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Tag: Coaching

  • The Key to Elevating Your Coaching Practice | Entrepreneur

    The Key to Elevating Your Coaching Practice | Entrepreneur

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Do you feel like there’s more you could achieve with your coaching practice? Do you find it challenging to adapt to the changing needs of your clients? Are you searching for a more straightforward method to deliver top-notch coaching services, grow your coaching team and increase your client base?

    If so, Service Delivery Intelligence can help you solve these challenges.

    Service Delivery Intelligence (SDI) is a new methodology we designed to help you streamline your operations, increase efficiency and improve client experience.

    Continue reading to learn what Service Delivery Intelligence is, its benefits and how SDI helps you level up your coaching business.

    Related: The 6-Step Plan for Growing a Successful Coaching Business

    What is Service Delivery Intelligence?

    To help you improve your coaching business, the Profi team has developed Service Delivery Intelligence (SDI). This methodology allows you to collect and analyze data from the client feedback loop. By utilizing SDI, you can continuously improve your coaching business operations and gain a holistic view of your business performance.

    You can implement SDI in your coaching business operation to remove any friction that hinders your progress, manage your professional practice, optimize service delivery and grow your coaching business online.

    SDI consists of tools and resources that enable you to:

    • Monitor client journey

    • Streamline clients’ experience

    • Increase clients’ engagement

    • Gain insight into their needs and preferences

    • Identify patterns and trends in their behavior

    • Customize your services accordingly

    As a result, you can stand out from competitors, acquire new clients, retain existing clients, renew your coaching contracts, track the success of your coaching programs and ultimately increase your revenue.

    The benefits of Service Delivery Intelligence for coaches

    Service Delivery Intelligence offers many advantages for your coaches and coaching business, regardless of your specific focus or area of expertise. Let’s discuss the most important ones:

    1. Increased efficiency and productivity: Optimize workflow, streamline processes and tasks, and let your coaches focus on more complex or high-value work. It is why they have chosen their profession — to assist clients with their coaching requests.

    2. Reduced errors and improved insight into clients’ progress: Reduce manual work and errors in manual data collection and migration and ensure consistency in service delivery with unified operating systems.

    3. Improved customer service and faster response times: Promptly address customer inquiries, increase customer satisfaction and prevent any loss of customer information.

    4. Ability to handle a larger volume of clients: Enhance productivity and enable coaches to manage more clients and customers by using their time and resources more efficiently.

    5. Increased flexibility and scalability: Quickly adapt this methodology and scale SDI to meet your evolving requirements.

    6. Improved data collection and analysis for decision-making: Gather real-time data and insights to help coaches make good decisions and improve coaching services.

    7. Reduced labor costs and increased cost savings: Reduce the amount of manual work and VA/admin backend management.

    8. Increased consistency and standardization in service delivery: Ensure your services are consistently standardized.

    9. Improved communication and collaboration among coaches on your team: Improve communication and collaboration by providing real-time data, templates and services for team members.

    10. Increased availability and accessibility of services for customers: Make services more available and accessible by eliminating the need to answer repetitive questions.

    Related: 4 Steps for Growing Your Coaching Business to $1 Million a Year

    Choosing the right enablement for Service Delivery Intelligence

    Implementing Service Delivery Intelligence in your coaching practice requires a mindset and using specific software to collect, analyze and utilize data. However, knowing which tools best fit your business can be challenging with so many available options.

    Here are some factors to consider:

    • Data collection: Consider the type of data you need to collect, such as client demographics, progress and session information. For example, you can focus on the client feedback regarding the session and service delivery experience to optimize their engagement with your coaching business. Look for tools that automatically fire off such forms and manage and store this data in a centralized, secure location.

    • Data analysis: Ensure the operating platform can securely store the data you need to analyze and has the necessary visualization and reporting capabilities.

    • Integration: For optimal usage of digital infrastructure, integrate data and tools seamlessly to prevent inconsistencies or loss of information, particularly the data collected through forms. It can prevent loss of revenue.

    • Accessibility: Ensure that your digital infrastructure allows for a superior and streamlined client experience and journey to engage and activate clients.

    • Cost: Assess the cost of the platform you are considering, and ensure it fits your budget.

    By evaluating these factors, you can choose the right tools for your SDI needs and make data-driven decisions to improve the effectiveness of your coaching business.

    How to incorporate Service Delivery Intelligence into your coaching practice

    Implementing Service Delivery Intelligence in your coaching practice may seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are some steps to help you get started:

    1. Assess your and your coaches’ current process: Take a look at your current coaching process, and identify what you need to improve.

    2. Choose the right software: Choose the right tool for data collection, analysis and utilization that fits your practice.

    3. Set clear goals: Determine what you want to achieve by implementing SDI in your practice, such as improved client outcomes, increased coaching effectiveness or better client engagement. Clear goals will help you focus your efforts and measure progress.

    4. Train your team of coaches: Ensure your team understands your chosen tools and processes, so you can further scale your coaching business and framework.

    5. Continuously monitor and evaluate client feedback data: It helps you stay on track and achieve your goals.

    Related: Multimillionaire Coach Shares 8 Tips for Running a Coaching Business

    Following these steps, you can implement a Service Delivery Intelligence mindset in your coaching practice or any other professional service business smoothly and efficiently. It will allow you to gain valuable insights into your clients’ needs and make data-driven decisions to elevate your coaching practice and reach your full potential.

    In conclusion, the Service Delivery Intelligence methodology can significantly benefit your coaching business by maximizing efficiency, reducing data loss and insights and improving customer satisfaction.

    By streamlining processes, you can focus on providing better customer service through hyper-personalization and a better service experience. You should also analyze customer feedback, anticipate needs and optimize the resource allocation of the coaches in your team.

    Finally, you can identify potential problems and take preventive measures, reducing costs and improving customer experience. Service Delivery Intelligence methodology can be your powerful ally for maximizing service delivery and boosting clients’ results.

    Alina Trigubenko

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  • How to Give Your Coaching Clients What They Need Most | Entrepreneur

    How to Give Your Coaching Clients What They Need Most | Entrepreneur

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    With technology increasingly pervading our daily lives, clients expect an optimized digital experience in all areas, including coaching.

