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We spend a lot of time developing an athlete’s capacity.

We train the arm. The swing. The jump. The speed. The strength. We pay for lessons, camps, club teams and recruiting help.

But are we developing the character needed to carry the opportunities all that ability may create?

Ashley McDonough spent 13 years coaching college volleyball and now works with athletes and families as a Senior Volleyball Recruiting Coach with NCSA. She is also the founder of Coached by Christ and the author of Saved to Serve, Called to Lead and When Character Matches Capacity.

Ashley and I talk about why character often develops more slowly than talent, what happens when that gap finally gets exposed, and how coaches can actually train things like ownership, resilience, humility and response to correction.

We also get into identity—what happens when “baseball player,” “volleyball player” or “coach” becomes who we believe we are instead of something we get to do.

Ashley shares some simple ideas coaches can use immediately, including an ownership circle, intentionally coaching an athlete’s response after a mistake, and celebrating things that never appear in the stat line.

And later, Ashley shares the remarkable story of how an injury-filled season of life eventually led her from agnosticism to faith and completely changed the way she sees leadership.

Resources:
Ashley: https://coachedbychrist.com
CoachDad: https://coachdad.live

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Credits:

Photo/Video: Noah Miller, Micah Miller

Video Editing/CoachDad Theme music: Asher Miller

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