The Sport and the Growing Good (SGG) podcast tells the stories of exceptional coaches, documenting their everyday practices, their foundational principles, and the lessons they’ve learned.

Brian Bott is the founder and leader of SportsadvantEdge, a leading athlete development business with multiple locations throughout southern Wisconsin. Brian was previously the strength coach at Wisconsin and he’s worked with elite athletes at multiple levels. In this episode we discussed:

1. Key influences on Brian: his father, Coach Shelton, Dean Matsche. “You need people you can trust.”

2. The importance of honesty in coaching. (avoiding blaming, complaining, and defending)

3. “As a coach, our job isn’t to be our athletes’ friend. Our job is to earn their trust.”

4. “How close are you getting to what you’re capable of?”

5. “How you do anything is how you do everything.”

6. Three guiding pillars of SportsadvantEdge: 1) consistency; 2) relentless effort; 3) love and ownership.

7. Parents taking the love of sports away from kids.

8. Defining the process and setting goals.

9. Always learning and adapting.