    Unfortunately, many coaching businesses still rely on outdated service delivery methods, leaving their clients frustrated with a suboptimal coaching experience.

    In this article, we’ll explore what clients need most and how coaching businesses can meet those needs, mainly through adopting advanced service delivery platforms such as Profi.

    Related: 4 Steps to Building a Successful Coaching Business

    Understanding your coaching clients

    For many clients, coaching is more than just a service; it’s a relationship built on trust and communication. They expect their coaches to have excellent communication skills, be empathetic and understanding, and provide them with personalized solutions.

    Clients also want to feel empowered to achieve their goals and see progress through measurable results. They want to feel heard, understood and supported in their journey toward success.

    For coaches, the key to success lies in being very niche-focused. Coaches can differentiate themselves from the competition by offering highly specialized services to attract and convert more clients and increase ticket size.

    Hyper-personalization is also crucial in the coaching industry. By leveraging data and analytics, coaches can gather information on their clients’ goals, preferences and learning styles and use this information to deliver highly personalized coaching experiences.

    Gathering feedback from current clients

    Feedback provides coaches with valuable insights into their clients’ experiences and helps them understand what is working and what needs improvement.

    Coaches must adopt a product-based mindset and think like product managers. They need to consider their coaching service as a product and continuously evaluate and improve it based on client feedback. However, gathering feedback can be a challenge for non-tech-equipped coaching service providers.

    One way to gather feedback is to regularly ask clients how satisfied they are with their coaching experience. Coaches can use surveys, polls or questionnaires to collect feedback and track critical metrics.

    By monitoring metrics such as client retention, client satisfaction and progress toward goals, coaches can understand their clients’ needs and tailor their coaching programs accordingly.

    It’s also essential to test and optimize coaching services continually. By gathering data and analyzing results, coaches can improve their coaching programs and deliver better client results.

    Related: How to Create an Endless Stream of Clients for Your Coaching Business

    The most significant challenges to consider

    Here are some critical challenges coaches must consider regarding service delivery:

    1. Limitations of manual scheduling and form automation: Manual scheduling can be time-consuming and error-prone. Coaches may struggle to keep track of their clients’ schedules and availability, leading to missed appointments or scheduling conflicts.

    2. Streamlining service delivery: Multiple coaches working with multiple clients must facilitate service delivery to provide a high-quality branded coaching experience consistently. Automating and managing client interactions can be challenging without the right tools and technology.

    3. Low engagement that hinders meaningful progress: It can be difficult to activate and engage clients, especially cohorts of clients, if coaches are not tech-enabled. Low engagement can hinder progress, and clients may not see the desired results.

    Coaches must leverage service delivery platforms to address these challenges and streamline their processes. It helps them save time and ensure a smooth coaching experience.

    Meeting the needs of coaching clients

    Here are some strategies coaches can use to meet the needs of their coaching clients:

    • Automation: Coaches can streamline processes and automate forms, content notifications, billing and more to create a smooth coaching experience.

    • Service delivery management system: Coaches can manage client interactions, track progress, monitor client engagement and deliver personalized coaching to each client using a centralized system.

    • AI tools: Artificial Intelligence tools such as chatbots and virtual assistants can help coaches boost customer engagement and provide personalized client support. For example, a chatbot can help clients with quick questions or provide support outside coaching sessions.

    • Self-serve micro-learning and practice: Coaches can promote self-serve micro-learning and practice tools to help clients develop skills and knowledge outside of coaching sessions. Micro-learning tools such as online courses, webinars and podcasts can help clients learn and grow at their own pace.

    • Hybrid and group sessions: Hybrid coaching sessions that combine virtual and in-person sessions provide flexibility and efficiency. Additionally, group coaching sessions can provide a cost-effective way for coaches to work with multiple clients and provide personalized coaching in a group setting.

    Implementing these strategies can help you provide a valuable coaching experience that promotes clients’ growth and development.

    Related: How to Build an Audience That Craves Your Coaching

    The key client experience trends

    Here are some key trends that coaches need to remember:

    1. Diversification of coaching and hyper-personalization: To meet client demand for specialized coaching experiences, coaches should diversify their offerings and focus on hyper-personalization. It involves expanding service options to include executive, leadership, career coaching and more.

    2. Streamlined digital experience: To meet client expectations of a seamless coaching experience, coaches must employ technology to streamline their services and cater to each client’s unique needs.

    3. On-demand reporting and secure platform: Clients expect a secure platform that facilitates service delivery and provides access to on-demand reporting to monitor their progress.

    4. Less employee skepticism towards coaching: More employees recognize the value of coaching in their personal and professional development. As a result, they are more open to improving their skills, achieving their goals and advancing their careers.

    5. Changes in coaching format and frequency: As technology advances and work culture changes, coaching takes various forms, including virtual, group and self-paced learning modules. Additionally, some coaches offer shorter, more frequent sessions to help clients achieve their goals more efficiently.

    It’s a challenging but exciting time for the coaching industry, and coaches who embrace these trends are well-positioned to succeed in the future.

    Coaches must adapt to evolving client needs and leverage technology for a convenient and engaging experience. They must also prioritize the human connection and provide personalized coaching tailored to each client. Staying informed and adaptable is key to providing valuable coaching experience that promotes growth and development.

    Alina Trigubenko

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  • How a Business Coach Can Make You Successful | Entrepreneur

    How a Business Coach Can Make You Successful | Entrepreneur

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    One of the best pieces of advice I can give to fellow entrepreneurs is to get a business coach. I should know; I’ve had the same one for 12 years. He’s helped me through some of the stickiest challenges I’ve ever faced in my business, and I credit much of my success to his support. Beyond helping me through the tough times, he’s also helped me to identify and lean into my strengths. Here’s how a good business coach should help you do the same.

    They speak the truth

    When you’re an entrepreneur, especially one who gains a lot of traction quickly, you’ll find yourself surrounded by many “yes people.” They’re usually well-intentioned, eager to please you and say the right thing so you’ll view them positively. Often, they’re also your employees, and the power of a paycheck means they won’t want to risk offending or irritating you. This makes sense, and these people shouldn’t be blamed for their staunchly supportive behavior.

