Highly Successful Coaching & Leading Teams to Greatness

In this episode, Coach Mike Venos joins me to talk about several life lessons he has learned through over 35 years of coaching kids of all ages. Mike has been the Head Swim Coach at Brother Rice High School for 22 years, Mercy High School for 4 years, and Beachwood Recreation summer club for 17 years. In the time that he has served as the head coach for these teams, they have captured a combined nine Class A / Division I State Championships and 24 Catholic League Championships. He has coached 14 individual and 15 relay-team State Champions, over 50 All-Americans, and two United States Olympic Trial qualifiers.

Mike has received many local, state, and national accolades during his very successful career, is a member of the Catholic League Hall of Fame and will be inducted into the Brother Rice Hall of Fame this spring. In addition to coaching, he teaches Theology at Brother Rice.

Due to everything currently going on in the world concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, my goal with this show is to glean some wisdom for people in dealing with challenges. I started the interviewing by asking Mike why he thinks some people rise to challenges and some shrink from the same opportunities. Through interacting with his students and athletes he said you find out how much you can push them, the kids that are willing to go the extra mile, who is hungry to succeed, and who is born with innate ability take on difficulties. He said certainly these attributes can be innate to a person’s personality, or sometimes can be drawn out of them.

We discussed how sports are such a great forum for allowing people to make mistakes and learn from them. We also discussed the role of parenting in producing people who are more resilient human beings and how different parenting is today then it was when we were kids.

We backed up a bit to explore Mike’s background. He told me his dad was in sales and his mom was a Religious Education teacher, and how he got into swimming because his dad told him he wasn’t going to sit on the couch waiting to play his primary sport, which was baseball. Even though joining the swim team was not his first choice, he learned to love the sport for several reasons. He said it is a sport that you absolutely get out of it what you put into it, and because it is individual in nature, there is no hiding behind a talented teammate. With his love for the sport, he began coaching, which very naturally led him into teaching. He talked about how his upbringing helped develop creativity, which helps him find different ways of interacting with and reaching his athletes and students.

I then wanted to explore some of Mike’s coaching philosophies. He had given me several famous quotes he lives by and we proceeded to walk through those. First, he said that it is very important to have a philosophy and not just a plan based on Bear Bryant’s quote, “Show class, have pride, and display character. If you do, then winning takes care of itself.” That led to a lengthy discussion about having your values as the foundation for everything you do and then formulating a plan from that core. A person’s ethics and morals don’t change based on circumstances, but if you make a plan before examining what you believe in, that could lead to dishonorable or damaging decision-making. We discussed how important a person’s character and integrity it is and how much easier it is dealing with people of virtue.

Coach John Wooden famously said, “Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out.” We discussed the importance of not trying to control the uncontrollables. Mike said that sometimes finding out what you can and cannot control can be difficult, but it vital to keeping your stress level low, enjoying life and succeeding. We discussed how appropriate this message to our current world situation and the wide range of people’s reactions to social distancing and quarantine mandates.

Coach Venos then talked about trusting the process and his own personal motto of “It’s not about winning but being the best” which is born out of Pat Summit’s famous quote of, “Our emphasis is on execution, not winning.” Regardless of your business, it is important to stick with your philosophy and goals, be flexible when required, but trust in your abilities, in the work you have put in, and that things are going to work out. We need to take the perspective that life is a journey, keeping the big picture in front of you, even when faced with obstacles.

We talked about the New England Patriots system and how they built a dynasty on trusting the process, even while not having the most talented players and having to adapt to different strengths.

The quote of, “Get comfortable being uncomfortable” attributed to the Navy Seals led us into a conversation of the Seal officers we know and many of their admirable qualities, especially in times of challenge. The ability to rise to the current challenge and to look at obstacles as opportunities rather than some kind of punishment is essential at this time and as we approach an uncertain future. We pointed out how this time of forced isolation was actually a gift - a time to engage with our families, deepen relationships, and reevaluate our priorities.

Coach Venos’ convictions may be born out of a lifetime of teaching and coaching, but they are applicable to all industries, age-groups, and walks of life.

Quotes:

“I like to surround myself with and hire people who have athletics in their background. People who have been on a team, because they typically know what it means to work hard to get something and to sacrifice for the betterment of others.”