November 8, 2024 • 36 mins
In this insightful episode of Youth Inc., host Greg Olsen sits down with UCLA Men's Basketball Coach Mick Cronin to explore the core traits that make a great coach. Coach Cronin emphasizes the power of relationships in coaching, the importance of instilling resilience and responsibility, and balancing skill development with character-building. They also discuss the role of family and the value of life outside sports, providing a roadmap for fostering well-rounded athletes. Tune in for valuable advice on developing not only successful players but also strong, resilient individuals.
Learn more about our partners at Players Health - https://www.playershealth.com/safety-hub
Thank you to MaxU and Players Health for sponsoring this season of Youth Inc.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
What's up everybody, Greg Olson here and if you're just
listening, you're missing half the experience.
Head over right now to You Thinkon YouTube.
Follow us on all of our social media for daily must see content
that is made specifically for parents, coaches and athletes.
Stay informed. Stay engaged with us here at You
Think. Every parent athlete knows the
(00:22):
value. Of a great coach.
Not just in the game, but in life.
But what exactly makes a great coach?
Is it their knowledge of the sport?
Their ability to motivate? Or is it something deeper?
In this episode, we explore the qualities that define the best
coaches in youth sports. From building trust and
fostering a positive team culture to knowing when to push
(00:42):
and when to listen, we'll uncover the essential traits
that set exceptional coaches apart.
Research from the Positive Coaching Alliance shows that
teams with which is trained in positive reinforcement and
effective communication have 50%higher retention rates of
players. Whether you're on the sideline
or in the stands, understanding what it takes to make a great
coach can transform the way you view the game.
(01:03):
Coaching is more than just wins and losses.
It's about shaping character, instilling confidence, and
creating memories that last a lifetime.
Join us as we celebrate the coaches who go above and beyond
and learn how their influence extends far beyond the field.
Because great coaches, they don't just teach you the game,
they teach you about life. So let's go back to the value of
(01:26):
coaching, whether it's in sport and or life, we all need someone
to help us grow like nobody doesit alone.
We need someone else to hold up mirrors, to hold us accountable,
to help keep a standard. And what they're coaching,
hopefully the best coaches, they're coaching technical
skills and they're coaching character development.
It's both of those. And there is a decision to make
(01:49):
at some point. Do I go with the technically
sound coach who who diminishes my child, who belittles people
to get them to work harder? Who creates anxiety by phrasing
like somebody out there is working harder, somebody in Utah
is getting in the gym. That'll help a kid feel anxious
(02:09):
enough to go do some work. But it's also the breeding
ground or the broth for the soupof anxiety.
So it is really important that we are figuring out that right
balance between skill development and character
development. And the skills for me are
technical and mental. And long gone are the days where
(02:30):
it's only technical skill development.
The best coaches are using the two hours or 90 minutes of
practice to skill, to teach technical skills.
Where to hold your body, the shape you want to put a body in,
to be repeated success or have repeated success.
And what are the mental skills? They're quite clear.
Teach the kids how to breathe. I don't know if you're doing
(02:52):
this yet, but teach them at before or at the middle or at
the end of practice. Just get 10 breaths in, 10 long
breaths. Hey everyone, great practice.
We're going to shut her down just a little bit. 3 deep
breaths. We're going to do it as a team.
Then you move 3:00 to 6:00 and then you move 6 to 9, right?
And just some deep breathing because what happens?
(03:12):
Game time for most people as they tighten up.
And so if we're not teaching howto be calm and only technical
skills, we're running them rightinto a choke point right there.
There is no reason why a kid should be anxious or nervous
unless anxiety and sits underneath the surface or we
haven't taught them the skills. I love, I love coaching my own
(03:38):
kids, but just everyone else's kids.
I genuinely love seeing these kids let the light bulb go on in
the back of their brain. You know, I mean like the the
kind of the the blank stare you get in the beginning and then
all of a sudden like you can just.
You can just see it you can. See it on their face?
They're like. I got it like I.
I get it now. I know what he's been saying to
(03:58):
me now for all these weeks when I didn't want to hear it.
I get it like when that light bulb and that sparkle in their
eye goes, man, it's the best. Like, I love it.
You have I have repeated your practice the way that you end
practice to more coaches than you will.
I hope you really appreciate it.Then you'll know for sure what
(04:19):
you do at the end of practice isis brilliant when you so coaches
gather all the kids in and then you gather the coaches or the
the parents right behind. I'm telling you, it's a game
changer practice. It's unbelievable because you
have just shorthanded the, the overwhelming task of a kid
trying to translate what just happened for two hours to an
(04:41):
adult who's much smarter, much worldly, very invested, a
little, sometimes too much. And that practice is radical.
So I just like I, I hope each listener can can understand to
try to get their coach or club to embrace what you do if
they're not the coach, right. It's like, Hey, this is practice
(05:04):
that V Greg Olsen does that at the end.
He calls the kids in and he includes the parents to increase
the quality of the car ride home.
It's a radical, a friend of minecoaches national championships,
multiple national championships in high school volleyball, which
is A at the D1 high school level.
It's a, it's quite an accomplishment.
(05:26):
And at the beginning of every season, he pulls all the parents
in and and he says to them, look, I'm going to tell each of
you right now why your kid is not playing because I don't
think they're good enough. And so from that moment, he
(05:46):
says, I don't get any politics. It's very clear.
He says I am responsible for making an assessment that they
don't have what it takes yet to start or have play time.
So it rests on me. It falls on me.
I'm not playing politics. If you're curious about why your
kid is not getting play time, it's because I don't think
they're good enough yet. It's so clear.
(06:08):
And it just, it reduces all the ambiguity, all of the tension
because it rests on one person'sdecisions.
It really like, let's remember, most kids are not going to go on
and play pro sports. Most kids are not going to go on
and play in college. Most kids are using their high
school age or younger experienceto learn about who they are, to
(06:30):
learn about taking risks, to learn about what it means to be
let down, what it means to be a great teammate and A and a
terrible teammate. Like there's so many life
lessons. We went through it with my
daughter. She she's gotten into.
Basketball in the last year or so, and you know she wants.
To play on the best team. But she wasn't ready Like she
just, she was. Her skills and experience were
(06:52):
just not. Ready relative to the other.
Girls in her age and we are veryclear with her, we got to
practice more, you got to keep the ball in your hand more and
you got to develop and she wanted to just keep playing, she
wanted to keep playing and now she's going to be on a team
where there's a lot. Of really good girls.
And where is she on the hierarchy?
I don't know. I have nothing to do with the
team. I don't help.
(07:13):
I don't I the practices I go to,the games I go to.
I am pure dad. I'm not even helping a little
bit. I have nothing to do with it.
Which is probably a good thing. And but my point is I don't know
what the games are going to looklike in the beginning.
Hopefully she grows and developsa role and we'll let all that
short out. But but man, the coach during
(07:35):
the week does such a good job inpractice with the skill
development. But.
Also, she's very tough. On them, she holds them
accountable. She doesn't take any baby.
Stuff like, she really coaches these girls hard and like what I
like. She's a young, a young female
coach. She does a great job.
So I say you know. What if this weekend she only
(07:57):
gets a quarter half in each game?
And the brat? I'm OK with that because Monday
through Friday she's going to get so much growth in
development that at this young. Age.
There's a balance. There's a balance to sort out.
Not play at all. That's not good for her either.
That's right. But man, I'll take good coaching
and good weekly development over.
Just roll the ball out. Yeah, you're going to play every
(08:18):
minute, but no one's getting anybetter.
I have no patience for that. Our guest for this.
Episode of you. Think is UCLA head men's
basketball coach Mick Cronin. With over 30 years of experience
both coaching and recruiting at the highest level, Coach Cronin
is one of the most respected voices in all of college sports.
He'll share his insights on developing youth athletes and
(08:40):
building a winning culture from the ground up.
What's up everybody? So on my way home on the flight,
coming back for my conversation with Mick Cronin for you THINK I
started thinking about like, what are the key takeaways that
I could take from that conversation that can make me a
better coach? And I think through this entire
journey on you think hopefully you guys are getting a lot
(09:01):
through these conversations, butI know I'm probably taking away
just as much Mick's approach to coaching and his insights into
building trust and resilience inyoung athletes.
