. And then I'm like, oh my god, I've got this
Colorna job. Okay, and soand then you know, when I when
(33:52):
I retired from Florida, I actuallytook that interim job with the Orlando Pride,
and that Orlando Pride roster was justloaded. That was like Alex Morgan,
Ashlyn Harris, Ali Krieg or MartaSidney the Rue. And so when
I said yes to that, Iwas like, oh, this is sweet,
and then I was like, Igotta actually go coach you. So
(34:12):
I think it's just like feeling likeif I can help someone feel a little
bit more confident or feel a littlebit more ready, or help them be
a good thinking partner to get themin a space where they can coach themselves.
That that is what I had justby accident, but I want to
be intentional about being able to providethat for other people. Oh so important,
(34:37):
And we appreciate you so much.Thank you, coach Burley for so
much, for all the years ofhard work and commitment that you've put into
the sport that you continue to dofor the sport. We really appreciate you
so much for all you do andappreciate you for taking the time to come
out and chat with us. Sothank you. This was amazing. I
can't wait to meet you in Anaheim. Yay, I'll be there. Pure
(35:00):
wow. What a what a greatperson. But I mean we knew she
was a great coach, but Imean such a great person and like I
said, so free with her knowledge, like expanding knowledge. You heard her
right, You just got to keepevolving as a coach. The game is
a teacher. I love that quote. I just there's nothing like it.
So thank you coach Becky Burley fortaking the time. And if you get
(35:22):
a chance to hear her speak,whether it's at the United Soccer Coaches Convention
or on YouTube or on the WhatDrives Winning web page. I'll have all
those links on our show notes.Please do listen to her, I mean
that interview. As much as shegives us in that interview, that's just
the snippet of what she shares anda lot of her speaking engagements and her
(35:45):
presentations, and like I said,on YouTube, so give yourself, do
yourself favor and go and check someof those links out. And I loved,
I loved when she talks about AntsonDorance, of course, head coach
at University of North Carolina, thewinningest collegiate coach right antson Dora. It's
a really great testament, I think, to him because he could have easily
(36:05):
had a chip on his shoulder whenit came to coach Burley, because she
she took a national championship from him, and she recruited Abby Wambach away from
him. I mean, really,if you read Abby's autobiography, she talks
about how she was ready to committo UNC but they were only offering her
a partial scholarship and she felt reallyslighted by that. I mean, so
(36:28):
while she was off kind of miffedat that, and you know. I
mean most players, most high schoolplayers would have taken it, right man,
a partial scholarship to you and cbeing coached by Anson Dorance, one
of the greats, I'll take it, But not Abby because she knew her
potential and she was kind of miffed, like that, why they're only offered
me partial scholarship. And then overin Florida, here's this young whipper snapper
(36:49):
coach Becky Burley, you know,head of the women's soccer program that was
only four years old at the time. She's kind of waving her arms and
saying, hey, Abby, comeover here, be a gaiteror we'll give
you full rights scholarship and you know, you can help build our women's soccer
program here, and you know,and that's what she did. Really.
If read Abby Wombach's autobiography if youhaven't, it's a pretty interesting story of
(37:10):
how she how she chose to goplay for coach Burley at a time when
you know, like I said,that program there at University of Florida was
really new. So what did Abbydo her freshman year at University of Florida.
She helped the team to its firstnational championship against you guessed it Antson
Dorance's unc So it's just amazing thatthey're friends now, Coach Burley and Coach
(37:31):
Dorance, and they've been friends formany years. They've been collaborators. Like
she said, I mean, itshows us number one, what a class
act Antson Dorance is, but alsoCoach Burley for not being intimidated, for
continuing to reach out to Anton Dorrance. And you know, I don't know,
just a great story. I mean, we can learn so much from
that, I think, I mean, just so great. So thanks again,
(37:53):
coach. It's going to be awhile before I come down from that.
Er. Do you think I shouldgo up to her the convention?
Think? I think I will.It seems I mean, she seems super
approachable. I don't know, I'mnot, like I said, I'm always
intimidated by coaches because they're so smart. You know, they're students of the
game. They eat, sleep anddream the game, and always I'm a
(38:15):
little terrified I'm going to say somethingto show what a knucklehead I am.
You know, I don't know.I'm always surprised at how welcoming, especially
soccer coaches are. They're a differentbreed for sure. I hope I see
you at the convention, and ifyou're listening after the convention, still check
out the website United Soccer Coaches Conventiondot org. There's so much going on
(38:37):
throughout the year. The convention ofcourse is the big one, that's the
big event, but they have eventsall over the country, you know,
different times of the year. Soalso if you want to join the United
Soccer Coaches Organization, I'll have thelink on our show notes as well,
so you can go and check thatout. There's tons of resources and other
info that you can benefit from,especially if you are a coach or like
(38:58):
I said, you're hoping to bea coach one day. A lot of
great stuff there. And also,like I said, we'll be talking more
on our next episode about the NWSLCollege Draft, which takes place on January
twelfth. Like I said, I'llbe there getting interviews and pestering, I
mean, asking great questions to playersand coaches. See Coach Burley, I
was listening to you, so staytuned for that on the next episode of
(39:21):
Women's World Football Show. And big, big thanks again to coach Becky Burley
for taking the time out of ourbusy, busy schedule to come and chat
with us. What a great honorand privilege, and so happy to share
that with you. I really hopethat you enjoyed episode two hundred and twenty
four Women's World Football Show. Iwould love to hear your thoughts on my
interview with coach Becky Burley, theLegend. Feel free to email me at
(39:43):
Patty at wwfshaw dot com. Iread all the emails and do my best
to reply, and it's timely matter. If you did enjoy this episode,
subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio app, Google Play, tuned
In, Cashbox, Spreaker, Stitcher, WWFSHA dot com, or wherever you're
listening to this right now. Andif you really really enjoy listening to Women's
World Football Show, one of thebest ways you can show your appreciation is
(40:04):
to give us a five star ratingand leave a review wherever you listen.