    Even so, you’ll sink if these folks are the only ones in your circle. You also need someone who will give their honest opinion, no matter how you’ll receive it. This is a big reason why I strongly recommend your business coach has no agenda or financial ties to your business. They should have a similar level of expertise as you, but their only motivation is to help you become the best version of yourself, so you and your company succeed.

    This honesty means your coach will also tell you the truth about your strengths. Maybe you think you excel at sales, but they’ve seen that you’re far better suited to lead strategically. If you want your skills to be in a particular area, it might be uncomfortable to have your coach tell you they lie elsewhere. But hear them out. Sometimes it takes someone with expertise and an outsider’s perspective to make sure you’re in the role where you’ll contribute the most.

    Related: 10 Reasons Why You Need a Business Coach

    They challenge you to more

    Good business coaches advise you on leadership and strategy, but great coaches also tackle the relational and psychological aspects of being a business owner. They help you discover your fears, insecurities, character flaws, relationship mistakes and more. All of these aspects will affect the business, whether you face them head-on or not.

    As you work through these vulnerabilities, you’ll also encounter your strengths. For example, maybe your coach helps you discover that you tend to get defensive when someone comes to you with a concern. Instead of listening and considering the person’s point of view, you start defending your own, often vehemently.

    While this habit is something to work on to create healthier internal relationships, it also shines a light on one of your strengths: your passion and whole-hearted belief in yourself and your decisions. Your business coach can work with this.

    They can help you smooth over your communication challenges while helping you harness your decisiveness and assertiveness in more positive, productive ways. Since coaches should challenge you to be your best version of yourself, they need to understand your assets and liabilities.

    Related: If You Haven’t Hired a Business Coach, You’re Holding Yourself Back

    They hold you accountable

    Finally, business coaches worth their salt will not just dispense advice and go on their merry way. They’ll also share their insights, discuss them with you, collaborate on the next steps and be there to see them through. If you fail, they’re standing by to analyze why and how to avoid doing the same the next time. If you succeed, they’re waiting in the wings to evaluate why and how to achieve such an outcome again. A coach is with you through thick and thin, championing you while exploring how you can optimize your own growth and your companies.

    This also means they’ll call you out when you don’t hold up your end of the bargain. Maybe your coach helped you discover that you excel in creating financial projections and setting corresponding budgets. But you haven’t followed through on these things because you got busy, and they’re among your more tedious tasks. You can trust that your coach will hold you to your word, making sure you double down on your strengths to make the biggest impact you can.

    Getting a business coach with the right experience and intentions can be one of the best decisions you ever make as an entrepreneur. They’ll not only help guide you through the challenges of owning a business but also ensure you find your strengths and make the most of them.

    Clate Mask

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  • ‘I work just 5 hours a week’: A 39-year-old who makes $160,000/month in passive income shares his best business advice

    ‘I work just 5 hours a week’: A 39-year-old who makes $160,000/month in passive income shares his best business advice

    When starting a business, it’s sometimes hard to know what to prioritize, and going at it alone can be overwhelming. But there are strategies you can use to avoid common pitfalls.

    My mission is to teach people how to earn money from their passions. It’s what I did: I went from living on food stamps to building two online businesses.

    Today, I run a music blog, The Recording Revolution, and a entrepreneurship coaching company. I work just five hours a week from my home office and make $160,000 a month in passive income.

    Here’s what I tell my 3,000 clients to think about in the first 30 days of starting a business:

    1. Be clear about how you want to spend your time.

    Many new business owners I meet know only one thing: how much money they want to make. 

    While that’s a great starting point, it’s incomplete. Your business should serve your life, not the other way around. So make sure it aligns with your hopes, dreams and goals.

    To get clear about the type of business and life you want, ask three questions:

    1. What does a perfect day look like to you? Don’t just think about your typical workday. Consider other life activities you want to fit into your day, like exercising or spending time with family.
    2. How many hours do you want to work a week? You don’t have to follow the standard 40-hour workweek. Knowing exactly how many hours you want to work will help you better prioritize tasks.
    3. How important is time off? Some people don’t care much about taking time off, as long as they love what they do. Others value extended time off. In order to have money flowing in when you’re not working, you’ll need to have some sort of passive income stream.

    2. Simplify your business model.

    When I started my music education business, people told me I needed to test my sales pages, throw launch parties and pre-record a bunch of ads in order to grow.

    Rather than stretching myself thin doing things that didn’t make sense to me, I kept it simple and focused on three things: creating weekly content for my blog and YouTube channel, growing my email list from that audience, and promoting the paid products I created to that list.

    If you’re just starting out, develop content around your expertise to grow an audience. It doesn’t have to be perfect. You can iterate as you go and design new products based on what your customers want more of.

    3. Cut out unnecessary daily tasks.

    Identify what daily activities will help you earn more. Don’t waste time or burn yourself out focusing on unimportant tasks.

    It might feel good to get to inbox zero or change the color of the buttons on your website, especially in the early days where you want to feel like you’ve achieved a goal. But neither of those things will make you money.

    Before you start a new task, ask yourself three questions:

    1. What’s the expected outcome for doing this task? 
    2. Does it lead to more money?
    3. Can I point to a direct link between doing that task and earning income?
    4. What’s the cost of doing this instead of something else? 

    4. Prioritize having fun.

    People can tell if you’re just doing something for the money or if you actually love what you do. That authenticity will connect you deeper to your customers and it will sustain you for the long haul. 

    You don’t want to burn out because you spent all your time doing things that weren’t meaningful to you.

    I always give my students this framework when they are beginning their entrepreneur journey: Build a business around something you see yourself doing and enjoying for the next 10 years. 

    Graham Cochrane is founder of The Recording Revolution and author of “How to Get Paid for What You Know.” He has helped more than 3,000 people launch and improve their own businesses. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter.

    Don’t miss:

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  • Former Nebraska interim coach arrested in domestic case

    Former Nebraska interim coach arrested in domestic case

    LINCOLN, Neb. — Mickey Joseph, Nebraska’s interim coach for nine games after Scott Frost’s firing, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of strangulation and third-degree domestic assault.