And what's really exciting for us here is that Mick is going to
continue to be a big part of theYouth Inc platform moving
forward. He's going to to collaborate
with other coaches, parents to share a lot of that wisdom and
(09:23):
strategy from the basketball world and beyond.
So here are some of the key traits from the great coaches
that I took away from this conversation with Mick.
So let's dive in. He reminded us that building
relationships is at the heart ofsuccessful coaching.
He shared how growing up with a high school coach for a dad
showed him the importance of building those bonds that were
(09:44):
based on trust and respect, not just on the skills.
And I think in youth sports, coaches often spend more time
with youth athletes then their own parents do, giving coaches a
very unique opportunity, but also a responsibility to help
guide these young kids through critical life lessons.
A big part of Coach Cronin's message was also about teaching
(10:05):
resilience and responsibility. In a time when it's easier than
ever to just move from one team to another, Nick emphasized the
importance of not letting youth athletes skip steps just to get
more playing time. He said that developing grit
comes from sticking with the team, fighting through
challenges, and learning to embrace every role, whether
they're the star or supporting player.
(10:26):
It's not just about sports, it'sa lesson in accountability that
will serve them in every part oflife.
We also talked about balancing skill development if character
building. I think that's such a critical
role of all coaching, regardlessof the level.
The best coaches like Mick he. Teaches both technical and
mental. Skills not just how to win
games, but how to handle pressure, how to build
(10:48):
self-confidence, how to support teammates.
This mental training equips young athletes with tools they
can use in any challenge. Finally, Coach Cronin highlights
the importance of family and life outside of sports.
And as a college coach, he makessure his players see that the
commitment he makes to his own family that comes first.
And it's a great reminder to parents and coaches that as much
(11:09):
as we all love sports, it is essential to show these young
athletes that life is more than just winning and losing.
To sum it up, today's episode underscores that the journey in
youth sports isn't just about skill.
It's about building relationships, teaching
resilience, and finding balance.It's about helping kids grow
into confident, well-rounded people prepared for challenges
(11:31):
well beyond the game. You know, back when my dad
coached and your dad coached, itwas simply build character and
and a way for kids to learn how to fail, learn how to fail,
learn how to get into probably good.
You know, selfishly, you know, you get a player that's never
failed. It's just he's been told
(11:53):
transfer high schools, transfer some in our sport summer teams
and he's never had to fight through anything.
So, you know, you get back to getting in that living room and
as well as this guy just going to give me what I want.
And that's what the parents, youknow, they made they may want.
Hey, this guy's he's going to start my son.
He's going to let him do what hewants to do and he we're going
(12:14):
pro. Well, I'm not going to they,
they know that I'm not going to.I'm going to coach him because I
won't be able to sleep if I don't try to.
Coach him. How much do you look at that
you're recruiting a kid, How much do you look at how many
schools they've been to, how many travel ball teams they've
played on every summer? Like I want to dive more into
that because we see it. My kids play a lot of
competitive travel baseball. Kids show up on a different team
(12:37):
every weekend. And I think it doesn't seem that
big of a deal, seems innocent when they're 1012.
But I think the point you brought up, I think is so
interesting. It breeds this idea of I don't
like the role. On my team now.
Instead of starting with what can I do to improve it?
It's there's another, there's a team on every corner and I can
just, I can artificially improvemy standing by just.
(12:59):
Changing what jersey I'm wearing.
Is that? Sustainable and is that the?
Model we want. So take it further.
You're seeing it. You're seeing the product of
this environment. Now enter your world.
Yeah, 100%. How much do you guys value and
then what do you see? Like, what are the
characteristics you see of the kid who bounced around multiple
schools every year, multiple travel teams?
(13:20):
And then what do you see at the college level versus the kid
that might not have started until he was a junior in high
school, but he played on the same team with all the kids from
his hometown and he battled. That could turn into a hell of a
player. Like what?
What do you see that journey, the end result at your level?
I would say it's the number one reasons certain guys don't
succeed, but they've been they were predicted to with their
(13:43):
talent level. The trappings of the system get
them because they don't want they skip steps.
Nobody wants us. You start skipping steps of real
development and you had a great line about, you know, art, just
artificially improve yourself bygoing to a certain team or a
certain school. You didn't really get any
better. Yeah, it became the shortstop.
Not because I improved. I just went to a team that
(14:05):
didn't have as good a shortstop.So you've never had to earn
anything. I mean, that's it.
And then what happened eventually, eventually, I always
tell my guys, I like boxing because eventually you got to
get in the ring and ring the bell and prove yourself.
You know, you're you know, that's just the way it is.
Like there is no word. They can talk what they want the
night before. But you know, Mike Tyson said,
(14:26):
you know, eventually you got to get in the ring.
You say whatever you want, but I'm not wearing any socks and
I'm coming tomorrow. So like you got to you
eventually got to do it. The great exact like for me and
all coaches and love the guy that played for me Jaime Hawkins
and Eric Spoelstra had a great line and said what Miami Heat
loved him because he didn't skipsteps.
(14:47):
He got in the lineup as a hustleguy as a freshman, as a tough
guy as a sophomore, one of the better players as a junior and
an all American as a senior. And he so they said he had been
he had played every role that hehad to play on his team.
And the hard thing is for in youth sports, when you train,
(15:07):
when you transition, is these because you're the most talented
player. If you have that type of player,
he doesn't know how to function when he's not the most talented
player anymore. And it's a distinct advantage
for somebody that's had to do that.
That's why I'm always been jealous of football, because
(15:29):
there's a depth chart. Older guys play, younger guys
tend to sit. You got to work your way up.
It's only one ball, 11 guys. Not everyone touches it.
When the nose tackle is tying his shoes, he's not thinking
about getting touchdowns. He's thinking about plugging his
gap. I mean, you know, I mean.
Everyone's got to roll. Everybody's the ultimate in.
My sport, everybody thinks it's the night they're getting 30.
Yeah, when they tie their shoes,everybody thinks it's and it's
(15:52):
understandable, but but it's a huge advantage for the player
you talked about that hasn't hasgone through a process and had
to fight through becoming who hehas become instead of just being
anointed. This episode of You Think is
brought to you by Players Health, a company that believes
youth athletes deserve the safest and the most accessible
(16:14):
environments possible to play the sports they love.
Instead of reading an ad to you,we're going to try something a
little bit different. I'm going to have a conversation
with the Players, Health management team and 1:00.
Of their key customers. To help you better understand
what problems Players Health is solving for their partners and
how they allow kids to feel safewhen playing the games they
love. To break this down, I spoke with
(16:36):
Kyle Lobrano. She's the Chief mission Delivery
Officer at Players Health and wehad a conversation to discuss
what sets Players Health apart. And Joel Reagan, client of
Players Health and the executivedirector of Florida Youth
Soccer. So happy here with you.
Think to be joined by Kyle Lobrano with Players Health.
For everyone listening, just give us a quick snapshot,
(16:57):
Players Health, what your role is in this youth sports
experience, What services you guys are providing that are
making people like me that are trying to run teams and run
organizations and just making sure we comply and and are
covered from from that standpoint.
Yeah. So we're a specialty insurance
firm. We focus on risk management
through athlete safety. We focus every day on making
(17:19):
sure not, you know, that we're not just swinging insurance
policies that we are providing, you know, the risk mitigation
pieces and all the things in athlete safety that you need to
be doing in terms of education, compliance, background checks
and making sure that they have the foundation, you know,
policies and procedures, sort ofexpectations of what the
behavior should be within that organization.
(17:42):
What was the genesis? Did you guys see a hole in this
and say people are really struggling managing all of this?
Yeah. You know, and I think at first
it was sort of injury management, that's sort of where
our CEO started things. And then at that point realized
that, OK, there's a huge issue in insurance and organizations
are becoming uninsurable. And so saw an opportunity to
kind of combine just started to make sense like OK, we can get
(18:04):
organizations insurance and we can help them with athlete
safety and really not only protect the athletes, but start
to reduce the amount of the claims that were.
