Win More, Live Better

Zach Brandon

Win More, Live Better is a podcast for sport coaches and high-performing leaders who care deeply about results, but refuse to compromise their well-being, joy, or relationships in the process. This show explores what it really means to win more and live better on your terms. Through stories, conversations, and practical frameworks, each episode helps you sharpen your leadership, strengthen your inner game, and build systems that support sustainable performance for you and those you lead. Hosted by Zach Brandon, a nationally recognized performance and leadership advisor who partners with elite sport coaches, executives, and high performers to help them thrive using practical tools, systems, and mindset frameworks.

  1. Karch Kiraly | Head Coach, USA Men's Volleyball National Team | "Pressure is a privilege."

    2D AGO

    Karch Kiraly | Head Coach, USA Men's Volleyball National Team | "Pressure is a privilege."

    Today we're joined by the Team USA Men's Volleyball Head Coach, Karch Kiraly. Karch is one of the most accomplished figures in the history of volleyball and one of the few individuals to reach the pinnacle of the sport as both a player and a coach. Widely regarded as the greatest volleyball player of the 20th century, Karch Kiraly is a three-time Olympic gold medalist, winning twice in indoor volleyball and once in beach volleyball. As a collegiate athlete at UCLA, he helped lead the Bruins to three national championships and later became one of the most dominant beach volleyball players ever, earning 148 career tournament wins and six AVP MVP awards. His playing career alone earned him induction into multiple Hall of Fames, including the International Volleyball Hall of Fame and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. As a coach, Karch has built one of the most consistent and successful programs in international sport. He served as head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team for 12 years, compiling a 327–81 record and leading the team to its first-ever Olympic gold medal in Tokyo (2021), along with multiple Volleyball Nations League titles and a World Championship. In 2024, he guided the U.S. Women to an Olympic silver medal in Paris before being named Head Coach of the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team later that year. In this conversation, Karch and Zach explore the human side of elite performance and leadership including what Karch learned during his first year leading a new national team, why self-doubt still shows up at the highest levels, how elite teams train failure recovery, and why pressure is best understood as something we choose, not something imposed on us. This conversation offers timeless lessons for coaches and leaders navigating transition, pressure, and the thin margins that define high performance. Here's some notable highlights from our conversation: [5:23] — Transitioning to Head Coach for the Men's National Team [10:41] — Lessons Learned in 2025 [14:37] — Recovering From Failure [16:22] — Training Athletes to Respond to Failure [23:20] — Pressure Is a Privilege [31:42] — Developing a Better Perspective Toward Pressure [36:54] — Embracing Imperfection and Winning Ugly [39:39] — Mastering Struggle [43:53] — Coaching With a Beginner's Mind [49:18] — Body Language  [51:23] — Caring About the Human, Not Just the Performer Learn More About Zach: If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to sign up for a free discovery call to see how I can best support you: https://calendly.com/zachbrandon/discoverycallFor more practical tools and mindset stories like this, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.

    1 hr
  2. Mitch Canham | Head Baseball Coach, Oregon State University | “Coaching is an art. Every coach paints it differently.”

    FEB 2

    Mitch Canham | Head Baseball Coach, Oregon State University | “Coaching is an art. Every coach paints it differently.”

    Today I’m joined by Mitch Canham, the head baseball coach at Oregon State University. Mitch’s story and career has come full circle as he once helped build Oregon State’s championship standard as a player and now carries the program forward as its head coach. As a student-athlete, Canham helped lead the Beavers to three trips to Omaha for the College World Series and back-to-back National Championships in 2006 and 2007. He earned numerous individual accolades including 2007 All-America honors, and First-Team All-Pac-10 recognition. Following his collegiate career, Canham was selected 57th overall in the first round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres. He spent nearly a decade in professional baseball, which extended up to the Triple-A level.  Before returning to Corvallis, Canham built his coaching foundation in professional baseball, spending three-and-a-half seasons as a minor-league manager in the Seattle Mariners organization. Since taking over at Oregon State, Canham has guided the Beavers to multiple NCAA Tournament appearances, Super Regionals, and a return to Omaha in 2025, when Oregon State won 48 games and advanced through five consecutive elimination games. In the conversation, Mitch goes beyond results to unpack how he leads. He breaks down his belief that strong cultures and relationships are built on honesty, the truth, and communication. He shares how he reframes adversity from something that is “hard” into something that is worth accepting as a challenge, why leaders must build systems to guard against drift, and how his faith serves as a guiding light in his personal and professional life.  Here's some notable highlights from our conversation: [6:15] — Leadership Lessons from 2006 & 2007 National Championships  [8:43] — Core Values and Pillars of the Program [11:35] — His MVP'S (Mission, Values, Purpose, and Slogan) [14:14] — Prioritizing Your Values [18:32] — Upholding the Standards as a Staff [33:20] — Preventing Drift as a Leader [36:06] — Growth Amidst All Phases in Life [38:40] — Coaching is an Art [47:09] — Leveraging a Vision of Your Future [53:16] — Faith and Family Learn More About Mitch Canham: If you’d like to learn more from Mitch Canham, you can follow him here.Learn More About Zach: If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to sign up for a free discovery call to see how I can best support you: https://calendly.com/zachbrandon/discoverycallFor more practical tools and mindset stories like this, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.

    1h 7m
4.8
out of 5
21 Ratings

About

Win More, Live Better is a podcast for sport coaches and high-performing leaders who care deeply about results, but refuse to compromise their well-being, joy, or relationships in the process. This show explores what it really means to win more and live better on your terms. Through stories, conversations, and practical frameworks, each episode helps you sharpen your leadership, strengthen your inner game, and build systems that support sustainable performance for you and those you lead. Hosted by Zach Brandon, a nationally recognized performance and leadership advisor who partners with elite sport coaches, executives, and high performers to help them thrive using practical tools, systems, and mindset frameworks.

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