I always love to know your thoughts, and reviews are the best ways for
others to find the show. Also, another way to help grow the show
and grow this beautiful game that welove is to tell your friends and family
about Women's World Football Show. Ifyou're listening on a mobile device, swipe
over the cover art and you'll findthe episode notes, including some details you
may have missed. For relative linksfrom this episode, visit our show notes
(40:29):
on wwfshow dot com. Connect withus on Facebook and Instagram at WWF show,
and on TikTok at WWF Show twelve. Women's World Football Show is hosted,
written, edited, and produced byPatti Labellasme additional assistance for this episode
by coach Becky Burley and the UnitedSoccer Coaches. And thank you, especially
you for joining me on this excitingjourney through women's football. Stay strong,
(40:52):
stay mindful, keep love in yourheart, and we'll see you all next
time. Until until she
Hey, everyone, Welcome to episodetwo hundred and twenty four of Women's World
Football Show. I'm so happy you'rehere. I'm your host, Patti Labella.
How you doing. I hope yourNew Year's shaping up great so far.
I hope it's going awesome. Andyou still have a few New Year's
resolutions left. You haven't left themon the wayside just yet. You know,
I can't do resolutions. I justfeel like I just have too much
(00:32):
going on, right, I'm sureyou know what I mean. Just too
much. We got work, we'vegot family, kids, pets, hobbies,
soccer of course, and then yougot to put a resolution on top
of all that. Just too much, too much for me. Oh and
also listening to our favorite podcasts.Got to put that on our list too.
And on this episode, I'm tellingyou, it's moments like this that
(00:55):
I mean, if I ever wonderabout you know why after over a decade
of doing this podcast, I stilldo it. Sometimes it kind of creeps
into my head, like why amI still doing this? It's episodes like
this one that puts it all intoperspective for me, puts all those questions
behind. Because on this episode,we have a legend of the sport,
former head coach of University of Florida, the legendary coach Becky Burley, is
(01:19):
here. I can't even form wordsin my mouth to describe how excited and
honored I am to have her on. I mean, just an amazing accumulation
of success from one of the bestcollegiate coaches in this country. So just
an amazing, amazing honor to haveher here. And if you're not from
(01:42):
the States, or you don't followcollege sports here in the US, maybe
you don't know coach Burley, butyou're going to get so much from this
interview. People pay money to hearsome of the incredible advice and stories and
all that she has to share andall the knowledge that she has as just
from the wisdom of coach Burley.I mean, she has over thirty one
(02:05):
years of head coaching experience under herbelt, and even though she's retired from
collegiate coaching, she's still coaching onanother level. She's teaching in the classroom
at University of Florida and also teachingfrom the podium with her organization What Drives
Winning. So I mean, it'sjust an incredible honor to have her here.
If you've been listening to this showfor any amount of time, you
(02:27):
know that I have a secret wishlist, a secret guest wish list that
I keep in my back pocket Idip into every now and then, and
Coach Burley has been on that listfor years. So to have her here
just the dream come true. Andonce you hear from her, you'll know
why. You'll know why. Andlike I always say, it's all about
timing, like the perfect timing tohave these like great guests on. And
(02:51):
I think that right now is agreat time to hear from Coach Burley,
especially as we're on this like kindof precipice of change in coaching, and
she has boys, she has somegreat advice and great nuggets I guess to
take with with us, not justin the coaching realm. Obviously, if
you're a young coach, or you'rea coach, or you want to be
a coach, you want to hearthis interview, You're going to get so
(03:14):
much out of it. But justliving day to day, just living in
a working in a workplace and thingslike that. I mean, just there's
just so much to take from CoachBurley, So so so excited to share
this interview with you. I mean, just the dream come true. But
before we hear from the coach,there are some notable happenings going on in
the world women's soccer, So let'sjust go over a few and then we'll
(03:36):
introduce coach Becky Burley. But didyou hear did you hear about Sam Kerr
brutal the Aussie star injured RACL duringChelsea warm Weather training camp or Morocco.
Devastating, just devastating. I meanthat's going to keep her off the pitch
for probably the rest of the WSLseason, depending on how bad the ACL
(03:58):
injury is. I mean it couldkeeper out of the game for at least
six months. So that affects,you know, like I said, the
Chelsea women FC, it affects theMatilda's and the Olympics. I mean just
so much art and we're just sendingout good wishes and positive vibes for Sam
Kerr. As we know, shesigned with Chelsea FC back in twenty nineteen,
has gone on to score ninety ninegoals and one hundred and twenty eight
(04:21):
matches. She's also, of course, played a pivotal role in four WSL
title wins three FA Cup wins,two Women's League Cup victories. I mean
just goes on and on the Women'sCommunity Shield in twenty twenty so a big
part of Chelsea. Also, likeI said, a big, big blow
to the Matilda's as they head intothe Olympics this summer, so sending out
(04:44):
our good wishes and in Sam CRU'sabsence, the Blues will likely turn to
two American forwards. Recent US nationalteam youngster me Offischal has signed with Chelsea,
of course, she's been cursed backupand Kat Maccario signed with the club
this past summer. And Kat Maccarioshe's just returning from suffering her own ACL
(05:04):
injuries, but she's in training nowwith Chelsea running again, so that's great
news. So I have to keepan eye on how this affects the club.
