How Soccer Explains Leadership Podcast Philip Darke & Paul Jobson

In Episode 147, Lance VanHaitsma, CONCACAF’s Refereeing Technical and Development Manager, former Int’l Futsal Referee, and former Big 12 Referee, talks with Phil and Paul about his story and how he worked up the ranks of refereeing, life and leadership lessons learned from refereeing, the importance of resetting after mistakes and how Lance did it, the law vs. spirit of the law, his thoughts on VAR and its impact on the game, referee abuse and why it is critical that we figure out how to stop it, the importance of players learning the laws of the game (and refereeing), and much more. Specifically, Lance discusses:
·      His personal story, including how he grew his passion for soccer, leadership, and refereeing, and how he ended up in leadership of CONCACAF (4:58)
·      His personal why/life purpose and how he is living it out (16:33)
·      The life and leadership lessons he has learned as a soccer and futsal referee, including perspective and enjoying the journey (22:44)
·      The difference between the law and spirit of the law, and what separates good referees from great referees (31:56)
·      How we can work to ensure referees don’t compound mistakes with make-up calls (36:27)
·      Some of Lance’s tricks he used when he was a referee and some great leadership advice (42:37)
·      His thoughts on VAR, its impact on the game and refereeing, and its impact on life outside the game (46:55)
·      Referee abuse, why he believes abuse has increased over the past few years around the world, and an analogy that will definitely make you think (54:52)
·      How he is using lessons learned from the beautiful game in his marriage (1:06:56)
·      His recommendations (1:10:58)
Resources and Links from this Episode
·      Video of the Episode
·      HSEL Facebook Group
·      Warrior Way Soccer
·      Providence World (Donations to HSEL Podcast)
·      Coaching the Bigger Game Program
·      Phil’s email for DISC Training
·      “The Dynasty: New England Patriots” (Apple TV+)
·      “Tom Brady, Leadership Lessons” (The Consello Group)
·      HSEL Brad Miller Episode

In Episode 146, Todd Yelton, Samford University Women’s Soccer Head Coach, husband, and father, talks with Phil and Paul about his ministry and coaching journey and lessons he has learned along the way, how his wife’s death transformed him and his coaching, lessons learned on his team’s mission trip to Costa Rica, the integration of faith and coaching, how he uses lessons learned from the game in his life outside the game, and much more. Specifically, Todd discusses:
·      His personal story, including how he grew his passion for soccer, leadership, and coaching, and how he ended up coaching at Samford University over the past couple decades (5:41)
·      How the death of his first wife changed his perspective on life and transformed his coaching (13:24)
·      His personal why/life purpose and how he is living it out today (23:10)
·      His trip to Costa Rica with his team, Paul, and Warrior Way, and the lessons he and his team learned from the trip (33:35)
·      How he incorporates his faith into his coaching and how it impacts his teams’ culture (46:54)
·      How he is using lessons learned from the beautiful game in his marriage and parenting (59:22)
·      His recommendations (1:05:43)
Resources and Links from this Episode
·      Video of the Episode
·      HSEL Facebook Group
·      Warrior Way Soccer
·      Providence World (Donations to HSEL Podcast)
·      Coaching the Bigger Game Program
·      Phil’s email for DISC Training
·      Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life, Tony Dungy
·      Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, Laura Hillenbrand
·      Same Kind of Different as Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together, Ron Hall & Denver Moore

In Episode 145, Paul and Phil cover their favorite moments from the first half of Season 11, which included some great nuggets of wisdom from incredible coaches and leaders and unforgettable stories that you do not want to miss. Paul talks about his recent trip to Costa Rica with Warrior Way, Samford Women’s Soccer Team, and its coach who happens to be our next guest kicking off Season 11’s second half, Phil shares about some great upcoming opportunities, and Phil recommends a great new soccer movie that you’ll want to check out.
Resources and Links from this Episode
·      Uncut Video of the Episode
·      HSEL Facebook Group
·      Warrior Way Soccer
·      Providence World website
·      Coaching the Bigger Game Program
·      Phil’s email for DISC Training
·      “The Beautiful Game” (Netflix)

In Episode 144, Lang Wedemeyer, Head Coach of Liberty University Women’s Soccer, husband, and father, talks with Phil and Paul about his ministry and coaching journey and lessons he has learned along the way, the challenges of transitioning a program from D-1 to D-2, how he is a better coach because of an ill-timed injury, the transfer portal, the importance of mentorship and how Iron Chats are helping coaches, how his faith impacts his coaching, culture building, great lessons from great coaches, a bunch of great book recommendations, and much more. Specifically, Lang discusses:
·      His personal story, including how he grew his passion for soccer, leadership, and coaching, and how he ended up coaching at Liberty University (1:46)
·      Lessons learned from his transition from Division 2 to Division 1 while coaching at South Dakota State (5:23)
·      How the transfer portal is changing the game (9:38)
·      His personal why/life purpose and how he is living it out today (11:41)
·      The importance of mentorship and how Iron Chats are helping coaches lead better and connect with mentors/mentees (14:25)
·      A couple things he wishes he knew when he started coaching a couple decades ago (20:54)
·      How his faith has impacted his coaching and how he has incorporated his faith into his coaching at both a secular and Christian school (24:39)
·      Establishing and maintaining healthy cultures in your teams (29:46)
·      Coaching the different generations over the years (34:35)
·      His defining moment as a player and life lessons he learned from it (39:25)
·      His most influential coaches and how he is using the lessons learned from them in his life today (45:52)
·      His thoughts on the good and bad of US soccer, and how lessons learned in Liberia can help soccer in the US (53:23)
·      How he is using lessons learned from the beautiful game in his relationships outside the game (1:05:22)
·      His recommendations (1:10:40)
Resources and Links from this Episode
·      Iron Chats
·      Video of the Episode
·      HSEL Facebook Group
·      Warrior Way Soccer
·      Providence World (Donations to HSEL Podcast)
·      Coaching the Bigger Game Program
·      Phil’s email for DISC Training
·      Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast
·      Positive University Podcast
·      The Ed Mylett Podcast
·      Win the Day: 7 Daily Habits to Help You Stress Less & Accomplish More, Mark Batterson
·      The Christian Athlete: Glorifying God in Sports, Brian Smith
·      Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Angela Duckworth
·      Inside Out Coaching: How Sports Can Transform Lives, Joe Ehrmann
·      Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus: The Classic Guide to Understanding the Opposite Sex, John Gray
·      High Altitude Leadership: What the World’s Most Forbidding Peaks Teach Us About Success, Chris Warner
·      The Vision of a Champion: Advice and Inspiration from the World’s Most Successful Women’s Soccer Coach, Anson Dorrance & Gloria Averbuch

