Elevate Others

Beyond thankful for @Brett_Ledbetter and @BeckyBurleigh for helping me keep perspective through their life changing online course, these great videos, and obviously Brett’s amazing book!! If you haven’t read it, you’re missing out!!

After recruiting Ava myself (and losing her to Illinois), I am confident in her ability to shine. From season ending injuries to coaching changes, she’s proven her resilience at the college level. Check out her film below to see a playmaking ACM and reach out with interest.

30 years ago I was the starting QB at Utah State University. My senior year I got benched. For the next 15 years I walked around feeling like a certified loser. Then I read this quote from Pat Summitt: 'Winning is fun… Sure. But winning is not the point. Wanting to win is the point. Not giving up is the point. Never letting up is the point. Never being satisfied with what you’ve done is the point.' It snapped me out of it. If you’re still carrying a sports setback, a benching, a missed opportunity, or any “I’m not enough” story… this is your permission slip to drop it. The game isn’t over. Your story is not yet written. You are still a work in progress. The point is you keep wanting it. You keep getting up. And you listen to that quiet voice that says, "I will try again tomorrow."

Two coaches. Two completely different styles. One championship stage. Dan Hurley and Dusty May couldn’t appear more different. Hurley is loud, fiery, and unapologetically intense. He coaches with passion on full display—every possession, every call, every moment. May is calm, measured, and composed. He leads with poise—steady, deliberate, and rarely rattled. One is expressive and animated. The other is reserved and calculated. And yet… both are elite. Both are brilliant tacticians. Both are masterful recruiters. Both have built championship cultures. And most importantly—both LOVE their players… and their players love them right back. That’s the lesson. There is no ONE way to lead. Not in basketball. Not in business. Not in life. Leadership isn’t about copying someone else’s style. It’s about owning your style. Your personality. Your strengths. Your voice. Because authenticity builds trust. And trust builds teams that win. Don’t try to lead like Hurley. Don’t try to lead like May. Lead like you.

5 Reasons Coaches Struggle to Build Disciplined Teams: Coaches preach discipline constantly. But when it comes to actually teaching it, training it, or modeling it, too many coaches fall short. Discipline is a skill. Train it like one. Here are the 5 biggest mistakes and what to do instead. Mistake 01: Teaching through punishment Discipline is a skill. You don’t get better at a skill by getting yelled at or running lines. You get better through practice, feedback, and repetition under pressure. Build discipline through connection, teaching, and training reps. Not fear. Mistake 02: Confusing rigidity with discipline Same routine. No adjustments. Stick to the plan no matter what. "This is how my coaches did it for me." "This is the way we've always done it." That’s not discipline. That’s stubbornness. Real discipline adapts to circumstances while staying anchored to first principles, timeless truth, purpose, and standards. Rigid things break. Disciplined things flex and strengthen. Mistake 03: Missing one of the three pillars Most coaches drill the WHAT of discipline. Few explain the WHY. Almost none define the HOW. All three must be present: The Three Pillars of Discipline: ❓ WHAT – Intentional Choice 🎯 WHY - Purposeful Objectives 📈 HOW – Skillful Standards Miss one, and you kill ownership. Mistake 04: Treating discipline like a condition “You lack discipline.” “You’re not a disciplined player.” That language creates helplessness. Discipline isn’t something kids have or don’t have. It’s a choice they make moment by moment. It’s not that they didn’t have discipline. It’s that they didn’t choose it. Mistake 05: Coaches don’t model discipline Kids watch everything. When you’re disciplined, your words are credible. When you’re not, your words are noise. The most powerful thing you can do for your team is live the standard you’re asking them to reach. TL;DR --> The 5 Mistakes: 1) Teaching through punishment 2) Confusing rigidity with discipline 3) Missing one of the three pillars 4) Treating discipline like a condition 5) Coaches don’t model discipline Discipline is a skill. Train it like one.

Transactional vs. Transformational Coaching… Dan Hurley shared a story about asking Geno Auriemma for advice after a rough start last season. Geno didn’t mince words: “Listen, if the only gratification and the only part of coaching that excites you is winning the national championship, then you’ve lost your way, buddy! Where’s the joy in the things that you’ve always been about as a coach before you went on the championship run, like relationships with your players, like helping people get better, like making your team the best it can be. Be a coach, man. This is when you really need to be a leader. This team isn’t as good as last year’s, so what the hell are you going to do about it? Are you going home? Are you going to let this thing unravel?” That’s the tension every coach feels: Transactional vs. Transformational. Transactional coaching is outcome-obsessed. It’s about the wins, the losses, the trophies. The problem? When results don’t come, your purpose crumbles with them. Transformational coaching is different. It’s about people. It’s about growth. It’s about building something that lasts, whether the scoreboard agrees with you or not. And this is why mentorship matters so much in coaching. Left on our own, it’s easy to drift into a transactional mode without even realizing it. A trusted mentor can pull us back to center and remind us why we started coaching in the first place. To build relationships. To develop players as people. To make teams the best they can be. Wins matter. But they’re not the why. The why is impact. The why is growth. The why is leaving your players better than you found them. The process is the prize. Stay grounded. Stay on the path. Always remember your why.