Plus remember they lost their head coachEma Hayes in twenty twenty four to
the US women's national team as well, So we'll keep an eye as always
on the WSL this season, whichis heading into week eleven of the twenty
(05:25):
three to twenty four season as we'rerecording this, so a lot of stuff
going on. There's also a rumorI don't know if you've heard of this,
and maybe as of this recording,it'll be a done deal. But
there's also a rumor that us WM'snational team defender Emily Fox will be signing
with Arsenal. It's a little rumorgoing on. I think it's I think
it's a done deal, though nothinglike I said, has been released as
of this recording. But usually youknow, when the team accidentally blips the
(05:51):
picture of somebody who might look likeEmily Fox on an led screen and they
quickly take it down. I thinkthat that's probably a Dundale NWSL champions Gotham
FC, have you heard of Imean, I'm sure you've been paying attention
to this. They've been busy thisholiday season. They signed, of course,
(06:12):
four World Cup champions US WM's nationalteam players, Crystal Dunn, Tieranna
Davidson, Rose Level and Emily's Sonnetall signed with Gotham FC. Big moves,
all right, really big moves.But I don't know. We always
say, you know, you canalways you can pack your team with big
names, but doesn't always mean thechemistry is there. There's a mesh,
right. I guess it helps thatthey all play together on the US woman's
(06:35):
national team. But still, youknow, I don't know. We'll see
how how it plays out. I'msure Laura Harvey is in her lair right
now, rubbing her hands together,saying, we'll see you this summer,
Gotham when half of your team isat the Olympics. I don't I don't
know. I don't know, justsaying that Laura Harvey lost two big players,
(06:56):
actually lost three with Megan Rapino,but likes s she'll be I don't
know. We'll see what happens duringthe nw CELL college Draft and and see
if Laura Laura Harvey sometimes doesn't reallystep up in the college draft, she's
traded in her drafts away. Imean, she's more of a bringing the
tired and true type of players.But we'll see. Uh if Gotham is
(07:17):
on the right track picking her pocketbecause like I said, summertime Olympics,
half the team's going to be gone. Maybe interesting. Hey, Also,
since we're talking about college players inEngland and all and the NWSL college Draft,
big congratulations to ony Atcighini for winningthe mac Harmon Trophy. The English
(07:42):
native Ocighini, of course, playsfor or played for a Florida state University
a big part of their NCAA championshiprun, and she recently signed with Juventus
in Italy, so won't see herat the NWSL College Draft, but we
will keep an eye on her overthere in Syria. And by the way,
I'll be at the NWSL College Draft, so stay tuned for that.
(08:03):
It's on January twelfth, and I'llbe getting a lot of interviews and be
doing some tiktoks and Instagram stories andthings like that, So I make sure
you check in on January twelfth andafter, and of course we'll have interviews
on our next show. But I'mspeaking of college soccer and Florida FSU,
(08:24):
not to be confused with University ofFlorida. Let's not do that. Let's
do it. Let's get into ourfeatured guest, the legendary, the incomparable
head coach of University of Florida.A former head coach I should say,
Becky Burley. Now, for thoseof you who may not be familiar with
Coach Burley, she spent about thirtyone seasons coaching collegiately, starting at a
(08:46):
small college called Barry College in Georgiaat only twenty one years old, and
during her five year coaching tenure atBarry, coach Burley guided the Lady Fury
to two NAIA National Championship Not tooshabby for a kid in her early twenties.
She then spent twenty seven seasons atthe helm of the University of Florida
(09:07):
soccer team. Really built that programup from nothing. Coach Burley led the
Gators to an NCUBA Championship, fourteensouth Western Conference titles, twenty two nc
DOUBLEA Championship berths, and just oneof only two females only one in the
D one in NCUBA soccer history.With five hundred career wins, Coach Burley
(09:31):
finished her thirty one season coaching careerin the top ten on two nc DOUBLEA
Division one winning his coaches charts numberfour with five hundred and thirteen wins and
number eight with seventy four point fivepercent winning percentage. Not too shabby.
And if you're, like I said, if you're a young coach, or
you're a coach, or you wantto be a coach, your ears want
a perk up in this interview becauseshe's got a lot of knowledge, a
(09:54):
lot of experience to share with us, and she does. I mean's just
amazing. No. So if youfollow the NWSL, you might know Becky
Burley because she became an interim headcoach for Orlando Pride from July through December
of twenty twenty one before retiring fromcoaching to work full time for What Drives
Winning with her business partner, BredLedbetter, And she talks a little bit
(10:16):
about that. Just an amazing organization. She now works as a Professor of
Practice at the University of Florida,teaching the What Drives Winning classes and high
performance coaching, and works also asa consultant to professional and collegiate teams of
all sports. And just just anamazing person. And you know, I'm
always a little intimidated by coaches,but Coach Burley put me at ease.
(10:39):
She's so easy to talk to,so generous with her information and knowledge.