    Police went to a Lincoln residence in the afternoon after a report of a domestic disturbance. Following an investigation, the 54-year-old Joseph was arrested at another location. He was being held at Lancaster Country Jail.

    “While the Lincoln Police Department does not normally provide a news release for a domestic-related arrest, due to the high-profile nature of the person involved and, in an effort, to provide transparency on an arrest involving a public figure, notification of the arrest is being made,” police said in a statement.

    Further details weren’t released.

    Matt Rhule was introduced as the Cornhuskers’ head coach Monday. Athletic director Trev Alberts had said he spoke with Joseph about the job before Rhule’s hiring.

    Rhule had not announced whether Joseph would be retained on his staff. Rhule did not immediately respond to a text message and voice mail left on his phone.

    Joseph played quarterback for the Cornhuskers from 1988-91 and returned last December as receivers coach.

    He was named interim head coach Sept. 11 after Alberts fired Frost. The Huskers were 3-6 under Joseph and finished the season 4-8.

    “I was made aware of the charges against Coach Joseph and given the nature of the allegations and based on University policy he has been placed on administrative leave,” Alberts said in a statement. “We will have no additional comment at this time.”

    Joseph had said at his first news conference as interim coach that he wanted the job full-time.

    When asked Monday by The Associated Press how Joseph reacted when told Rhule would be hired, Alberts said, “He took it really good.”

    Alberts did not answer directly Monday when asked if Joseph were a serious candidate. Alberts has repeatedly lauded Joseph for creating positive energy around the team and motivating players to play hard.

    “Mickey’s an outstanding coach, and he’s obviously got a huge and bright future in the business, and we’ll see whether it continues here,” Alberts said Monday. “Coach Rhule wants to sit down with him. I have so much respect for Mickey Joseph and what he’s done for our program, and our players do as well.”

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    AP college : https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP—Top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://bit.ly/3pqZVaF

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  • Stanford coach David Shaw resigns after Cardinal finish 3-9

    Stanford coach David Shaw resigns after Cardinal finish 3-9

    STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford coach David Shaw resigned Saturday night after finishing his 12th season at his alma mater with a 36-25 loss to BYU that dropped the Cardinal to 3-9.

    Shaw, 50, led Stanford to five double-digit win seasons, with three Pac-12 titles and Rose Bowl appearances in his first six years as head coach. He finished 96-54 with the Cardinal and was considered one of the most respected coaches in country.

    Shaw arrived unusually late to his postgame news conference and said his decision only came in the last few days.

    “It’s been great. It’s been a great run,” he said. “But it’s time for me to step aside. It’s time for the next group to come in.”

    The falloff in recent years has been drastic. The Cardinal are 14-28 over the last four seasons as the program has struggled to keep up in a rapidly changing college landscape with players transferring more freely and earning money for name, image and likeness.

    Stanford is 3-16 in Pac-12 play the past two seasons, including consecutive losses to rival California.

    “We’re not that far away,” Shaw said.

    Shaw, a California native who played receiver for Stanford in the early 1990s, replaced Jim Harbaugh as head coach in 2011. He had been offensive coordinator for Harbaugh from 2007-10.

    Shaw spent nine seasons as an NFL assistant before joining Harbaugh’s staff at the University of San Diego and then following him to Stanford.

    He was part of a remarkable program turnaround under Harbaugh and then under his leadership Stanford became the premier program in the Pac-12 with a physical style dubbed Intellectual Brutality.

    As the program declined, Shaw has remained steadfastly loyal to his assistant coaches. The staff has had few changes lately, with Shaw repeatedly saying he felt firing assistants was pushing the blame for the team’s failures from himself to others.

    Stanford is a private school that does not disclose contract terms with its coaches so it is unclear how many years Shaw had left on his deal.

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    More AP college : https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP—Top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://bit.ly/3pqZVaF

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  • Prayers go on, sometimes out of sight, in prep football

    Prayers go on, sometimes out of sight, in prep football

    WEST BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Surrounded by a slew of players with their arms draped over shoulders, West Bloomfield High School assistant coach Justin Ibe bowed his head and led a Christian prayer before a recent Friday night game.

    Forty yards down the sideline, three Muslim young men were having a quiet moment of their own.

    “Ameen,” the players quietly said, using the Arabic word for amen.

    Across America, most high school football seasons are winding down. Thousands of games, the first since the Supreme Court in June ruled it was OK for a public school coach near Seattle to pray on the field. The decision prompted speculation that prayer would become an even bigger part of the game-day fabric, though that hasn’t seemed to be the case.

    Fouad Zaban, the head coach at Fordson High in Dearborn, calls the area just outside Detroit the “Middle East of America” and it is indeed home to thousands of people of Arab descent. After the court ruling, Zaban said, he was flooded with requests to use his platform and constitutional right to pray publicly. After thinking about it, he chose to keep his team’s prayers behind closed doors to avoid potential anti-Islamic jeers from fans in other communities.

    “That was a concern that they were going to get backlash,” Zaban said.

    With the nation’s culture wars spilling into education, it is challenging to have teachable moments about big news — like a precedent-setting court ruling — and coaches such as Zaban would rather punt than pray publicly.

    “It’s harder, whether you’re a coach, librarian, teacher or counselor,” said Lara Schwartz, an American University professor whose specialties include campus speech and constitutional law. “There are activist groups targeting books and ideas, saying you can lose your license if you have these conversations. That to me is a threat to people having good constructive dialogue in classrooms, or with coaches.”

    In Michigan, some teams with multiple religions represented on their rosters have found ways for everyone who wants to participate to do so if they wish.

    “We don’t force anybody to do that,” said Ibe, the defensive line coach in West Bloomfield. “We just take that moment to really just come together and give glory to God at that moment.”

    At Crestwood High School in Dearborn Heights, where most of the football team is Muslim, the entire team gathers before practices and games to pray on one knee. First, most of the players recite Al-Fatiha. Then, a player says a Christian prayer to the attentive group.