Coming through, so you're sayingnow through players health like
we can keep track of injuries, return to play like you can
almost bank and see a little bitmore of your track record now in
the youth level? So we started in injury
management. It's not a product that we
(18:24):
continue to kind of build. We have claims data that would
be able to, you know, kind of track, you know, not by person,
but the organization's sort of level of how many say knee
injuries and then use that data.Like right now we're working
with the Aspen Institute on the National ACL Coalition to use
data to be able to then go to carriers and say, hey, if we
(18:45):
start having organizations introduce neuromuscular
training, can we kind of give them a credit on their insurance
to be able to kind of get them to do this really important
thing? Oh, interesting.
So you guys can develop like preinjury type protocols and then
once you guys can show that those reduce hospital stays,
reduce visits, surgeries, rehab,PT clinic, you can then now work
(19:07):
on the other side, which the insurance company and I say,
hey, give us a little bit of an offset here because look at
we're doing to save you future expenses.
The interest is very much there on our end.
That's I mean when we're the carrier on the case, you know,
it's a no brainer. We're doing it.
We know that there's a direct relations, so yeah, there's a
lot of interest in it. So how do we increase the access
to this information and then theresources to apply it?
(19:27):
It's not an issue to be able to do that, you know, kind of hands
on work with a national governing body or a large state
organization. But it's those little grass root
organizations that, you know, wecan't sit with every single one
of them. But there's this whole
educational model of prevention in say, you know, building the
right policies and down to, you know, like abuse prevention
(19:48):
policies all the way down to like some cardiac arrest, making
sure that you have protocols in place.
What we've built is, you know, if you are a small organization,
you can go online by your insurance and then you get, you
know, put into our system calledthe Safety Hub and you have
access to a whole athlete safetylibrary that has every policy
and procedure that you would need.
And it has a tutorial on how to actually, you know, write it for
(20:12):
yourself. We also give them the ability to
assess their risk right off the bat so they can go and see what
gaps they have in policy becausemost of them don't know.
What they need to have in place so.
It's super cool to hear like that's the approach that you
guys take and we appreciate Players Health for being a part
of our journey of storytelling here at you.
Think we want to bring value to you, the parents, coaches, the
(20:34):
athletes listening in everythingthat we do.
Check out Players Health today and let them know.
Youth Inc sent you. Now back to the episode.
What is the cost of being, you know, a son of a great?
Coach, you can still be a great coach and a great parent.
You know, at you know, at the college level, you can travel,
(20:55):
you can recruit, you can be stressed, you can still be a
great parent. Like, and you know, I was around
Bob Huggins, great parent to twodaughters.
Coach Patino, 5 kids. So I had not only my own dad,
but you know, 2 Hall of Fame coaches I work for.
We're great dads as well, so I saw it first hand and that was
like, that was a big mission of mine.
Is there a common thread amongstthem of what they did really
(21:19):
well that we could maybe pass onto our community of TO?
To be a great dual role is tricky.
It's hard enough to be a great single role, but to do.
Are there any common threads that you would say?
Here's a few things that I thinkwould be really important for.
Yeah, I mean that you have to make their life as important as
yours. If you stopped there it would be
(21:39):
a brilliant parenting coaching take away.
Like make their life as important.
Or really, it should be more. More so, you know, like I was.
I'll tell you something helped me last year.
I hadn't missed the NCAA tournament in many, many, many
years, but I got to see the spring musical at Campbell Hall
High School where my daughter was like the second lead and I'd
never seen it. I'd always had to watch the
(22:01):
spring musical on my, my, you know, on the iPad, you know, on
the replay. But you know, the I'd never seen
that before. So it was like, you know, I
lose. Like, you know, I'm not the most
religious guy. I was, you know, God threw me a
bone here, right? You know, he gave me humble pie.
I didn't make the tournament, but I he got, you know, I got to
see the spring musical. So I think that that's
(22:23):
important. I think you can't take the it's
just to me, it's too low hangingfruit to use excuses.
I'm busy. I got to win.
Like to me that that's all an excuse.
That famous story? Bruce Arians.
Told off his assistant coach. When he was the head coach,
obviously head coach of multiplespots, but most recently before
he retired, obviously won the Super Bowl there at Tampa Bay
(22:44):
with the Bucks and and Brady in them.
He had a rule. He said if I ever find out you
miss a. Game.
A recital. A performance.
Because you're sitting in your office at 8:00 on a Wednesday
watching football tape. You're fired.
I love that you're fired. You can't coach for me.
That doesn't surprise me. I love that.
(23:05):
You know, obviously doing this for a living, I try to watch as
many other coaches and just listen to him and get a feel
and, you know, try to something you can pick up.
And I've always liked him. Not obviously never met.
He just seemed like the coolest guy.
It's not a bad rule. Yeah, I just think it's it's
somewhere along the line in the coaching world it it became in
vogue to say, you know, especially in the NFL.
(23:28):
It's an epidemic. I sleep in my office.
I work 20 hours a day. First of all, no you don't.
If you weren't able to tell people you did it, no one would
do it right? They do it so they can say they.
Do with you if you can't get it done in, let's call it 14 hours.
We're not building rockets. Definitely not building rockets,
but now with the technology. So like when I first worked with
(23:48):
Coach Huggins, like we would have one tape, you know, like
you would you, you I'd like you have to go out to the airport
for Delta Dash to get the tape, the scouting tape.
And you're calling the guy to make sure he gets it on the
plane. You know, for the next game, it
was a different era. And then, you know, then you're
driving to his house to watch the tape of your next opponent.
(24:08):
And like that's all over. Everybody's got an iPad,
everybody's got all, all the technology.
We call it Synergy and Dragonflyand all this stuff that you, you
sit around literally and watch film 24 hours a day with two,
two screen touches of anything. And I'm talking recruits now.
It's even now recruits. You tell me about a kid, you
know, we're talking hoops and you're talking about a game in
(24:30):
North Carolina. Like I can go watch it.
I can we're done with it today. I can just go watch it.
Like 2 taps. I'm watching you tell me about a
kid I'm pulling type his name and I'm watching it so you
don't. In this day and age, there's no
need to sit in the office like there was 30 years ago.
But I'm with you. I mean it it it's, it's
overrated like Greg said it it'sself promoting.
(24:52):
There is something really cool that happened.
So when I was at the Seahawks, once a week we would have all
the family come in for a dinner and that was a bit unheard of.
And but when you see coach, it was for the coaches, not the
athletes. When you see the coaches around
their family and there's a bunchof kids, little kids mostly
around, it changes. It changes the adults.
(25:14):
You see a different side. You become a little bit closer
because you meet their kids. And then when it comes to hard
conversations, you have a littlebetter understanding.
So when the kids around, I thinkwe are better and that old
school idea of grind till you, you know, whatever, not only
we're not thinking clearly and well, but we've we've created a
wake of destruction behind us. And so I hope that people hear
(25:37):
what you're talking about right now.
When my dad told me a long time ago, you know, there there's
there's like 500 million people in Asia that could care less who
wins this game. You know, it's not that
important. You know, what do we think it
is? I.
Didn't sleep last? Night because I lost my middle
school football game, so I couldhave used your dad's advice.
We got to have a talk after the show.
(25:58):
We got to have a talk. So but I get, I mean, you know,
you got the competitive side, but you have to have some sort
of barometer to bring yourself back.
Like your family is more important.
You know, like when I first got to UCLA, Josh Palmer, my
assistant coach Rod, his, you know, so Josh is going to be a
senior. So he's like going into 7th
grade or so and he's like, you can Josh come to practice?
(26:19):
I said Rod, don't ever ask that again.
Like he can always come to practice.
He can always be in the locker room.
Now I may get upset and throw some people out.
So, you know, thank Josh might have got thrown out once, but he
thought it was cool. I got turned out of locker, you
know? Yeah.
You don't ever have to ask me that again.
You know, my my other assistant now, Yogi from Serbia, he's got
two young boys there that they're at practice all the
(26:42):
time. Like, you don't have to ask me.
It's really cool. Like is when they get a day off
of school and they want to be with their dad because we travel
enough. Like it, it, it, it's, it's not
as like you said, or it's not rocket science, first of all.