So let's do it. One ofthe winningest coaches in collegiate sports. Please
welcome Coach Becky Burley. Hey,coach, welcome to the show. Thank
you for taking the time today.I know that you're super busy as you're
gearing up for the upcoming United Soccercoach is convinced as we're recording this so
(11:01):
I really appreciate you taking the timetoday. Yeah, it's gonna be a
fun week out in Anaheim. I'mlooking forward to it. Well, we're
looking forward to having you. I'mout here in southern California already. I'll
tell you it's a it's a prettycool sixty three degrees, so you might
have to wear a sweater or somethingwith your sunscreen. Hey, it's better
than most of the conventions where you'rewearing a big coat. Well as one
(11:24):
of the winningest coaches in college soccer, I mean, in college sports.
Actually, it's such a huge honorto have you here and I have more
than a few questions for you.But before we get into all that,
as we all know, you've beenretired from college coaching for the past few
years, but still very involved inthe coaching community and using your skills to
help the next generation of leaders witha program called What Drives Winning. Can
(11:46):
you tell us a little bit aboutwhat drives Winning, what it is,
what your role is in the program, and also how our listeners can get
involved as well. Sure. Well, Actually, what Guys Winning came about
kind of serendipitously. My business partner, Brett Ledbetter, is a basketball person,
so I don't think we would haveever crossed paths, except that I
was listening to Daniel Coyle speak inNew York City, who wrote he wrote
(12:09):
the Talent Code, the Culture Code, and afterwards I went up to him
and said, Hey, you know, we'd love to have you in Gainesville
if you're ever in this neck ofthe woods. Well, I think he
lives in Alaska, so I'm notsure if it's a really realistic request,
but you never know. And sohe said, well, I was actually
just there a few weeks ago,and I was like what. So he
(12:30):
knew someone on Billy Donovan's staff.Billy Donohan was the basketball coach at Florida
during my time there, and Icalled it was Mark Dagnalt. I called
Mark when I got back to Gainesvillebecause I wasn't that familiar with Mark.
And now Mark is the head coachof the Oklahoma City Thunder and he introduced
me to Brett Ledbetter and so that'skind of how it all went down.
(12:52):
It was kind of crazy, andthe one drives winning. I mean,
really, how we started this waslike, how could we take a conversation
that we were having at the Universityof Florida with all of our head coaches,
how could we take that on anational level and have conversations about something
besides the ex's and o's because we'reall coaching people and there were so many
overlaps on the things that we're gettingin the way of teams and were challenges
(13:16):
for coaches, and they were allon that human related side. And so
we started having an annual conference,and so Brett and I co founded the
conference together. Didn't really know whatwe were doing when we started, but
it seemed to really strike a nervewith a lot of people in terms of
their desire to have conversations about thatkind of stuff. And then it sort
of just took off from there.And so now we do some consulting,
(13:39):
We do a lot of social mediaposts, and basically just tried to give
people resources that, you know,for example, like I might not have
had when I started my coaching career. Yeah, and I really encourage everybody
to go to the website and checkit out too. I was looking at
the other night and just like somany great coaches involved, and just the
wealth of information I think just foranybody, not just coaches. That's true.
(14:03):
I mean we get a lot ofpeople involved in business and military and
education that are interested in this contenttoo, And it's so simple. I
mean, it's really about how youmanage people, and that's what we're all
doing. And you know, youcan find all that stuff on YouTube.
It's just a what Chrise winning channel, or you can find it at what
drives Winning combo on x or whattries Winning on any of the other social
(14:26):
platforms. Great, well, we'llhave all that on our show notes.
You know, all the links tothat, so people can find you guys
pretty easily. It's so awesome becauseyou have such a wealth of knowledge and
you're still coaching on another level.When you decided to retire from college coaching,
I mean, because it was sucha big part of your life for
so many years, did you havean idea of what that next phase of
your life would look like? Youknow, I had been working with Brett
(14:50):
a little bit because he was workingwith my team and then we were running
a head coach's collaboration at Florida,and so I always envisioned that that could
be something that I could, youknow, potentially move into and help Brett
with because I mean, he's really, really, really good consultant and gets
more requests that he can ever fulfill, and so it sort of wound up
(15:13):
that you know, I could takeon some of that and it's just been
a really great partnership ever since.Yeah, well, I mean great for
everybody involved. I think, because, like I said, you have a
twenty seven year career, and Imean, I'm sure, just like I
said, a wealth of knowledge whenyou look back on your career on those
all those years, How has youror how had your coaching philosophy changed or
(15:35):
evolved through those years? And alsowhat philosophies remain the same it was always
constant. You know. That's areally good question because I think right now,
in particular, coaching has evolved somuch, like so rapidly even in
just the last you know, twoor three years, that if you don't
evolve, it's really hard to stayrelevant in that field. And so I
(15:58):
think there's always the ability to,like, how do you relate to the
people you coach, because I'm notgetting any younger and they are the same
age coming into college, and sothat gap just kept getting bigger and bigger,
and clearly I had to be authentic. You know. It's not like
I need to be like some TikTokhipster, but at the same time I
(16:19):
had to understand it like that's whereTikTok was, where they were getting a
lot of their information or the mechanicsof how TikTok kept their attention or Snapchat
or Instagram or whatever. And soit was kind of like more trying to
continue to be able to relate tothe modern athlete, but then stick to
(16:40):
some of the principles that are justyou know, tried and true, like
how you build your character and howthat impacts you both on and off the
field. That's so interesting that yousay that, because I always think that,
like, especially coaching at a highlevel on high level college coach,
how did you navigate that balance betweenlike the coaching game and then also coaching
(17:02):
that character development as well, becausethat's a big part right of what you
did well. You know, Ithink sometimes the game is the better teacher
than even me or anybody else.I mean, it lends itself to being
put into situations where you have todecide how you're going to respond, and
so it's almost just like it's thegreatest teacher. It's like, let the
game teach those situations that come up, you know, like is that your
(17:23):
best self? How you responded ifit's not, like what could be better
for you? And how can Ipartner with you to help you get there?
