5. Greg Dunn: Intentional Coaching, Fostering Agency & Unleashing the Full Potential of Youth Sports

This week’s guest is Greg Dunn. Greg is a former collegiate hockey player, executive coach and CEO of Exult Sports, a Denver, Colorado based company focused on transforming youth sports organizations into truly athlete-centric environments that support, challenge, and empower youth athletes. 

In this conversation, Greg and I discuss the need to hold the athlete, and their personal development, at the centre of the youth sports experience. We examine the benefits of intentional coaching and the need for coaches and parents to go beyond athletic skill development and help kids learn life skills such as self-regulation and problem-solving. We also explore how coaches and parents can use youth sports as a vehicle to give kids the agency to make decisions and recover from setbacks. 

We then discuss the benefits of youth sports organizations creating learning cultures for not only their athletes but their coaches, volunteers and executives as well. When the adults demonstrate a learning mindset, and embrace their mistakes as opportunities to grow, they are setting a truly positive example for the children in their lives.

Our discussion also touches on how the monetization of the youth sports experience is, in many cases, detracting from the athletic experience and making it harder for many kids to participate. Here, Greg shares some valuable wisdom on making developmentally focused decisions regarding youth sports investments. 

Finally, Greg leaves us with some important thoughts for coaches and parents to reflect on regarding the behaviours we’re modelling for our children. 

Greg and the folks at Exult are doing some great work to help youth sports organizations rethink their approach to creating a positive, growth experience for the children they serve. I really enjoyed this conversation and I hope you do as well!

Episode Sponsor:

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To learn more or connect with Greg:

• Website: Exult Athletics
• LinkedIn: Exult Athletics or Gregory Dunn 
• Instagram: @exultsports 

To connect with Jason:

• Website: jasonmagennis.com
• LinkedIn: Jason Magennis
• Instagram: @youthsportsunitedpod or @jasmagenni

The best way to support Youth Sport United is to subscribe or follow, leave a rating or review and share your favourite episodes with friends and parents dedicated to creating healthy sporting cultures for our kids. If you’d like to learn more about my coaching practice, head over to jasonmagennis.com/coaching.