And you know your kid, we're away from them enough.
So when you can include your family, you you should include
your family. And and it kind of leads to to
(27:04):
something I wanted to talk to you a lot about.
Mike and I have had this conversation.
We're actually having it right before you got here.
Just how important those relate,right?
Everything in in sport is relationship driven.
There's a relationship between the parent and the and the
athlete. There's a relationship amongst
the athletes on the team. And then really one of the
biggest roles for all the adultsis that that coach, that person
that you entrust to coach your child, whether it's middle
(27:25):
school football or high level competitive Division One
basketball, that coach's responsibility to form a
relationship where he's not justvested into the skill
development of your child. But as Mike said to me earlier,
you spend more time with with the child than the parent does.
Where did you learn just the power of relationship, the power
of building those bonds with players, not only for them and
(27:47):
their parents to trust them, to send them to you, to coach them,
but to then lead them through their entire journey and send
them off hopefully to the NBA. But I'm sure you sent a lot of
guys not to the NBA that just had to go be, just be men and
just be, be parents and be husbands and fathers.
Like where did that relationshipthat that priority in building
those bonds and relationships? Like where?
Where does that route back to? Oh, son of a high school coach,
(28:10):
because you look with, you know,my dad lost, you know, a lot of
money that he could have been making coach in high school.
You know, your dad, they didn't make any money.
I mean, you made your money teaching.
You made your money. Yeah, you make same.
You know, they didn't make if you, you give a high school
coach, what was their hourly wage?
It was like $0.10. You know, it was like, come on.
(28:30):
So they coach, they coach because they love the game.
They love the kids. They're trying to teach young
guys right from wrong. So that was always my background
and like, I was out. Like that has never changed.
But it's challenging because it does affect you.
Because people say you know that.
OK, well, he's hard on like he'shard on his guys.
No, no, no. I spell love and discipline the
(28:50):
same way. And I tell my guys, I'm not
going to use you like you when you're 28.
I don't want you to say, well, he knew that I was doing some
things I shouldn't have been doing.
And he never said anything because he just wanted I was one
of the better players and he wanted to win games.
You know, when you're 28, I wantyou to say, look, sometimes that
(29:12):
guy was tough to play for, but he cared about me.
Now you everybody thinks they should have shot the ball more.
That's OK. In basketball, like wide
receivers, you should get more touches.
More touches. You know, and that's OK, you
know, I think my dad should havelet me shoot more, you know, and
played me over my brother. But you know, we're all idiot,
you know, when it comes to that stuff.
He's shaking his head off camera.
He's letting us know, right? Brother better, we'll get to
(29:34):
that. He was older, he had no
question. But you know the ego of a
player, right? I mean, you went through it, so
you, you, I'm OK with that. But you, you to me, I'm never
like and I don't look, I'm 22 years coming up as being a head
coach, I think. And that's the number one thing.
I try to keep that do the right thing and at the end of the day,
(29:55):
it'll all work. Now, sometimes it chases some
recruits away. They don't want to hear that.
They just they just want to get the basketball piece at my level
and get to the pro level and that's OK.
But I can't turn off who I am. Well, coach, we appreciate, we
know you have a million things to do in here.
We appreciate it. Hope you have a good, nice
weekend with your dad. And then I know you said you get
(30:16):
back from the holiday weekend, you get right to work, so right
to it. Good luck this year.
We appreciate you joining us. There's a lot of really good
Nuggets that a lot of people aregoing to get a lot of value out
of. So appreciate you joining us.
I appreciate it. Good being here, you know.
Best success next season. Like I'll tell you when you do
your thing. Little love.
And we're going to stay off the blogs.
So we are super excited today tobe joined by the Executive
(30:39):
Director of Florida Youth Soccer, Joel Dragon.
I had a chance to learn a lot about players, players, health.
They are a new partner of ours here at Youth Think Florida
Youth Soccer. Like how did your relationship,
how were you introduced to them?And maybe what needs did you
guys have that you were searching for and then you were
able to find once you partnered with them?
2020, we're in the middle of a pandemic.
(31:00):
We had an awful, awful claims experience, not just injuries,
but some of the ugly stuff that you see in sport that really
makes your insurance premiums jump.
And we are working with brokers.We're talking to companies
overseas. We're we're, we're this close to
being uninsurable the very last minute.
Basically we heard from this young new company and in weeks
(31:23):
they were able to put a policy in front of us that met all of
our needs and frankly and maybe most importantly something that
we could afford. Nobody will really know and
maybe this will get word out howclose we were to non existence
in 2020 and what Players Health did to to pull us out of that.
We're forever grateful. That I want to.
Focus on some of the injury prevention stuff.
We're not just going to be thereto file your claims and help
(31:45):
protect on return to play and and rehab and PT, but also help
developing these pre injury protocols so that there are not
the injuries at the same rate. There's not the same amount of
insurance claims like in a sportlike soccer.
How important and how much time and effort do you guys, along
with players health, put into protocols to prevent the knee
injuries, especially with young girls?
(32:05):
And a lot of things that we're learning are somewhat
preventable. I've put it as simply in the
past as players Health takes a proactive approach rather than a
reactive report approach. Most of these insurance
companies that we've worked without there in the past are only
there when when the problems occur.
And, and they're, they're the first ones that I've seen in
(32:25):
this market, in this industry who have taken this idea of
let's try to get preventative. It's not just on the injury
side, it is on the athlete safety and they the abuse side.
Just by shining a light on this awareness out there in the
community has really made a big difference, especially in the
state of Florida and the resources that they have and the
technology that they have in place have really made us a
(32:47):
safer soccer environment. When you guys made that
decision, what was that onboarding process?
I think a lot of people are like, I don't want to change
carriers, I don't want to changepolicies.
I'm happy with what I have. Maybe it's an inferior, but it's
what I know. How hard was that transition of
onboarding them? And what and what would you say
to people out there saying, OK, is it worth my time to get a new
partner? We left a carrier and a broker
(33:09):
that we had been with for 20, 20plus years to, to go with
players health and frankly, we were expecting the worst.
And it, it was anything but. These guys are, are just
amazing. They know the industry inside
and out. These guys helped us all the way
through and it, it was seamless.I, I, I can't tell you the
proactive approach and how much it has helped Florida Youth
(33:31):
Soccer Association, the exposurethat they've been able to put
out there, but the materials, the template policies that, that
we have, Florida's truly a safersoccer environment since 2020
when we partnered with Players Health.
Check out Players Health today and let them know Youth Inc sent
you now back to the episode. Thanks for joining us today here
on Youth Inc. Let's wrap up with some key
(33:53):
takeaways from our conversation with coach Mick Cronin.
First, he reminded us that building relationships is at the
heart of successful coaching. He shared how growing up with a
high school coach for a dad showed him the importance of
building those bonds that were based on trust and respect, not
just on the skills. And I think.
In youth sports coaches. Often spend more time with youth
(34:14):
athletes than their own parents do, giving coaches a very unique
opportunity, but also a responsibility to help guide
these young kids through critical life lessons.
A big part of coach. Cronin's message was also about
teaching resilience and responsibility in a time when
it's easier than ever to just move from one team to another.
Nick emphasized the importance of not letting youth athletes
(34:37):
skip steps just to get more playing time.
He said that developing and gritcomes from sticking with the
team, fighting through challenges and learning to
embrace every role, whether they're the star or supporting
player. It's not just about sports, it's
a lesson in accountability that will serve them in every part of
life. We also talked about balancing
skill development with characterbuilding.
(34:57):
I think that's such a critical role of all coaching, regardless
of the level. The best coaches like Mick, he
teaches both technical and mental skills, not just how to
win games, but how to handle pressure, how to build
self-confidence, how to support teammates.
This mental training equips young athletes with tools they
can use in any challenge. Finally, Coach Cronin highlights
(35:18):
the importance of family and life outside of sports.
And as a college coach, he makessure his players see that the
commitment he makes to his own family.
That comes first. And it's a great reminder to
parents and coaches that as muchas we all love sports, it is
essential to show these young athletes that life is more than
just winning and losing. To sum it up, today's episode
(35:39):
underscores that the journey in youth sports isn't just about
skill. It's about building
relationships, teaching resilience, and finding balance.