And that's where I think that partof like collaborating with this generation of
athletes is really important too. Andeven for me as a coach. I
mean when I was coached, nobodyreally asked my opinion. You know,
(17:45):
it was a lot of telling.But that's that's just what coaching was at
that time, you know. Andnow I think being a collaborator is a
really valuable skill in coaching and findingways that you can still hold people accountable,
but with love and with support asopposed to, you know, get
on the line, because that justdoesn't work anymore. And not only does
(18:07):
it not work anymore, I meansome people get fired for things they go
over the line, and so it'sit's definitely trying to evolve, but stay
true to the things that you knowwork. Yeah, being a collaborator.
That's so interesting is that like kindof the biggest advice that you give to
like young coaches today. You knowthat it's such a hard thing to advise
(18:29):
people because I feel like you know, I've had this debate with Anson Dorn's
Forever, the UNC soccer coach.He talks about like, the first ten
years of your career, you're justtrying to prove yourself and so to collaborate
is hard because you're still trying tojust prove to people that you actually know
what you're doing. And we've beenThe debate we've had is like, how
do we speak that up to whereyou don't have to spend so much time
trying to prove yourself and you canstart to spend time on the things that
(18:52):
later in your career you realize mattersso much more. But it's it is
a challenge because it's like, howhow do you become collaborative And again,
at the same time, you knowyou're not slack, You're not having you
know, it's you can still havestandards for your team. You can still
hold people to standards, but howdo you do that in a way almost
(19:15):
like that they want to do itinstead of they have to do it.
We're kind of at an interesting timein coaching, aren't we. Do you
feel that that is the under statementof the year right there? I think
back. I think back, likewhen you came into coaching, right,
you were young. I mean youwere coaching kids that were your age right
(19:36):
or are older. And I recommendthat, yeah, I don't recommend that.
That's what I'm wondering. I'm wonderingif like that can even be a
thing today. But here's what's sointeresting about that, you know, And
I honestly, this was not Thiswas not something I planned. I certainly
didn't even recognize it until much laterin my career. But because I started
being a head coach so young.I was twenty one when I first started
(19:57):
coaching at Fairy College. They weregood already. They had won the national
championship, the NAI National championship twoyears before I got there. And so
then they hired this twenty one yearold coach. And I'm sure you've got
to think that some of those playersare like seriously, and so I knew
not by any like because I'm sosmart, but more just for survival.
I'm like, all right, Igot to find a way to add value
(20:18):
to these players because I don't haveany positional power here. I'm I had
four players on that team that wereolder than me, so like it was
more about serving, it was moreabout adding value and helping them and influencing
behavior as opposed to you know,setting the line and saying these are our
rules and this is it. Youknow, it had to become more collaborative.
(20:41):
Well what came of that is fiveyears later I moved to Florida,
and so now I'm thinking, youknow, I've got a little bit of
credibility to Anson's point. You know, we've won two NAI national championships at
this point, so I feel likeI kind of know what I'm doing.
But now I'm at Florida and it'slike a whole different thing. Like,
i mean, the spotlight is bright. All the coaches there are freaking amazing.
(21:04):
Like I'm sitting in coaches meeting andI'm looking like Hall of Fame there,
Hall of Fame. They're like,these people are amazing. And so
again like now I'm recruiting a differenttype player. You know, I'm recruiting
Abby Wambach. I have Daniel Fatapolis, who's the nation's leading scorer on my
team. You know, like allthese players Heather Mits who played on a
national team are coming through this program. And so again, even though now
(21:26):
I'm five years in, I'm onlytwenty six at this point, and so
I still don't really have that positionalpower. And so again, like I
just continued and continued and continued toget reps at this coaching through influence as
opposed to power. And I thinkthat really set the tone for my entire
career without me even knowing it.Wow. And so like when you think
(21:48):
back about mentorship, I think justby you talking like Anson was probably a
big mentor for you, is mentorshipand coaching? Like how is that even
coachable? I mean, is thatsomething you can teach? Or do you
just become a mentor organically through yourexperience? You know? I think it's
interesting that even like the word mentor, it kind of for me And maybe
(22:10):
this is just me, it likesort of implies like this hierarchy. And
I think what I've found works sowell is like having a thinking partner,
someone who can challenge you, butat the same time, like someone that
you can feel like you can bevulnerable in front of. And that's I've
been so lucky in my career.You know. When I went to Barry,
(22:32):
I think all those coaches they werelike, oh man, she's really
young, She's gonna do a lotof help. So they were they were
more than willing to write. Andthen I get to Florida and the Florida
coaches are like, oh boy,like we don't we don't even have a
program at Flora. She's gonna startall that by herself. And then she's
really young and so like, itforced me to be comfortable with asking people
(22:52):
for help because there was no otherchoice. And I think again, like,
without really knowing it, it settone for me to never really be
afraid to ask questions and to havepeople help me. I've had our tennis
coach sit on my bench during agame and give me feedback. I've had,
you know, the volleyball coach MaryWise, who's like the winningest coach
(23:14):
in America. Like she's two doorsdown for me, and so like running
scenarios through her, like hey,what did you do when this happened with
you with a player? And Imean all of that was just so valuable
to my development and it made mecollaborative not only with my team but with
other coaches. And I think thatreally set the framework for me to be
able to move into this space,to be able to work with other coaches.
