Dennis Janzen

The Coaching Dilemma: Balancing Playing Time, Confidence, and Team Success When a Player is Struggling Coaches constantly strive to do what is best for the team, which sometimes requires making lineup changes when a player is struggling. Removing a player from a game due to poor performance can negatively impact their confidence. Some players may […]

Starting Strong: Motivation Hacks for January As the holiday break comes to a close, January offers a unique opportunity for renewal. Coaches and teachers alike return to their schools with a mix of excitement and the challenge of reigniting momentum in their teams and classrooms. To help set the tone for a productive and inspired

More Than a Game: How Coaches Can Inspire Gratitude and Resilience in Their Teams As we approach the holiday season, we tend think more about things such as gratitude and thankfulness. Gratitude and thankfulness aren’t just feelings – they’re actions. By showing appreciation in open and tangible ways, coaches can foster a culture of gratitude

If They’re Not Getting It, Try This: 10 Coaching/Teaching Strategies That Work Have you ever delivered a well-prepared lesson or practice only to find it didn’t connect with your audience? Athletes and students bring diverse learning styles, experiences, and motivations that influence how they absorb and apply information. When athletes or students struggle to grasp

The Language of Victory: How Great Teams Communicate Better In competition, successful teams will communicate better than other teams. How often have we shouted, “Talk!!” when our athletes have messed up a play/situation because they did not clearly communicate. The level of effective and clear communication during competition has been empirically shown to result in

Coaching Through the Midseason Plateau: Tips to Reignite Passion and Focus. Midseason mental plateaus can be tough, but coaches have several effective strategies to refresh their teams and reignite motivation. Here are five key approaches: Revisit the Team’s Purpose and Goals Remind the team why they started and what they are working toward. Breaking the

Thriving Under Pressure: How the Phrase, ‘Trust Your Training’ Will Shape a Winning Mentality The phrase “Trust your training” or “Trust the process” is being used more and more by sport coaches and business leaders. Coaches often use phrases like “Trust your training” or “Trust the process” to reassure athletes when they’re struggling.  Phrases like

“Sweep the Shed” is a powerful metaphorical concept used by the All-Blacks that encapsulates several powerful leadership lessons for creating and maintaining a powerful and resilient sports team culture…a culture that will often be the difference between who wins and who loses…

Success Starts in the Mind: Ideas for Strengthening the Growth Mindset in Your Players We hear so much about growth mindset…   How a growth mindset is the key to improvement and learning.  But what really is a “Growth Mindset”?  …and how do I really apply this to my team and practices? First, let’s look at

Failing Forward: Fostering a Practice Culture that Accelerates Learning and Confidence Coaches everywhere are paying much more attention to the actual processes of learning.  We are realizing that failure is an important part of the process of learning.  You may have heard the phrase, “If they haven’t learned, then I haven’t taught”.  Learning and improvement