It's about helping kids grow into confident, well-rounded
people prepared for challenges well beyond the game.
Thanks for listening, and here'sto raising the next generation
of strong, resilient athletes one day at a time.
What's up everybody, Greg Olson here and if you're just
listening, you're missing half the experience.
Head over right now to You Thinkon YouTube.
Follow us on all of our social media for daily must see content
that is made specifically for parents, coaches and athletes.
Stay informed. Stay engaged with us here at You
Think. Every parent athlete knows the
(00:22):
value. Of a great coach.
Not just in the game, but in life.
But what exactly makes a great coach?
Is it their knowledge of the sport?
Their ability to motivate? Or is it something deeper?
In this episode, we explore the qualities that define the best
coaches in youth sports. From building trust and
fostering a positive team culture to knowing when to push
(00:42):
and when to listen, we'll uncover the essential traits
that set exceptional coaches apart.
Research from the Positive Coaching Alliance shows that
teams with which is trained in positive reinforcement and
effective communication have 50%higher retention rates of
players. Whether you're on the sideline
or in the stands, understanding what it takes to make a great
coach can transform the way you view the game.
(01:03):
Coaching is more than just wins and losses.
It's about shaping character, instilling confidence, and
creating memories that last a lifetime.
Join us as we celebrate the coaches who go above and beyond
and learn how their influence extends far beyond the field.
Because great coaches, they don't just teach you the game,
they teach you about life. So let's go back to the value of
(01:26):
coaching, whether it's in sport and or life, we all need someone
to help us grow like nobody doesit alone.
We need someone else to hold up mirrors, to hold us accountable,
to help keep a standard. And what they're coaching,
hopefully the best coaches, they're coaching technical
skills and they're coaching character development.
It's both of those. And there is a decision to make
(01:49):
at some point. Do I go with the technically
sound coach who who diminishes my child, who belittles people
to get them to work harder? Who creates anxiety by phrasing
like somebody out there is working harder, somebody in Utah
is getting in the gym. That'll help a kid feel anxious
(02:09):
enough to go do some work. But it's also the breeding
ground or the broth for the soupof anxiety.
So it is really important that we are figuring out that right
balance between skill development and character
development. And the skills for me are
technical and mental. And long gone are the days where
(02:30):
it's only technical skill development.
The best coaches are using the two hours or 90 minutes of
practice to skill, to teach technical skills.
Where to hold your body, the shape you want to put a body in,
to be repeated success or have repeated success.
And what are the mental skills? They're quite clear.
Teach the kids how to breathe. I don't know if you're doing
(02:52):
this yet, but teach them at before or at the middle or at
the end of practice. Just get 10 breaths in, 10 long
breaths. Hey everyone, great practice.
We're going to shut her down just a little bit. 3 deep
breaths. We're going to do it as a team.
Then you move 3:00 to 6:00 and then you move 6 to 9, right?
And just some deep breathing because what happens?
(03:12):
Game time for most people as they tighten up.
And so if we're not teaching howto be calm and only technical
skills, we're running them rightinto a choke point right there.
There is no reason why a kid should be anxious or nervous
unless anxiety and sits underneath the surface or we
haven't taught them the skills. I love, I love coaching my own
(03:38):
kids, but just everyone else's kids.
I genuinely love seeing these kids let the light bulb go on in
the back of their brain. You know, I mean like the the
kind of the the blank stare you get in the beginning and then
all of a sudden like you can just.
You can just see it you can. See it on their face?
They're like. I got it like I.
I get it now. I know what he's been saying to
(03:58):
me now for all these weeks when I didn't want to hear it.
I get it like when that light bulb and that sparkle in their
eye goes, man, it's the best. Like, I love it.
You have I have repeated your practice the way that you end
practice to more coaches than you will.
I hope you really appreciate it.Then you'll know for sure what
(04:19):
you do at the end of practice isis brilliant when you so coaches
gather all the kids in and then you gather the coaches or the
the parents right behind. I'm telling you, it's a game
changer practice. It's unbelievable because you
have just shorthanded the, the overwhelming task of a kid
trying to translate what just happened for two hours to an
(04:41):
adult who's much smarter, much worldly, very invested, a
little, sometimes too much. And that practice is radical.
So I just like I, I hope each listener can can understand to
try to get their coach or club to embrace what you do if
they're not the coach, right. It's like, Hey, this is practice
(05:04):
that V Greg Olsen does that at the end.
He calls the kids in and he includes the parents to increase
the quality of the car ride home.
It's a radical, a friend of minecoaches national championships,
multiple national championships in high school volleyball, which
is A at the D1 high school level.
It's a, it's quite an accomplishment.
(05:26):
And at the beginning of every season, he pulls all the parents
in and and he says to them, look, I'm going to tell each of
you right now why your kid is not playing because I don't
think they're good enough. And so from that moment, he
(05:46):
says, I don't get any politics. It's very clear.
He says I am responsible for making an assessment that they
don't have what it takes yet to start or have play time.
So it rests on me. It falls on me.
I'm not playing politics. If you're curious about why your
kid is not getting play time, it's because I don't think
they're good enough yet. It's so clear.
(06:08):
And it just, it reduces all the ambiguity, all of the tension
because it rests on one person'sdecisions.
It really like, let's remember, most kids are not going to go on
and play pro sports. Most kids are not going to go on
and play in college. Most kids are using their high
school age or younger experienceto learn about who they are, to
(06:30):
learn about taking risks, to learn about what it means to be
let down, what it means to be a great teammate and A and a
terrible teammate. Like there's so many life
lessons. We went through it with my
daughter. She she's gotten into.
Basketball in the last year or so, and you know she wants.
To play on the best team. But she wasn't ready Like she
just, she was. Her skills and experience were
(06:52):
just not. Ready relative to the other.
Girls in her age and we are veryclear with her, we got to
practice more, you got to keep the ball in your hand more and
you got to develop and she wanted to just keep playing, she
wanted to keep playing and now she's going to be on a team
where there's a lot. Of really good girls.
And where is she on the hierarchy?
I don't know. I have nothing to do with the
team. I don't help.
(07:13):
I don't I the practices I go to,the games I go to.
I am pure dad. I'm not even helping a little
bit. I have nothing to do with it.
Which is probably a good thing. And but my point is I don't know
what the games are going to looklike in the beginning.
Hopefully she grows and developsa role and we'll let all that
short out. But but man, the coach during
(07:35):
the week does such a good job inpractice with the skill
development. But.
Also, she's very tough. On them, she holds them
accountable. She doesn't take any baby.
Stuff like, she really coaches these girls hard and like what I
like. She's a young, a young female
coach. She does a great job.
So I say you know. What if this weekend she only
(07:57):
gets a quarter half in each game?
And the brat? I'm OK with that because Monday
through Friday she's going to get so much growth in
development that at this young. Age.
There's a balance. There's a balance to sort out.
Not play at all. That's not good for her either.
That's right. But man, I'll take good coaching
and good weekly development over.
Just roll the ball out. Yeah, you're going to play every
(08:18):
minute, but no one's getting anybetter.
I have no patience for that. Our guest for this.
Episode of you. Think is UCLA head men's
basketball coach Mick Cronin. With over 30 years of experience
both coaching and recruiting at the highest level, Coach Cronin
is one of the most respected voices in all of college sports.
He'll share his insights on developing youth athletes and
(08:40):
building a winning culture from the ground up.
What's up everybody? So on my way home on the flight,
coming back for my conversation with Mick Cronin for you THINK I
started thinking about like, what are the key takeaways that
I could take from that conversation that can make me a
better coach? And I think through this entire
journey on you think hopefully you guys are getting a lot
(09:01):
through these conversations, butI know I'm probably taking away
just as much Mick's approach to coaching and his insights into
building trust and resilience inyoung athletes.
And what's really exciting for us here is that Mick is going to
continue to be a big part of theYouth Inc platform moving
forward. He's going to to collaborate
with other coaches, parents to share a lot of that wisdom and
(09:23):
strategy from the basketball world and beyond.