(23:37):
Yeah. Wow, what a greatlesson for people listening because to ask
questions is so intimidating, Like youcould have been so intimidated, like you
know what, I'm going to tryto figure this out by myself. But
the fact that you ask questions,and then on top of it, the
people that you were asking, we'reprobably more interested in helping you because you
made that step to ask them.I just think it's a great lesson for
(23:59):
learning. I know a lot ofus get really intimidated. We don't want
to ask, especially when you're amongstcoaches. They can be kind of intimating
sometimes well, and I will tellyou that most people don't say no like
when you ask people. I mean, you know, Okay, let's go
back to Anson for a second,because you know Anson would say I am
like the only opponent of his thatlikes him. I don't think that's true,
but he always says that. Butthe reason I like Anson and respect
(24:23):
him, I mean, he kickedour ass a lot. But the reason
I respect and like him is becauseyou know, here I am, I
remember being a player, not evena coach hit and I am at a
D three Methodist college in Fantvielle,North Carolina. And he's got this massive
unc soccer camp with all these WorldCup players acting as counselors, and I'm
(24:45):
on one of them, and wehave these camp games at night and I
am like scared shitless because I'm playingwith like Carla Worden Overbeck is like my
center back partner, and I'm like, oh my god, like and so
just his willingness to like let peoplein and to you know, like if
(25:06):
you called him and said, hey, can I come watch a practice?
He would say yes to someone likeme who there's no reason for him to
say yes to, like there's nothingI can do in return for him.
And I think that really showed mea pattern of what it looks like to
kind of pay the sport back.That's so awesome you guys are you guys
are part of a generation that's likeI mean, I think the legendary is
(25:30):
probably the only word that comes tomind when I think about you guys.
I'll switch gears a little bit totalk about Soccer Coaches Conventions coming up.
You continue to return to the conventionevery year. I think it's like your
thirty second time at the convention.What do you like about the convention in
and of itself? On why doyou think it's important for coaches of all
levels really to attend, you know. I think that was really drilled into
(25:52):
be by my college coach. Mycollege coach was Joe Pereira. Joe's college
coach was Hank Steinbrusher. Hank steinberschSure was the head of the United Soccer
Coaches as well as the head ofUS Soccer. You know, I can
remember like going to the convention andJoe introducing me to Hank and you know,
here, I am like really starstruckbecause this guy's like running our national
(26:14):
team, and and I just thinkI saw like the opportunity to sort of
learn from a bunch of different peoplewho I would never have exposure to normally
because they live in different parts ofthe country, or because there's just you
know, maybe it's on the men'sside, and I didn't have access to
the men's coaches, And so Ithink early early, early on in my
(26:36):
career, like it was like anhonor for us to feel like going to
the convention was going to give youthat opportunity to meet and mingle with so
many people that you would never getto meet with. It's gonna be my
first time at the convention, soI'm looking so forward to it. We're
gonna have a table on media row, so hopefully if I if you see
this some crazy lady white waving atyou, you'll know we definitely the meeting
(27:00):
person. And of course you'll bepresenting at the convention. What's one of
the key takeaways or messages that youhope that every coach leaves after attending one
of your presentations. You know,if I had to pick just one thing
which gets really challenging, I wouldjust say that willingness to be a question
asker instead of a teller. Ijust think the days of coaches being tellers
(27:22):
are a little bit over. Andnot to say that you know, of
course, like when you're coaching ina game, you're not going to ask
a player, So do you thinkyou should do this or that? You
know, like there are times togive instruction, But I do think,
especially as as it opposes to leadershipdevelopment, that is a really important space
to help people coach themselves instead ofjust telling them what to do. Because
(27:48):
ultimately, if someone coaches themselves,there's going to be buy in because it's
their idea, but it's also goingto really gain confidence in themselves because they
put together the idea and they followedthrough on that and then they're like,
wow, like this is pretty good, or maybe it doesn't work and they're
like, Okay, this is oneway I know now that I can try
something different to see if that works. But I think like coaching yourself is
(28:14):
really really important. How you talkto yourself, how you process things that
you do well, how you processthings that you know maybe are considered failures
by the outside. Like all thosethings, like becoming a better inner coach
would be like the thing that Iwould want people to take away the most.
It's so exciting to to just thinkabout that next stage of coaching or
(28:34):
this next I guess, the nextgeneration of coaches coming in, because it's
a lot different than when I wasa kid. You know, it's hard
being you know, coached and yelledat constantly and picked on constantly by coaches.
Those days hopefully are gone and justthis change I guess that we're at
right now as far as coaching goes, it's exciting. It's fun you know,
(28:56):
it's funny because if you ask peopleabout like what you were just describing,
like maybe a moment that didn't goas well for them when they were
a kid playing like everybody can comeup with that, even if it was
fifty years ago, they can comeup with it. You know. I
recall I was playing on my veryfirst youth team and we all had to
rotate in goal, and so Ididn't want to rotating goal, but it
(29:18):
was part of the deal, andit was it was came down to the
last game was my chance, andit was the second half. And in
the first half we were just allover them. There weren't even any shots
on goal. And so I said, said the coach, I'm like,
I don't really want to play ingoal because there's nothing happening down there.