    “Between those two prayers, they’re pretty much all the same,” said Adam Berry, a senior and a team captain. “Asking God for protection, asking God for forgiveness, and asking God for any way to help us through our game.”

    According to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, a majority of Americans think a coach leading a team in prayer (60%), a player leading a team in prayer (64%) and a coach praying on the field without asking the team to join in (71%) should all be allowed in public high school sports.

    Still, the team plays it safe at Fordson High, where coaches clear the locker room and leave players to pray if they wish.

    “No one can ever say that we were involved in it,” Zaban said, adding he just wants to coach instead of drawing attention.

    Hassan Shinawah, a senior and team captain at Fordson, said players supported keeping their prayers in the locker room and away from the public.

    “We don’t know if people are comfortable,” he said. “We don’t know what their opinions are about it. We just don’t want any conflict with anybody else.”

    In the South, at least three high schools, two in Alabama and another in North Carolina, received letters in recent months from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The nonprofit that advocates for atheists and agnostics said it fielded complaints about the promotion of religion surrounding football games. Jefferson County (Ala.) officials were asked to “ensure that its schools are no longer scheduling prayer at school-sponsored events, including football games.”

    The Associated Press left multiple messages for athletic directors and principals at the schools in both North Carolina and Alabama that were not returned.

    Outside Detroit, coaches gave time and space for their players to pray, showing the teenagers that accomdations can be made for different faiths as well as the right to decline.

    At West Bloomfield High, an assistant football coach once walked miles with a Jewish player — whose faith would not allow him to ride in a car one particular day — to make sure he got to his hotel after a road game. The unique nature of having Christians, Muslims and Jews playing on the same team was not lost on one of the players who participates in a pregame Islamic prayer.

    “Some other teams, they probably don’t have the same thing,” said Mohamed Menisy, a 16-year-old junior offensive tackle. “We’re one team, one family. We just respect each other.”

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    Follow Larry Lage at https://twitter.com/larrylage

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    Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

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  • I Quit My Job Last Year and Have Made More Than $300,000

    I Quit My Job Last Year and Have Made More Than $300,000

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    When I left my job as a consultant in October 2021, I had never made more than $5,000 per month from my business.


    Courtesy of Clo Bare Money Coach

    In fact, when I made a plan to leave my 9 to 5, I had an honest conversation with myself about whether or not I was okay with the possibility of only making $60,000 per year as a money coach — less than half what I was paid at my consulting gig.

    And my answer? Absolutely.

    As a 31-year-old millennial who graduated college with around $80,000 of debt for a degree in English and Spanish, I never would’ve dreamed I’d be able to someday consider taking a pay cut to quit my job and go full-time with my business. In fact, prior to 2018, I was still living paycheck to paycheck, knew nothing about investing and assumed I’d work the rest of my life.

    You see, I grew up believing I was just “bad with money,” like it was some character flaw you were either born with or without. I’d seen my parents struggle with credit card debt, furloughs during the Great Recession and the unending stress of living paycheck to paycheck while raising five kids. I thought struggle was normal, especially when it came to money.

    I started working at the age of nine to have a little spending money and hoped I’d someday do better, but money always burned a hole in my pocket, no matter what I did.

    I kept telling myself if I just had more of it, things would be fine.

    Spoiler alert: No matter how much money I made, it never fixed the problem of my overspending.

    It wasn’t until 2018, after spending most of my 20s without an emergency fund, overspending, not investing and thinking I’d die with student loan debt, that I decided it was time for a change.

    Related: Instead of Panicking, Deal With Your Student Loans Like a CFO Would

    I started learning about the debt-free community, which led me to the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) community, and eventually I thought, Why not me? Why not at least try?

    Well, I’m glad I did.

    Not only do I now know the peace of financial flexibility and a retirement savings that I’ve already invested enough in to have millions by the time I retire even if I don’t invest another dollar, but it also led me to something I never expected.

    I started writing about budgeting and investing online, which led me to creating content on Instagram and TikTok, which led me to become who I am now: a multi-six-figure business owner.

    But this time last year?

    I was just excited to even be able to consider quitting my job to pursue my passion of teaching people about money full-time.

    So, with a year’s emergency fund saved and a solid $5,000 from one-on-one coaching filtering into my bank account each month, I went off into full-time entrepreneurship land.

    Last month was my one year anniversary, and I did not make $60,000.

    The gross revenue I made from my first year as a full-time business owner was $305,000 with about $45,000 of expenses.

    How did I do it?

    By recognizing I had to scale, bringing in an expert and focusing on one funnel and one product.

    Recognizing I needed to scale

    When I quit my job, almost 100% of my income came from one-on-one coaching. In fact, during my first month of full-time business ownership, I had 60 coaching calls, with more than half of the calls lasting two hours.

    By the end of the first week, after 17 coaching sessions, I was already losing my voice, and feeling drained and discouraged.

    I knew I couldn’t keep up with that kind of grueling schedule, so I increased my prices in October and again in December, thinking it would lighten the load without really impacting my income.

    I was wrong.

    By the end of the year, I charged $499 for a two-hour session and $299 for a one-hour session — but no matter how many times I increased my prices, I still sold out within 24 hours of announcing openings in my coaching calendar.

    The coaching clients kept rolling in, and I had a hard time saying no to the emails requesting help as soon as possible or clients who needed another follow-up call. So, despite trying to manage my client load, I’d always end up with more than I could handle. Between October and December that year, I ended up coaching nearly 150 people.

    I was exhausted and already burned out, just two months into full-time entrepreneurship.

    Then, one day while lying on the couch to close my eyes for three minutes before the next coaching call, it hit me: I needed to scale. At the rate I was going, I’d be back in corporate in three months. I was capped, and despite wanting to help more people, my system at the time was unsustainable.

    I needed to find a way to move beyond selling my time. But I had no idea where to begin. That’s why I decided to bring in an expert.

    Related: 5 Marketing and Branding Tips to Scale Your Online Business

    Bringing in an expert

    Scaling beyond coaching was new territory for me, and although I’d seen other creators create courses and digital products, I wanted to make sure I was doing what was best for my business.