The grass isn’t greener on the other side…it’s greener where you water it!!! #ElevateOthers #NoShortCuts

Great explanation of how we got into this mess and possibly how we get out of it 👍

Stress exposes fragile systems.

This Real Madrid goal is an absolute JOKE 🤯

You just cannot beat Sunday League football..

130 schools said no. He led the losingest program in college football history to a national championship anyway. Fernando Mendoza was a 2-star recruit from Miami. He tried to walk on at his hometown school. They passed. So did FIU. So did FAU. So did everyone else. At 17, he was sitting in his bedroom, crying over a silent recruiting inbox—after driving to 18 camps with his dad and sending highlights to more than 100 programs. Not one FBS offer. His only option? Yale. No scholarship. No NFL path. Everyone told him to be “realistic.” “Know your place.” “Be grateful.” He didn’t listen. Because Mendoza understood something most people miss: The worst outcome isn’t failing. It’s never getting the chance to try. Two weeks before signing day in 2022, his phone rang. Cal needed a body. One offer. Out of 134 schools. He took it. He arrived as the third-string quarterback. Spent a year on the scout team. Lost his first four starts. Got sacked 41 times behind a broken offensive line. Still got up. Every time. Then Cal brought in a transfer instead of building around him. So Mendoza left the only school that had ever said yes. He transferred to Indiana—the losingest program in college football history. People laughed. “Career suicide.” “Graveyard program.” “Nobody wins there.” One coach told him something different: “I’m going to make you the best Fernando Mendoza possible.” That was enough. Mendoza wasn’t just playing for football. His mother has battled multiple sclerosis for 18 years. Before every snap, he thought of her. “My mother is my why.” Indiana went 16–0. Beat six Top-10 teams. Won their first Big Ten title since 1945. Mendoza threw 41 touchdowns. Won the Heisman—first in school history. First Cuban-American to ever do it. Then came the title game. Miami. Near his hometown. Fourth-and-4. Season on the line. Quarterback draw. The kid 134 schools rejected spun through defenders and dove into the end zone. Game over. Indiana—national champions. The losingest program became the best team in America. All because a 17-year-old refused to believe “no” was the end. Rankings don’t decide your ceiling. Gatekeepers don’t write your ending. Being overlooked isn’t a verdict—it’s a starting point. Sometimes all you need is one shot… and the courage to bet on yourself when nobody else will. Don’t quit. Credit: Barclay Mullins

Perfect way to wrap up the coaches convention this morning!! Loved listening to Anson, Randy, and Colleen, moderated by Paul, discussing player development. Another great convention full of learning and connecting with friends and colleagues that I highly respect! #ElevateOthers

@mlycan12 @WMTribeWSOC

College soccer recruiting is wild because I can watch a player for 3 minutes and think: “Yes.” “No.” or “I need 6 more games and a lucky hunch.” #CollegeRecruiting #WeGetTo @WMTribeWSOC

We played human tic-tac-toe to kickoff our first @FCRichmondRVA winter training session last night This activity works on their communication, vision, shielding, strength, and fitness, plus it’s A LOT of fun 😃😃

Can’t wait for the @UnitedCoaches convention in Philadelphia next week…excited to learn and connect!!

‼️Every coach and leader should listen to this. 📢The success Indiana has achieved has not been an accident. 💪This is a 45 second synopsis of how you become elite.

What is 1% better? 1% of your day ≈ 15 mins. If you spent 15mins a day on the thing you know you need to do, how much further along would you be in a year? 5? 10? We don’t always need big audacious actions. Just small consistent ones. Do a little, a lot.

“I want to play D1!” they say. And I always follow up with a direct “WHY?” Oddly enough, no one has been able to give me a genuine, in depth answer. They just “want to go D1.” So I press even further and ask, “well, what schools are you looking at?” Players will list schools like Clemson, UConn, UNC, Notre Dame, Florida State, and all the well-known D1 schools that the top 1% play at. Then I follow up with, “okay, what specifically about these schools do you like?” No response. Crickets chirping. READ MORE: ericasuter.com/turning-down-d…

As a club DOC, I now have the distinct honor of receiving numerous emails about college “ID Clinics”. A power 4 program is charging over $150 for their clinic that only lasts 3 hours 😳😳🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤯🤯🤯