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Gord Stafford

Oct 12, 2026

26:01
So talk a little bit about that specific team and how they bought into your idea of team culture.
26:08
Boy, you have to be very wary of your language as a coach because if you start talking to players about roles specifically, then a lot of stuff goes on inside the locker room, and a lot of stuff goes on out of the coach's ear.
26:27
And what you don't wanna do is have a culture where players are telling other players to know your role 'cause they can twist it the wrong way.
26:38
So what I try to emphasize is that confidence comes from, first of all, having success.
26:48
Confidence comes from people commenting on how well they think that you've done.
26:57
It, confidence comes from not comparing yourself to other people in a negative way, but trying to get better using role models, and then how much self-efficacy you have, how much you, how much you feel your success is within your control.
27:13
So I think it's trying to meet each player where they are, having them and finding out what their base of skill is, and then trying to have them become the best version of themselves within their skill set, right? So that team, we happened to have a number of offensively wired kids, right, and so that really helped.
30:08
And you've echoed the sentiment when you said in the book, quote, "It's not just about the championships, it's about the journey and rewards that come from committing to it fully." So how do you balance winning or how did you balance winning with genuine long-term player development?

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