So here are some of the key traits from the great coaches
that I took away from this conversation with Mick.
So let's dive in. He reminded us that building
relationships is at the heart ofsuccessful coaching.
He shared how growing up with a high school coach for a dad
showed him the importance of building those bonds that were
(09:44):
based on trust and respect, not just on the skills.
And I think in youth sports, coaches often spend more time
with youth athletes then their own parents do, giving coaches a
very unique opportunity, but also a responsibility to help
guide these young kids through critical life lessons.
A big part of Coach Cronin's message was also about teaching
(10:05):
resilience and responsibility. In a time when it's easier than
ever to just move from one team to another, Nick emphasized the
importance of not letting youth athletes skip steps just to get
more playing time. He said that developing grit
comes from sticking with the team, fighting through
challenges, and learning to embrace every role, whether
they're the star or supporting player.
(10:26):
It's not just about sports, it'sa lesson in accountability that
will serve them in every part oflife.
We also talked about balancing skill development if character
building. I think that's such a critical
role of all coaching, regardlessof the level.
The best coaches like Mick he. Teaches both technical and
mental. Skills not just how to win
games, but how to handle pressure, how to build
(10:48):
self-confidence, how to support teammates.
This mental training equips young athletes with tools they
can use in any challenge. Finally, Coach Cronin highlights
the importance of family and life outside of sports.
And as a college coach, he makessure his players see that the
commitment he makes to his own family that comes first.
And it's a great reminder to parents and coaches that as much
(11:09):
as we all love sports, it is essential to show these young
athletes that life is more than just winning and losing.
To sum it up, today's episode underscores that the journey in
youth sports isn't just about skill.
It's about building relationships, teaching
resilience, and finding balance.It's about helping kids grow
into confident, well-rounded people prepared for challenges
(11:31):
well beyond the game. You know, back when my dad
coached and your dad coached, itwas simply build character and
and a way for kids to learn how to fail, learn how to fail,
learn how to get into probably good.
You know, selfishly, you know, you get a player that's never
failed. It's just he's been told
(11:53):
transfer high schools, transfer some in our sport summer teams
and he's never had to fight through anything.
So, you know, you get back to getting in that living room and
as well as this guy just going to give me what I want.
And that's what the parents, youknow, they made they may want.
Hey, this guy's he's going to start my son.
He's going to let him do what hewants to do and he we're going
(12:14):
pro. Well, I'm not going to they,
they know that I'm not going to.I'm going to coach him because I
won't be able to sleep if I don't try to.
Coach him. How much do you look at that
you're recruiting a kid, How much do you look at how many
schools they've been to, how many travel ball teams they've
played on every summer? Like I want to dive more into
that because we see it. My kids play a lot of
competitive travel baseball. Kids show up on a different team
(12:37):
every weekend. And I think it doesn't seem that
big of a deal, seems innocent when they're 1012.
But I think the point you brought up, I think is so
interesting. It breeds this idea of I don't
like the role. On my team now.
Instead of starting with what can I do to improve it?
It's there's another, there's a team on every corner and I can
just, I can artificially improvemy standing by just.
(12:59):
Changing what jersey I'm wearing.
Is that? Sustainable and is that the?
Model we want. So take it further.
You're seeing it. You're seeing the product of
this environment. Now enter your world.
Yeah, 100%. How much do you guys value and
then what do you see? Like, what are the
characteristics you see of the kid who bounced around multiple
schools every year, multiple travel teams?
(13:20):
And then what do you see at the college level versus the kid
that might not have started until he was a junior in high
school, but he played on the same team with all the kids from
his hometown and he battled. That could turn into a hell of a
player. Like what?
What do you see that journey, the end result at your level?
I would say it's the number one reasons certain guys don't
succeed, but they've been they were predicted to with their
(13:43):
talent level. The trappings of the system get
them because they don't want they skip steps.
Nobody wants us. You start skipping steps of real
development and you had a great line about, you know, art, just
artificially improve yourself bygoing to a certain team or a
certain school. You didn't really get any
better. Yeah, it became the shortstop.
Not because I improved. I just went to a team that
(14:05):
didn't have as good a shortstop.So you've never had to earn
anything. I mean, that's it.
And then what happened eventually, eventually, I always
tell my guys, I like boxing because eventually you got to
get in the ring and ring the bell and prove yourself.
You know, you're you know, that's just the way it is.
Like there is no word. They can talk what they want the
night before. But you know, Mike Tyson said,
(14:26):
you know, eventually you got to get in the ring.
You say whatever you want, but I'm not wearing any socks and
I'm coming tomorrow. So like you got to you
eventually got to do it. The great exact like for me and
all coaches and love the guy that played for me Jaime Hawkins
and Eric Spoelstra had a great line and said what Miami Heat
loved him because he didn't skipsteps.
(14:47):
He got in the lineup as a hustleguy as a freshman, as a tough
guy as a sophomore, one of the better players as a junior and
an all American as a senior. And he so they said he had been
he had played every role that hehad to play on his team.
And the hard thing is for in youth sports, when you train,
(15:07):
when you transition, is these because you're the most talented
player. If you have that type of player,
he doesn't know how to function when he's not the most talented
player anymore. And it's a distinct advantage
for somebody that's had to do that.
That's why I'm always been jealous of football, because
(15:29):
there's a depth chart. Older guys play, younger guys
tend to sit. You got to work your way up.
It's only one ball, 11 guys. Not everyone touches it.
When the nose tackle is tying his shoes, he's not thinking
about getting touchdowns. He's thinking about plugging his
gap. I mean, you know, I mean.
Everyone's got to roll. Everybody's the ultimate in.
My sport, everybody thinks it's the night they're getting 30.
Yeah, when they tie their shoes,everybody thinks it's and it's
(15:52):
understandable, but but it's a huge advantage for the player
you talked about that hasn't hasgone through a process and had
to fight through becoming who hehas become instead of just being
anointed. This episode of You Think is
brought to you by Players Health, a company that believes
youth athletes deserve the safest and the most accessible
(16:14):
environments possible to play the sports they love.
Instead of reading an ad to you,we're going to try something a
little bit different. I'm going to have a conversation
with the Players, Health management team and 1:00.
Of their key customers. To help you better understand
what problems Players Health is solving for their partners and
how they allow kids to feel safewhen playing the games they
love. To break this down, I spoke with
(16:36):
Kyle Lobrano. She's the Chief mission Delivery
Officer at Players Health and wehad a conversation to discuss
what sets Players Health apart. And Joel Reagan, client of
Players Health and the executivedirector of Florida Youth
Soccer. So happy here with you.
Think to be joined by Kyle Lobrano with Players Health.
For everyone listening, just give us a quick snapshot,
(16:57):
Players Health, what your role is in this youth sports
experience, What services you guys are providing that are
making people like me that are trying to run teams and run
organizations and just making sure we comply and and are
covered from from that standpoint.
Yeah. So we're a specialty insurance
firm. We focus on risk management
through athlete safety. We focus every day on making
(17:19):
sure not, you know, that we're not just swinging insurance
policies that we are providing, you know, the risk mitigation
pieces and all the things in athlete safety that you need to
be doing in terms of education, compliance, background checks
and making sure that they have the foundation, you know,
policies and procedures, sort ofexpectations of what the
behavior should be within that organization.
(17:42):
What was the genesis? Did you guys see a hole in this
and say people are really struggling managing all of this?
Yeah. You know, and I think at first
it was sort of injury management, that's sort of where
our CEO started things. And then at that point realized
that, OK, there's a huge issue in insurance and organizations
are becoming uninsurable. And so saw an opportunity to
kind of combine just started to make sense like OK, we can get
(18:04):
organizations insurance and we can help them with athlete
safety and really not only protect the athletes, but start
to reduce the amount of the claims that were.
Coming through, so you're sayingnow through players health like
we can keep track of injuries, return to play like you can
almost bank and see a little bitmore of your track record now in
the youth level? So we started in injury
management. It's not a product that we
(18:24):
continue to kind of build. We have claims data that would
be able to, you know, kind of track, you know, not by person,
but the organization's sort of level of how many say knee
injuries and then use that data.Like right now we're working
with the Aspen Institute on the National ACL Coalition to use
data to be able to then go to carriers and say, hey, if we
(18:45):
start having organizations introduce neuromuscular
training, can we kind of give them a credit on their insurance
to be able to kind of get them to do this really important
thing? Oh, interesting.