    When I started shopping for a business coach, I was nervous because there are so many problematic business coaches who teach people how to run a business despite never having run a business before. I wanted someone I could trust, and who I knew had worked with people in a similar niche, with similar goals.

    After doing my research, I decided to hire a well-regarded coach who had helped the giants in the space scale to multi-six-figure — and even seven-figure — businesses. She’d be the person who would teach me how to launch a course and build a funnel.

    By working with my coach, I was able to go full-speed ahead and avoid a bunch of mistakes I would’ve made trying to do it all myself — mistakes that would’ve cost me time and money.

    Investing $2,000 into my business resulted in my first product launch bringing in $35,000 — but I would’ve never gotten these kinds of results if I hadn’t hired my coach and implemented a funnel.

    Related: 10 Reasons Why You Need a Business Coach

    Implementing a funnel

    I did not know what a funnel was when I quit my job, but my funnel was the single most important investment I made in my business.

    A funnel allowed me to make sales without doing anything — no posting, no DMing people, no going live to push the sale.

    Instead, I was able to get people into my funnel and let the funnel do its automated magic.

    Here’s how my funnel worked:

    1. Instagram or TikTok followers would sign up for a free guide.
    2. The free guide would invite them to my free class.
    3. The free class would have a small pitch for my course, and all registrants would be put into a sales funnel of emails for the next 2-5 days.

    Keep in mind: At each stage, I was providing more value.

    My funnel made me sales even while I slept. No posting. No exhausting my followers on all my accounts to get in on the sale. My emails were set up to do it all for me so I could spend my time doing other things to build my business.

    The emails people received after signing up for the free class addressed their concerns, answered most frequently asked questions, shared testimonials and painted the appealing picture of what their life would look like after they completed the course.

    I’ve come to view my funnel as a relationship builder.

    So many content creators create a course or digital product and push it out to their audience without a funnel. They just put it on sale and hope people from their Instagram or TikTok will buy it because it exists. If you build it, they will come, right?

    Not exactly.

    We have to nurture the relationship, and an Instagram follower is at a much different stage than an email subscriber or someone who has downloaded your free guide and attended your workshop.

    We have to provide consistent value that builds trust with our ideal audiences. Going straight for the killshot of “Hey, buy my product” would be like asking for a job without having ever applied or submitted a resume. You need to date your leads and nurture them by providing value.

    Focusing on perfecting my funnel has allowed me to zone in on what is and isn’t working, understand my audience better and not get distracted by the shiny-object syndrome that so many new entrepreneurs face.

    Related: 5 Steps to Building Your First Online Sales Funnel

    Focusing on one product

    Focusing on one product also allowed me to scale for several reasons.

    First, it allowed me to streamline my messaging to my audience to make sure they were never confused about what I have to offer. I wanted to guarantee people went to my page and saw immediately what I specialized in: lazy investing. Not a little bit of lazy investing with some debt pay off, credit repair and budgeting sprinkled in. I want my audience to come to my page and understand exactly how I can help them.

    Think about the last time you were shopping for a service: for example, a person to clean your home.

    If you came across someone who had a list of services that included lawn care, car detailing, oil changes, handyman services — and oh yeah, they’d also clean your home for you — you likely wouldn’t choose that person over someone who made it clear that cleaning your home was the only thing their business did.

    Focusing on one product also helped me master the product, which only made my confidence in the product stronger and, in turn, allowed me to sell with ease.

    When we know without a shadow of a doubt that our products solve the problem we say they do, selling becomes simply highlighting the problem and explaining how our product is the solution.

    I don’t think I could’ve made as strong of a course had I not focused on only that course in the last year. Every month I added to it, tweaked, surveyed my members and found new ways to improve it. And the result is more than 500 happy customers who are now out there building wealth on their own.

    We all know how overwhelming and stressful it can be to manage a million different things: coaching, courses, digital products, group coaching and the list goes on. The mental space and clarity that come with focusing on one thing is something I’ll continue to prioritize as I build out more products in the future.

    Related: 3 Things You Need to Know About Launching a Product Business

    So, what’s next?

    Now that I’ve worked on The Lazy Investor’s Course and its funnel for a year, you might be wondering if I’m moving on to something new.

    But in 2023, I plan to continue to perfect the funnel and my offer. Because even though I’ve made more than $300,000 from my business so far, I know I can still make improvements. So I’ll continue to refine this one offer I have until I’m confident I’ve squeezed everything out of it that I can.

    And then — and only then — will I move on to the next thing.

    As my friend Allison Baggerly said in her keynote at Fincon this year: simple scales.

    And for me?

    Simple allows me to maintain a level of sanity and make sure I don’t burn out.

    Chloé Daniels

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  • Bills QB Allen returns to practice, questionable for Sunday

    Bills QB Allen returns to practice, questionable for Sunday

    ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen tested his injured throwing elbow on Friday for the first time in practice this week and is listed as questionable to play against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

    The Bills referred to Allen’s practice time as being limited, which is still considered a step in the right direction since he sat out the first two sessions after hurting his right elbow in the final minutes of a loss to the New York Jets last weekend.

    Speaking before practice, coach Sean McDermott expected the decision on Allen’s playing status to come down to game time.

    “We are literally in an hour-to-hour situation here,” McDermott said. “Just looking at how he’s going to progress through the day, and as he goes through these different tests, medically, making sure that he’s able to check the boxes in a progression to where we can see if we can proceed through the course of the day here.”

    The coach then provided a vague response when asked what he needs to see from Allen in determining whether Allen can play: “That’s probably getting too far down the road at this point or into the weeds.”

    McDermott added: “Respectfully, we’ve just got to continue to take it through the day here and we’ll see. Listen, I’m going to do a great job of being a listener also in terms of listening to our medical team.”

    The Bills officially ruled out starting safety Jordan Poyer (elbow) and starting defensive end Greg Rousseau (ankle) from playing against the NFC North-leading Vikings (7-1). Rookie cornerback Kaiir Elam, who has split the starting duties with fellow rookie Christian Benford, is listed as doubtful with an ankle injury.

