Author: corydobbs

Pumping Iron: Not-Invented-Here Dr. Cory Dobbs The Academy for Sport Leadership www.sportleadership.com Today every student-athlete lifts weights.   But this hasn’t always been the norm.  If you look at the black-and-white photographs of athletes from the 1960’s you’ll see mostly underdeveloped physiques.  Weightlifting began on the fringes in the 60s, and mostly in the form of […]

Feedback is the backbone of coaching; it is essential for goal pursuit.  Feedback is necessary on successful and failed actions.  Feedback gives the student-athlete information on a number of levels.  It lets the athlete know where he or she is at in the development of the ability to perform a task.  It also lets the […]

When (Key) Players Clash TURNING CONFLICT INTO STRENGTHJudas deceived Jesus. John chose Yoko over Paul, George, and Ringo. Shaq couldn’t stand Kobe. Steve Jobs was fired by John Scully, his hand-picked CEO. Aristotle rejected Plato’s theory of forms. Both the West Coast rapper Tupac and the East Coast legend The Notorious B.I.G. were killed as […]

Teaching Kids to be LeadersCory Dobbs, Ed.D. Imagine a sign over the door of every classroom.  The colorful sign says, Urgently Needed: Young Leaders  Would your child be prepared to answer this call?  Unfortunately, too many of us have fallen into the trap that leaders are the select and chosen few and that followers are […]

“I want the truth!” “You can’t handle the truth!” So goes the memorable exchange between Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson in the 1992 movie A Few Good Men.  We, at least most of us, sympathize with Cruise’s character, a hotshot attorney,  going face-to-face with the hard-core lifer Colonel Nathan R. Jessep (Nicholson).  Cruise is relentless […]

THREE REASONS EVERY COACH NEEDS A MENTOR Most coaches enter the profession with a vision on building a career.  Simply stated, anyone who is building a career will need help along the way.  One need not look far to find a mentor.  Experienced coaches, current and former, can serve effectively as mentors.  But a mentor […]

SEEING A MIGHTY OAK IN A TINY ACORN  One thing I know is true: everyone I meet has more learning and doing capacity than I am aware of, just like the mighty oak hidden in every tiny acorn.  My work with The Academy for Sport Leadership has led me to conclude that a shared leadership […]

In workshops I urge coaches to re-think how they answer this most essential question.  What do you value more, results or relationships?  I know your natural flinch is to say both.  What do your players value more?  Seriously, which is of more value?  Your answer matters.  Because how you think is how you will lead. […]

Our success depends as much on our relationships with others as it does on our knowledge, skills, and abilities.  However, American culture teaches us to celebrate independence, self-reliance, self-sufficiency, self-interest, and self-determination.  Individualism is one of our core principles.  James Coleman, one of the most influential social scientists of our generation called individualism “a broadly […]

Principles of Shared Values and Vision In the presence of a shared vision, confidence and commitment emerge.  In its absence aspirations diminish while animosity and pettiness prevail.  Generating the right mindset is perhaps the most important task for fostering a collective sense of mission.  The right mindset leads to alignment, excitement, and passion.  The wrong […]