So you guys can develop like preinjury type protocols and then
once you guys can show that those reduce hospital stays,
reduce visits, surgeries, rehab,PT clinic, you can then now work
(19:07):
on the other side, which the insurance company and I say,
hey, give us a little bit of an offset here because look at
we're doing to save you future expenses.
The interest is very much there on our end.
That's I mean when we're the carrier on the case, you know,
it's a no brainer. We're doing it.
We know that there's a direct relations, so yeah, there's a
lot of interest in it. So how do we increase the access
to this information and then theresources to apply it?
(19:27):
It's not an issue to be able to do that, you know, kind of hands
on work with a national governing body or a large state
organization. But it's those little grass root
organizations that, you know, wecan't sit with every single one
of them. But there's this whole
educational model of prevention in say, you know, building the
right policies and down to, you know, like abuse prevention
(19:48):
policies all the way down to like some cardiac arrest, making
sure that you have protocols in place.
What we've built is, you know, if you are a small organization,
you can go online by your insurance and then you get, you
know, put into our system calledthe Safety Hub and you have
access to a whole athlete safetylibrary that has every policy
and procedure that you would need.
And it has a tutorial on how to actually, you know, write it for
(20:12):
yourself. We also give them the ability to
assess their risk right off the bat so they can go and see what
gaps they have in policy becausemost of them don't know.
What they need to have in place so.
It's super cool to hear like that's the approach that you
guys take and we appreciate Players Health for being a part
of our journey of storytelling here at you.
Think we want to bring value to you, the parents, coaches, the
(20:34):
athletes listening in everythingthat we do.
Check out Players Health today and let them know.
Youth Inc sent you. Now back to the episode.
What is the cost of being, you know, a son of a great?
Coach, you can still be a great coach and a great parent.
You know, at you know, at the college level, you can travel,
(20:55):
you can recruit, you can be stressed, you can still be a
great parent. Like, and you know, I was around
Bob Huggins, great parent to twodaughters.
Coach Patino, 5 kids. So I had not only my own dad,
but you know, 2 Hall of Fame coaches I work for.
We're great dads as well, so I saw it first hand and that was
like, that was a big mission of mine.
Is there a common thread amongstthem of what they did really
(21:19):
well that we could maybe pass onto our community of TO?
To be a great dual role is tricky.
It's hard enough to be a great single role, but to do.
Are there any common threads that you would say?
Here's a few things that I thinkwould be really important for.
Yeah, I mean that you have to make their life as important as
yours. If you stopped there it would be
(21:39):
a brilliant parenting coaching take away.
Like make their life as important.
Or really, it should be more. More so, you know, like I was.
I'll tell you something helped me last year.
I hadn't missed the NCAA tournament in many, many, many
years, but I got to see the spring musical at Campbell Hall
High School where my daughter was like the second lead and I'd
never seen it. I'd always had to watch the
(22:01):
spring musical on my, my, you know, on the iPad, you know, on
the replay. But you know, the I'd never seen
that before. So it was like, you know, I
lose. Like, you know, I'm not the most
religious guy. I was, you know, God threw me a
bone here, right? You know, he gave me humble pie.
I didn't make the tournament, but I he got, you know, I got to
see the spring musical. So I think that that's
(22:23):
important. I think you can't take the it's
just to me, it's too low hangingfruit to use excuses.
I'm busy. I got to win.
Like to me that that's all an excuse.
That famous story? Bruce Arians.
Told off his assistant coach. When he was the head coach,
obviously head coach of multiplespots, but most recently before
he retired, obviously won the Super Bowl there at Tampa Bay
(22:44):
with the Bucks and and Brady in them.
He had a rule. He said if I ever find out you
miss a. Game.
A recital. A performance.
Because you're sitting in your office at 8:00 on a Wednesday
watching football tape. You're fired.
I love that you're fired. You can't coach for me.
That doesn't surprise me. I love that.
(23:05):
You know, obviously doing this for a living, I try to watch as
many other coaches and just listen to him and get a feel
and, you know, try to something you can pick up.
And I've always liked him. Not obviously never met.
He just seemed like the coolest guy.
It's not a bad rule. Yeah, I just think it's it's
somewhere along the line in the coaching world it it became in
vogue to say, you know, especially in the NFL.
(23:28):
It's an epidemic. I sleep in my office.
I work 20 hours a day. First of all, no you don't.
If you weren't able to tell people you did it, no one would
do it right? They do it so they can say they.
Do with you if you can't get it done in, let's call it 14 hours.
We're not building rockets. Definitely not building rockets,
but now with the technology. So like when I first worked with
(23:48):
Coach Huggins, like we would have one tape, you know, like
you would you, you I'd like you have to go out to the airport
for Delta Dash to get the tape, the scouting tape.
And you're calling the guy to make sure he gets it on the
plane. You know, for the next game, it
was a different era. And then, you know, then you're
driving to his house to watch the tape of your next opponent.
(24:08):
And like that's all over. Everybody's got an iPad,
everybody's got all, all the technology.
We call it Synergy and Dragonflyand all this stuff that you, you
sit around literally and watch film 24 hours a day with two,
two screen touches of anything. And I'm talking recruits now.
It's even now recruits. You tell me about a kid, you
know, we're talking hoops and you're talking about a game in
(24:30):
North Carolina. Like I can go watch it.
I can we're done with it today. I can just go watch it.
Like 2 taps. I'm watching you tell me about a
kid I'm pulling type his name and I'm watching it so you
don't. In this day and age, there's no
need to sit in the office like there was 30 years ago.
But I'm with you. I mean it it it's, it's
overrated like Greg said it it'sself promoting.
(24:52):
There is something really cool that happened.
So when I was at the Seahawks, once a week we would have all
the family come in for a dinner and that was a bit unheard of.
And but when you see coach, it was for the coaches, not the
athletes. When you see the coaches around
their family and there's a bunchof kids, little kids mostly
around, it changes. It changes the adults.
(25:14):
You see a different side. You become a little bit closer
because you meet their kids. And then when it comes to hard
conversations, you have a littlebetter understanding.
So when the kids around, I thinkwe are better and that old
school idea of grind till you, you know, whatever, not only
we're not thinking clearly and well, but we've we've created a
wake of destruction behind us. And so I hope that people hear
(25:37):
what you're talking about right now.
When my dad told me a long time ago, you know, there there's
there's like 500 million people in Asia that could care less who
wins this game. You know, it's not that
important. You know, what do we think it
is? I.
Didn't sleep last? Night because I lost my middle
school football game, so I couldhave used your dad's advice.
We got to have a talk after the show.
(25:58):
We got to have a talk. So but I get, I mean, you know,
you got the competitive side, but you have to have some sort
of barometer to bring yourself back.
Like your family is more important.
You know, like when I first got to UCLA, Josh Palmer, my
assistant coach Rod, his, you know, so Josh is going to be a
senior. So he's like going into 7th
grade or so and he's like, you can Josh come to practice?
(26:19):
I said Rod, don't ever ask that again.
Like he can always come to practice.
He can always be in the locker room.
Now I may get upset and throw some people out.
So, you know, thank Josh might have got thrown out once, but he
thought it was cool. I got turned out of locker, you
know? Yeah.
You don't ever have to ask me that again.
You know, my my other assistant now, Yogi from Serbia, he's got
two young boys there that they're at practice all the
(26:42):
time. Like, you don't have to ask me.
It's really cool. Like is when they get a day off
of school and they want to be with their dad because we travel
enough. Like it, it, it, it's, it's not
as like you said, or it's not rocket science, first of all.
And you know your kid, we're away from them enough.
So when you can include your family, you you should include
your family. And and it kind of leads to to
(27:04):
something I wanted to talk to you a lot about.
Mike and I have had this conversation.
We're actually having it right before you got here.
Just how important those relate,right?