    Starting middle linebacker Tremain Edmunds (groin/heel) is listed as questionable after he practiced for the first time this week on Friday, while McDermott said starting linebacker Matt Milano (oblique) “should be ready to go” after missing one game.

    Allen hasn’t missed a start since sustaining a similar injury in 2018, which forced him to miss four games in his rookie season.

    If he can’t go, the AFC-leading Bills (6-2) would turn over the NFL’s top-ranked offense in yards gained to journeyman backup Case Keenum. He’s a 10-year veteran who enjoyed his best season playing for the Vikings in 2017, when he went 11-3.

    “Case is a true pro and we have all the confidence in Case and Matt Barkley for that matter,” McDermott said, referring to Buffalo’s two veteran backups. ”(Keenum) has earned all the respect in the world around here. And and I know he’ll be ready if called upon.”

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    AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP—NFL

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  • Unusual venues make nonconference games more memorable

    Unusual venues make nonconference games more memorable

    MILWAUKEE — Two of the more notable games on Friday’s college basketball schedule are taking place on an aircraft carrier and in a baseball stadium.

    No. 2 Gonzaga will face Michigan State on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the San Diego harbo r to celebrate Veterans Day. Wisconsin is playing Stanford at American Family Field, the retractable-roof park that is home to the Milwaukee Brewers.

    Staging neutral-site games in non-traditional venues isn’t new. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo has scheduled games at many different sites over the past two decades.

    “We’ve been ‘Outside the Box U’ for 20 years and other people are catching up,” Izzo said. “That’s good, and that’s why I didn’t want to pass up this game.”

    Izzo’s penchant for this began in 2003, when Michigan State lost to Kentucky in front of 78,129 fans at Ford Field, the home of the NFL’s Detroit Lions. Soon enough, plenty of late-round NCAA Tournament games started taking place in football stadiums.

    This won’t be the first time Izzo has coached a game on an aircraft carrier.

    Michigan State lost to top-ranked North Carolina in November 2011 on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson as President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama watched from courtside.

    Stanford coach Jerod Haase was a North Carolina assistant coach for that 2011 game. Now, he’s preparing his team to play the first basketball game at a baseball-only stadium since San Diego faced San Diego State in 2015 at Petco Park, home of the Padres.

    “It’s an experience for our guys to talk about when they’re old like me, about how they played in a baseball stadium,” Haase said.

    The offbeat settings come with potential obstacles, particularly when they’re outdoors. The roof will be closed for the American Family Field doubleheader that includes a women’s game between Wisconsin and Kansas State.

    The 2011 North Carolina-Michigan State game on a carrier finished less than an hour before rain fell.

    A year later, condensation on the respective courts wiped out an Ohio State-Marquette game aboard the decommissioned USS Yorktown in Charleston, South Carolina, and a Georgetown-Florida game aboard the USS Bataan at Naval Station Mayport around Jacksonville, Florida. Florida and Georgetown did play the first half before the game was scrapped.

    During that 2012-13 season, a Syracuse-San Diego State game aboard the flight deck of the USS Midway Museum was delayed two days due to rain. And, windy conditions affected 3-point shooting when it was played.

    The teams involved believe the opportunity is worth the potential drawbacks.

    Gonzaga coach Mark Few jumped at the chance when the idea of playing on a carrier was proposed.

    “Tom Izzo told me it was the coolest thing he’s ever done,” Few said. “I said, ‘OK, I’m in.’”

    Wisconsin coach Greg Gard says his hopes of having the Badgers play a game at American Family Field started about 15 years ago, when he was an assistant coach and the stadium was known as Miller Park.

    Various plans were discussed over the years.

    “We were going to do a doubleheader basketball-hockey and set up ice in the outfield,” Gard said. “Everything was on the table at one point in time.”

    Gard is about to realize that dream — minus an ice rink.

    Wisconsin and Stanford practiced Thursday on a court that encompasses much of the ballpark’s infield, with baskets in the vicinity of first base and third base.

    The pitcher’s mound was removed, and fans will sit in temporary stands courtside, as well as in some of the stadium’s permanent seats.

    “Listening to our players as we walked up out of the dugout, what their reactions were, I think it turned out really, really good,” Gard said.

    Wisconsin forward Tyler Wahl, who has attended just one Brewers home game, tried to envision just what to expect on Friday.

    “I’m excited to see what it looks like with basketball, bringing a whole different crew of fans,” Wahl said. “Hopefully it will be cool.”

    It might not be a one-time deal.

    Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger said he was hopeful that the contest was the first of many chances to host hoop games at the ballpark.

    Gard says he’d love to see an NCAA regional at American Family Field, though it could be tough to host that kind of event in late March while still having the ballpark’s grass surface ready in time for baseball season.

    For now, Wisconsin and Stanford are looking forward to a unique experience in an atypical early season game. Michigan State and Gonzaga feel the same.

    “I’m a little bit old school and I believe the college education is much more than just what you learn on the classroom and the games themselves,” Haase said. “It’s all the experiences around them. I think this provides that.”

    ———

    AP Writer Nicholas K. Geranios and AP Sports Writers Larry Lage and Bernie Wilson contributed to this report.

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    AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP—Top25

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  • Colts’ Saturday hiring chided on diversity, fairness grounds

    Colts’ Saturday hiring chided on diversity, fairness grounds

    Even Jeff Saturday was shocked when Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay called late Sunday night to offer him the head coaching position.

    A former two-time All-Pro center who snapped the ball to Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning for 12 seasons, Saturday surely knows his X’s and O’s.

    But the TV analyst’s only coaching experience was a three-year stint at Hebron Christian Academy in Georgia, where he led the team to a 20-16 record with three playoff appearances.

    Irsay’s decision stunned people internally and around the league, though his affinity for Saturday was known throughout the organization. Saturday played 13 seasons for the Colts, made the Pro Bowl six times, helped them win a Super Bowl and is a member of the team’s Ring of Honor.

    Critics immediately went after Irsay for hiring an inexperienced former player instead of elevating someone from the coaching staff, which is typical during in-season firings. Colts defensive coordinator Gus Bradley previously served as a head coach in Jacksonville from 2013-16. Senior defensive assistant John Fox spent 16 seasons as head coach in Carolina, Denver and Chicago, and led the Panthers and Broncos to Super Bowl appearances.

