How Raising Student-Athletes Influenced My Leadership Style

People often ask where my leadership style comes from. I smile because the honest truth is simple: I learned a great deal of it at home.

Raising student-athletes teaches you patience, discipline, communication, and humility in ways no classroom ever could. Our kids compete, train, win, lose, and push through adversity. Watching them has changed how I coach adults.

Leadership is not just about directing people. It’s about understanding what motivates them, seeing potential before they see it in themselves, and helping them overcome their self-doubt.

Our dinner table conversations about effort, sportsmanship, setbacks, and accountability are the same ones I’ve had with university teams, coaches, donors, and ownership groups.

When you raise student-athletes, you naturally become a calmer leader—someone who focuses less on the moment and more on the person. To learn more about my background or read my other articles, click a link:

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