In Episode 143, David Irby, CEO of Surge Int’l, Former Azusa Pacific University Head Coach, Author of Undefeated: We are More Than Conquerors Through Him Who Loved Us, Sammy Surge, and Sports Ministry, husband, and father, talks with Phil and Paul about his ministry and coaching journey and lessons he has learned along the way, how soccer connects the world, the importance of baby steps and doing hard things in hard places, some insane stories from his adventures, the power of Christ, his books, winning and fair play, the power of moments, great lessons from great coaches, what he learned in Liberia that can help US Soccer, and much more. Specifically, David discusses:
·      His personal story, including how he grew his passion for soccer, leadership, ministry, and coaching, and how he ended up being one of the pioneers of soccer ministry and visiting much of the world over the past few decades (4:10)
·      His personal why/life purpose and how he is living it out today (12:07)
·      His ministry journey and the different ministries he has worked with and is working with around the world, including some crazy experiences that no doubt will teach you some important lessons (15:54)
·      The importance of doing things without worrying about the impact that we actually see (24:30)
·      Why he wrote his books and how he hopes they will affect his readers’ lives (29:35)
·      How he incorporates his faith into his coaching and how it impacts his teams’ culture (38:40)
·      His defining moment as a player and life lessons he learned from it (46:08)
·      His most influential coaches and how he is using the lessons learned from them in his life today (49:42)
·      His thoughts on the good and bad of US soccer, and how lessons learned in Liberia can help soccer in the US (55:41)
·      How he is using lessons learned from the beautiful game in his relationships outside the game (1:00:33)
·      His recommendations, including a one close to home (1:05:21)
Resources and Links from this Episode
·      Video of the Episode
·      HSEL Facebook Group
·      Warrior Way Soccer
·      Providence World (Donations to HSEL Podcast)
·      Coaching the Bigger Game Program
·      Phil’s email for DISC Training
·      Undefeated: We are More Than Conquerors Through Him Who Loved Us, David Irby
·      Sammy Surge: Study Hard, Play Fair, Help Others, David Irby
·      Sports Ministry, David Irby
·      The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham, Harold Myra and Marshall Shelley

In Episode 142, Brock Thompson, South Dakota State Head Coach and 2024 FCA Layton Shoemaker Award winner, talks with Phil and Paul about his coaching journey and lessons he has learned along the way, how he incorporates his faith into his coaching and how he does it in a secular school, the origin of the word, “Coach,” aligning priorities with faith, our need for accountability, the importance of belief, authenticity and vulnerability, how what makes America a great country negatively affects youth soccer, the power of “I don’t know,” and much more. Specifically, Brock discusses: 
·      His personal story and coaching journey, including how he grew his passion for soccer, leadership, and coaching, and what he is doing in retirement how he ended up at South Dakota State (5:41)
·      How his coaching stint at North Dakota is a big part of his faith journey (8:47)
·      His personal why/life purpose and how he is living it out today (14:37)
·      How he incorporates his faith into his coaching (18:53)
·      Living out faith as a coach in a secular school (23:10)
·      What his faith has to do with his team’s success at SD State (25:58)
·      The need for accountability and where he finds it (29:17)
·      His defining moment as a player and life lessons he learned from it (33:38)
·      His most influential coach and how he is using the lessons learned from that coach in his life today (37:43)
·      His thoughts on the good and bad of US soccer, and how a great quality of America negatively affects youth sports in our country (43:41)
·      What we are missing in the training of our youth players (50:04)
·      How he is using lessons learned from the beautiful game in his relationships outside the game (57:36)
·      His book recommendations (59:13)
Resources and Links from this Episode
·      Video of the Episode
·      HSEL Facebook Group
·      Warrior Way Soccer
·      Providence World (Donations to HSEL Podcast)
·      Coaching the Bigger Game Program
·      Phil’s email for DISC Training
·      Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life, Tony Dungy
·      The Traveler’s Gift: Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success, Andy Andrews
·      3D Coach: Capturing the Heart Behind the Jersey, Jeff Duke
·      9 Things You Simply Must Do to Succeed in Love and Life: A Psychologist Learns from His Patients What Really Works and What Doesn’t, Henry Cloud