Everything in in sport is relationship driven.
There's a relationship between the parent and the and the
athlete. There's a relationship amongst
the athletes on the team. And then really one of the
biggest roles for all the adultsis that that coach, that person
that you entrust to coach your child, whether it's middle
(27:25):
school football or high level competitive Division One
basketball, that coach's responsibility to form a
relationship where he's not justvested into the skill
development of your child. But as Mike said to me earlier,
you spend more time with with the child than the parent does.
Where did you learn just the power of relationship, the power
of building those bonds with players, not only for them and
(27:47):
their parents to trust them, to send them to you, to coach them,
but to then lead them through their entire journey and send
them off hopefully to the NBA. But I'm sure you sent a lot of
guys not to the NBA that just had to go be, just be men and
just be, be parents and be husbands and fathers.
Like where did that relationshipthat that priority in building
those bonds and relationships? Like where?
Where does that route back to? Oh, son of a high school coach,
(28:10):
because you look with, you know,my dad lost, you know, a lot of
money that he could have been making coach in high school.
You know, your dad, they didn't make any money.
I mean, you made your money teaching.
You made your money. Yeah, you make same.
You know, they didn't make if you, you give a high school
coach, what was their hourly wage?
It was like $0.10. You know, it was like, come on.
(28:30):
So they coach, they coach because they love the game.
They love the kids. They're trying to teach young
guys right from wrong. So that was always my background
and like, I was out. Like that has never changed.
But it's challenging because it does affect you.
Because people say you know that.
OK, well, he's hard on like he'shard on his guys.
No, no, no. I spell love and discipline the
(28:50):
same way. And I tell my guys, I'm not
going to use you like you when you're 28.
I don't want you to say, well, he knew that I was doing some
things I shouldn't have been doing.
And he never said anything because he just wanted I was one
of the better players and he wanted to win games.
You know, when you're 28, I wantyou to say, look, sometimes that
(29:12):
guy was tough to play for, but he cared about me.
Now you everybody thinks they should have shot the ball more.
That's OK. In basketball, like wide
receivers, you should get more touches.
More touches. You know, and that's OK, you
know, I think my dad should havelet me shoot more, you know, and
played me over my brother. But you know, we're all idiot,
you know, when it comes to that stuff.
He's shaking his head off camera.
He's letting us know, right? Brother better, we'll get to
(29:34):
that. He was older, he had no
question. But you know the ego of a
player, right? I mean, you went through it, so
you, you, I'm OK with that. But you, you to me, I'm never
like and I don't look, I'm 22 years coming up as being a head
coach, I think. And that's the number one thing.
I try to keep that do the right thing and at the end of the day,
(29:55):
it'll all work. Now, sometimes it chases some
recruits away. They don't want to hear that.
They just they just want to get the basketball piece at my level
and get to the pro level and that's OK.
But I can't turn off who I am. Well, coach, we appreciate, we
know you have a million things to do in here.
We appreciate it. Hope you have a good, nice
weekend with your dad. And then I know you said you get
(30:16):
back from the holiday weekend, you get right to work, so right
to it. Good luck this year.
We appreciate you joining us. There's a lot of really good
Nuggets that a lot of people aregoing to get a lot of value out
of. So appreciate you joining us.
I appreciate it. Good being here, you know.
Best success next season. Like I'll tell you when you do
your thing. Little love.
And we're going to stay off the blogs.
So we are super excited today tobe joined by the Executive
(30:39):
Director of Florida Youth Soccer, Joel Dragon.
I had a chance to learn a lot about players, players, health.
They are a new partner of ours here at Youth Think Florida
Youth Soccer. Like how did your relationship,
how were you introduced to them?And maybe what needs did you
guys have that you were searching for and then you were
able to find once you partnered with them?
2020, we're in the middle of a pandemic.
(31:00):
We had an awful, awful claims experience, not just injuries,
but some of the ugly stuff that you see in sport that really
makes your insurance premiums jump.
And we are working with brokers.We're talking to companies
overseas. We're we're, we're this close to
being uninsurable the very last minute.
Basically we heard from this young new company and in weeks
(31:23):
they were able to put a policy in front of us that met all of
our needs and frankly and maybe most importantly something that
we could afford. Nobody will really know and
maybe this will get word out howclose we were to non existence
in 2020 and what Players Health did to to pull us out of that.
We're forever grateful. That I want to.
Focus on some of the injury prevention stuff.
We're not just going to be thereto file your claims and help
(31:45):
protect on return to play and and rehab and PT, but also help
developing these pre injury protocols so that there are not
the injuries at the same rate. There's not the same amount of
insurance claims like in a sportlike soccer.
How important and how much time and effort do you guys, along
with players health, put into protocols to prevent the knee
injuries, especially with young girls?
(32:05):
And a lot of things that we're learning are somewhat
preventable. I've put it as simply in the
past as players Health takes a proactive approach rather than a
reactive report approach. Most of these insurance
companies that we've worked without there in the past are only
there when when the problems occur.
And, and they're, they're the first ones that I've seen in
(32:25):
this market, in this industry who have taken this idea of
let's try to get preventative. It's not just on the injury
side, it is on the athlete safety and they the abuse side.
Just by shining a light on this awareness out there in the
community has really made a big difference, especially in the
state of Florida and the resources that they have and the
technology that they have in place have really made us a
(32:47):
safer soccer environment. When you guys made that
decision, what was that onboarding process?
I think a lot of people are like, I don't want to change
carriers, I don't want to changepolicies.
I'm happy with what I have. Maybe it's an inferior, but it's
what I know. How hard was that transition of
onboarding them? And what and what would you say
to people out there saying, OK, is it worth my time to get a new
partner? We left a carrier and a broker
(33:09):
that we had been with for 20, 20plus years to, to go with
players health and frankly, we were expecting the worst.
And it, it was anything but. These guys are, are just
amazing. They know the industry inside
and out. These guys helped us all the way
through and it, it was seamless.I, I, I can't tell you the
proactive approach and how much it has helped Florida Youth
(33:31):
Soccer Association, the exposurethat they've been able to put
out there, but the materials, the template policies that, that
we have, Florida's truly a safersoccer environment since 2020
when we partnered with Players Health.
Check out Players Health today and let them know Youth Inc sent
you now back to the episode. Thanks for joining us today here
on Youth Inc. Let's wrap up with some key
(33:53):
takeaways from our conversation with coach Mick Cronin.
First, he reminded us that building relationships is at the
heart of successful coaching. He shared how growing up with a
high school coach for a dad showed him the importance of
building those bonds that were based on trust and respect, not
just on the skills. And I think.
In youth sports coaches. Often spend more time with youth
(34:14):
athletes than their own parents do, giving coaches a very unique
opportunity, but also a responsibility to help guide
these young kids through critical life lessons.
A big part of coach. Cronin's message was also about
teaching resilience and responsibility in a time when
it's easier than ever to just move from one team to another.
Nick emphasized the importance of not letting youth athletes
(34:37):
skip steps just to get more playing time.
He said that developing and gritcomes from sticking with the
team, fighting through challenges and learning to
embrace every role, whether they're the star or supporting
player. It's not just about sports, it's
a lesson in accountability that will serve them in every part of
life. We also talked about balancing
skill development with characterbuilding.
(34:57):
I think that's such a critical role of all coaching, regardless
of the level. The best coaches like Mick, he
teaches both technical and mental skills, not just how to
win games, but how to handle pressure, how to build
self-confidence, how to support teammates.
This mental training equips young athletes with tools they
can use in any challenge. Finally, Coach Cronin highlights
(35:18):
the importance of family and life outside of sports.
And as a college coach, he makessure his players see that the
commitment he makes to his own family.
That comes first. And it's a great reminder to
parents and coaches that as muchas we all love sports, it is
essential to show these young athletes that life is more than
just winning and losing. To sum it up, today's episode
(35:39):
underscores that the journey in youth sports isn't just about
skill. It's about building
relationships, teaching resilience, and finding balance.
It's about helping kids grow into confident, well-rounded
people prepared for challenges well beyond the game.
Thanks for listening, and here'sto raising the next generation
of strong, resilient athletes one day at a time.
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