And so of course it didn't matter. I had to take my chance,
my turning goal. And then weended up losing one nothing, okay,
(29:42):
And as we were getting our likesecond place medals from this coach who I
adore by the way, he says, it got exciting, didn't it.
And I'll never forget that because itwas like, you know, he didn't
yell at me or anything like that, but just like the idea of like
how those kind of moments stick withyou so many years after the fact,
(30:03):
and certainly when you have something maybemore traumatic than that because that was not
traumatic. It can really make adifference on someone's self confidence or the voice
that they use to coach themselves,all of that. And I'm really aware
of that and hope that I cancontribute to a positive voice in the players
that I coach. Yeah, forsure. I mean for many of us,
(30:26):
it's traumatic or just like embarrassing towhere you just remember it for the
rest. Like you said, likefifty years, I still remember running laps
just because I was so horrible.I just had to run laps all the
time, and they got to thepoint where I just stopped running and just
was kicking rocks. You know.I was just like, I guess I'm
not, you know, cut outfor this, But I mean yeah,
I mean they it kind of setsat precedence in your head of what you
(30:47):
can and cannot do, and sothe fact that they're coaching is changing today.
It's just it's really exciting. Ihope you write a book. I'm
waiting for the Becky Burley book.He's written five and they're amazing. Like
the one that we have about nowis really one of my favorites. It's
all it's called question based leadership.And it's all about what we're just talking
(31:10):
about. It's a book fifty twoquestions that like tools that you can start
a conversation for leadership with with withyour athlete and or whoever you lead.
It doesn't have to be an athlete. But it's like, it's crazy to
me, Like what it unlocks whenyou start asking questions? Yeah, and
you know, that's actually something that'son my to do list to make myself
(31:32):
better is to ask better questions,not just like interview questions, but just
in life in general, because sometimeswe get ahead of ourselves. So like
oh, yeah, yeah, Iknow what you're talking about, and you
go and do it when you reallydon't, You know, are there's so
much more you can learn. It'sso interesting that you say that, because
I teach all of Brent's books areclasses at the University of Florida, and
the Master's program is an online highperformance coaching program, and so we actually
(31:56):
teach the art of asking better questionsin the class. And it's it's just
not a skill that comes naturally tomost people because that's again not how we
were coached or led. And sobut what's cool to see is over the
course of a semester. With practice, people get way better. It is
just the intentionality of, Okay,how do I ask a question and then
(32:19):
stay out of the way, like, don't share my own experiences, don't
judge the person's answer. How doI just allow them to take it where
they want to take it, andthen me sort of continue to ask them
more questions based on their answer withouthaving a planned question. And that's what
scares people the most, is likethe ability to sort of be on the
fly with your questions. But ifyou're an intentional listener, that's not as
(32:43):
hard as you think, right,right, It's a habit, right,
that you have to get into becausesometimes you just forget, oh yeah,
I should ask you a question.Well, that's so rewarding. And that's
on my books on my reading list, and we'll also have a link to
that so people can get on thewebsite and buy it. Personally, Becky
Burley, what drives you personally tocontinue? I'm just to continue to stay
(33:07):
involved in the coaching community and theteaching community, you know, whether it's
through what drives winning or through theUnited Soccer coaches or whatever you're doing.
Why do you feel that that drawI guess. You know, I think
I think a lot of it isbecause I really feel like I was very
blessed on my coaching journey, Likedespite the fact that I sort of got
(33:28):
dropped in the deep end that wasthat was a challenge, and I feel
like at every stop I was supernervous. So, for example, when
I became the head coach at BarryCollege at twenty one, I was like,
what the Heck's I just do?And then five years later, I'm
so excited, Like I remember like, oh my god, I've got this
Florida job. And then I'm like, oh my god, I've got this
Colorna job. Okay, and soand then you know, when I when
(33:52):
I retired from Florida, I actuallytook that interim job with the Orlando Pride,
and that Orlando Pride roster was justloaded. That was like Alex Morgan,
Ashlyn Harris, Ali Krieg or MartaSidney the Rue. And so when
I said yes to that, Iwas like, oh, this is sweet,
and then I was like, Igotta actually go coach you. So
(34:12):
I think it's just like feeling likeif I can help someone feel a little
bit more confident or feel a littlebit more ready, or help them be
a good thinking partner to get themin a space where they can coach themselves.
That that is what I had justby accident, but I want to
be intentional about being able to providethat for other people. Oh so important,
(34:37):
And we appreciate you so much.Thank you, coach Burley for so
much, for all the years ofhard work and commitment that you've put into
the sport that you continue to dofor the sport. We really appreciate you
so much for all you do andappreciate you for taking the time to come
out and chat with us. Sothank you. This was amazing. I
can't wait to meet you in Anaheim. Yay, I'll be there. Pure
(35:00):
wow. What a what a greatperson. But I mean we knew she
was a great coach, but Imean such a great person and like I
said, so free with her knowledge, like expanding knowledge. You heard her
right, You just got to keepevolving as a coach. The game is
a teacher. I love that quote. I just there's nothing like it.
