About this episode

This episode compiles the most impactful conversations from Beyond Coaching in 2025, focusing on leadership challenges faced by coaches.

This Best of 2025 episode brings together the most listened-to and most shared conversations from Beyond Coaching this year. Each segment tackles a reality coaches deal with every day: how to build culture when not everyone plays, how to develop leaders through failure, and how to handle stress without trying to eliminate it. You’ll hear from Brent Hobson , Jim McNeal , and Mitch Hull —three coaches and leaders working in very different environments, but wrestling with the same leadership challenges. Different settings. Same issues. Leadership, pressure, failure, and building programs that last. Episode Highlights Brent Hobson – Value Beyond Playing Time Not everyone plays—but everyone still shapes the culture. Brent Hobson, longtime head coach of Friends University Women’s Soccer, explains how he intentionally builds value for athletes who may never see the field, including why the only award in his office has nothing to do with wins or goals. This is what team-first culture looks like in practice. Topics include: Building value beyond the lineup The Garland Award and why it matters Coaching honesty without lowering standards What’s actually changed—and hasn’t—with today’s…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Rob Ramseyer

Guests: Brent Hobson, Jim McNeal

Topics covered

• coaching culture
• leadership development
• handling stress
• value beyond playing time
• failure as a leadership tool
• team-first culture

Keywords

• coaching
• leadership
• failure
• culture
• stress management
• athletes
• team dynamics

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Friends University, U.S. Naval Academy, Navy Reserve

More episodes of Beyond Coaching: An Impactful Coaching Project Podcast

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• Podcast Short: Holding Two Truths · April 13, 2026 · 10 min
• From Punishment to Pride: Rethinking Conditioning in Sport with Bruce Brown · March 30, 2026 · 32 min
• Dr. Lisa Riegel: Compliance Isn’t Commitment—Coaching the Brain for Lasting Buy-In · March 16, 2026 · 36 min
• Podcast Short: A Simple Framework for Difficult Conversations · March 2, 2026 · 17 min
• Competing Without Losing the Person with Russell Smelley · February 16, 2026 · 31 min

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