So thank you coach Becky Burley fortaking the time. And if you get
(35:22):
a chance to hear her speak,whether it's at the United Soccer Coaches Convention
or on YouTube or on the WhatDrives Winning web page. I'll have all
those links on our show notes.Please do listen to her, I mean
that interview. As much as shegives us in that interview, that's just
the snippet of what she shares anda lot of her speaking engagements and her
(35:45):
presentations, and like I said,on YouTube, so give yourself, do
yourself favor and go and check someof those links out. And I loved,
I loved when she talks about AntsonDorance, of course, head coach
at University of North Carolina, thewinningest collegiate coach right antson Dora. It's
a really great testament, I think, to him because he could have easily
(36:05):
had a chip on his shoulder whenit came to coach Burley, because she
she took a national championship from him, and she recruited Abby Wambach away from
him. I mean, really,if you read Abby's autobiography, she talks
about how she was ready to committo UNC but they were only offering her
a partial scholarship and she felt reallyslighted by that. I mean, so
(36:28):
while she was off kind of miffedat that, and you know. I
mean most players, most high schoolplayers would have taken it, right man,
a partial scholarship to you and cbeing coached by Anson Dorance, one
of the greats, I'll take it, But not Abby because she knew her
potential and she was kind of miffed, like that, why they're only offered
me partial scholarship. And then overin Florida, here's this young whipper snapper
(36:49):
coach Becky Burley, you know,head of the women's soccer program that was
only four years old at the time. She's kind of waving her arms and
saying, hey, Abby, comeover here, be a gaiteror we'll give
you full rights scholarship and you know, you can help build our women's soccer
program here, and you know,and that's what she did. Really.
If read Abby Wombach's autobiography if youhaven't, it's a pretty interesting story of
(37:10):
how she how she chose to goplay for coach Burley at a time when
you know, like I said,that program there at University of Florida was
really new. So what did Abbydo her freshman year at University of Florida.
She helped the team to its firstnational championship against you guessed it Antson
Dorance's unc So it's just amazing thatthey're friends now, Coach Burley and Coach
(37:31):
Dorance, and they've been friends formany years. They've been collaborators. Like
she said, I mean, itshows us number one, what a class
act Antson Dorance is, but alsoCoach Burley for not being intimidated, for
continuing to reach out to Anton Dorrance. And you know, I don't know,
just a great story. I mean, we can learn so much from
that, I think, I mean, just so great. So thanks again,
(37:53):
coach. It's going to be awhile before I come down from that.
Er. Do you think I shouldgo up to her the convention?
Think? I think I will.It seems I mean, she seems super
approachable. I don't know, I'mnot, like I said, I'm always
intimidated by coaches because they're so smart. You know, they're students of the
game. They eat, sleep anddream the game, and always I'm a
(38:15):
little terrified I'm going to say somethingto show what a knucklehead I am.
You know, I don't know.I'm always surprised at how welcoming, especially
soccer coaches are. They're a differentbreed for sure. I hope I see
you at the convention, and ifyou're listening after the convention, still check
out the website United Soccer Coaches Conventiondot org. There's so much going on
(38:37):
throughout the year. The convention ofcourse is the big one, that's the
big event, but they have eventsall over the country, you know,
different times of the year. Soalso if you want to join the United
Soccer Coaches Organization, I'll have thelink on our show notes as well,
so you can go and check thatout. There's tons of resources and other
info that you can benefit from,especially if you are a coach or like
(38:58):
I said, you're hoping to bea coach one day. A lot of
great stuff there. And also,like I said, we'll be talking more
on our next episode about the NWSLCollege Draft, which takes place on January
twelfth. Like I said, I'llbe there getting interviews and pestering, I
mean, asking great questions to playersand coaches. See Coach Burley, I
was listening to you, so staytuned for that on the next episode of
(39:21):
Women's World Football Show. And big, big thanks again to coach Becky Burley
for taking the time out of ourbusy, busy schedule to come and chat
with us. What a great honorand privilege, and so happy to share
that with you. I really hopethat you enjoyed episode two hundred and twenty
four Women's World Football Show. Iwould love to hear your thoughts on my
interview with coach Becky Burley, theLegend. Feel free to email me at
(39:43):
Patty at wwfshaw dot com. Iread all the emails and do my best
to reply, and it's timely matter. If you did enjoy this episode,
subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio app, Google Play, tuned
In, Cashbox, Spreaker, Stitcher, WWFSHA dot com, or wherever you're
listening to this right now. Andif you really really enjoy listening to Women's
World Football Show, one of thebest ways you can show your appreciation is
(40:04):
to give us a five star ratingand leave a review wherever you listen.
I always love to know your thoughts, and reviews are the best ways for
others to find the show. Also, another way to help grow the show
and grow this beautiful game that welove is to tell your friends and family
about Women's World Football Show. Ifyou're listening on a mobile device, swipe
over the cover art and you'll findthe episode notes, including some details you
may have missed. For relative linksfrom this episode, visit our show notes
(40:29):
on wwfshow dot com. Connect withus on Facebook and Instagram at WWF show,
and on TikTok at WWF Show twelve. Women's World Football Show is hosted,
written, edited, and produced byPatti Labellasme additional assistance for this episode
by coach Becky Burley and the UnitedSoccer Coaches. And thank you, especially
you for joining me on this excitingjourney through women's football. Stay strong,
(40:52):
stay mindful, keep love in yourheart, and we'll see you all next
time. Until until she
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.