    Former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III called Irsay’s decision “a head-scratching slap in the face to every coach on that staff” in a post on Twitter.

    Saturday’s hiring also didn’t sit well with the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which fights for equity and inclusion in pro . The NFL has seven minority head coaches, including Carolina Panthers interim coach Steve Wilks.

    “The Rooney Rule is the only universal hiring policy used by the NFL to promote fairness and diversity,” The Alliance said in a statement. “However, (Monday’s) news in Indianapolis illuminated a gap in the league’s stated objective. If the spirit of the rule is to expand opportunities, we believe that it must be consistently applied, even in the hiring of interim positions.”

    Irsay and the Colts didn’t have to follow the Rooney Rule requirements for interviewing minority candidates because Saturday replaced Frank Reich during the season. The team will have to fulfill those requirements after the season when seeking a permanent hire.

    “We’re following the Rooney Rule to a ‘T.’ I really look forward to the interview process at the end of the season,” Irsay said.

    This wasn’t the first time Irsay went after Saturday, who is a paid consultant for the team and was working as an analyst at ESPN.

    “Now understand, we’ve tried to hire Jeff a couple times,” Colts general manager Chris Ballard said. “We tried to hire him in 2019 as the offensive line coach and we tried to hire him again this year — just didn’t work out. The timing didn’t work out. I spent a lot of time with Jeff — like I have with a few of the ex-players here, and it doesn’t take long to figure out that he’s got real leadership in him, real special in that regard. For this eight-game stretch and where we’re at, we thought he was going to be a really good fit for us.”

    The Colts (3-5-1) are headed nowhere and Matt Ryan’s benching for inexperienced and overwhelmed quarterback Sam Ehlinger indicates the team has prioritized draft positioning. Reich began each of his five seasons in Indianapolis with a different quarterback, so ensuring a top draft pick to select a potential franchise QB would be a wise strategy.

    That leaves Saturday in a can’t-lose position.

    If he somehow finds a way to lead the Colts to a winning record or even a 4-4 mark over the last eight games, it would be quite an achievement given the state of the team.

    If the Colts lose enough games to end up with one of the top QBs in the draft, Saturday would have helped set the team up for potential future success.

    Irsay made a bold, outside-the-box move that opened him up for scrutiny and criticism. It’s clear he doesn’t care about public perception.

    ———

    Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter at https://twitter.com/robmaaddi

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    AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP—NFL

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  • Reich out, Saturday in as Colts try to fix stagnant offense

    Reich out, Saturday in as Colts try to fix stagnant offense

    INDIANAPOLIS — Frank Reich’s attempt to fix the Indianapolis Colts’ sputtering offense failed so now team owner Jim Irsay is turning to another trusted name — former All-Pro center Jeff Saturday.

    The Colts made both announcements about one hour apart Monday.

    They come less than 24 hours after one of the worst offensive performances in team history.

    Colts officials have scheduled an evening news conference to address the decision.

    Saturday’s only coaching experience came at a Georgia high school and he’s served most recently as a team consultant and ESPN commentator. He’s a member of Indy’s Ring of Honor, played a key role in helping reach an agreement to settle the 2011 NFL lockout and has been a fixture in the Indy community since his rookie season in 1999.

    For the Colts (3-5-1), the past few weeks have been a whirlwind.

    Reich announced he was benching 2016 league MVP and longtime veteran Matt Ryan in favor of second-year quarterback Sam Ehlinger two weeks ago.

    Last Tuesday, Reich fired offensive coordinator Marcus Brady even though Reich was calling the plays. General manager Chris Ballard also sent running back Nyheim Hines to Buffalo just before last week’s trade deadline.

    Now Reich is out in the first midseason coaching change Irsay has made since taking over as owner 25 years ago.

    “I think Frank’s an unbelievable football coach, I think he’s an unbelievable man,” said Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel, the last head coach still left from the 2018 hiring class. “We all know what we sign up for, and this is the other side of it that’s probably not so … it’s difficult. You never want to see anybody lose their job.”

    Irsay uncharacteristically declined to take questions following a dismal performance Sunday in which the Colts produced just 121 total yards and 43 net passing yards, the lowest single-game totals by Indy since 1997 against Seattle.

    The Colts also went 0 for 14 on third downs, just the second time on record their conversion rate was 0.0%. They allowed nine sacks, the highest single-game total since October 2017, and only the second most in a game since 1981.

    But it wasn’t just one game.

    Indy has zero points on its opening possession this season and is the league’s only team to enter the fourth quarter trailing in every game in 2022. The result is a league-low 14.7 points per game. And with three straight losses, the Colts postseason hopes are fading.

    The hope is that Saturday can find a solution to Indy’s most glaring problem, an offensive line that has allowed a league-high 35 sacks in nine games. It had been one of the league’s top units from 2018 through last season but has been in flux most of this season.

    On Sunday, the Colts pulled right guard Matt Pryor and left tackle Dennis Kelly and replaced them with Will Fries and rookie Bernhard Raimann in yet another attempt to improve the pass protection.

    “Jeff has been a beloved, integral member of our NFL family for nearly a decade,” ESPN said in a statement following the second announcement Monday. “When he came to us about this incredible opportunity he had with the Colts, we were thrilled for him and his family. We wish him the best of luck as he makes his NFL head coaching debut.”

    As the season went on and the woes mounted, though, the growing pressure was evident on Reich’s face in recent weeks and in his shorter and quieter answers.

    Even in the locker room, where Reich was respected and well liked, players seemed uneasy with so many changes.

    Still, the players continued to express trust in Reich and Ballard making the right calls.

    Reich was hired in 2018 after serving as offensive coordinator for the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles — and after Josh McDaniels backed out of an agreement to coach Indy. Strangely, the Colts will face McDaniels in Las Vegas on Sunday.

    “Frank’s a really good coach,” McDaniels said Monday. “He’s a great person and has done a lot of great things in our profession. I have a deep respect for him and what he does. It’s always tough to hear that.”

    Reich took the Colts to the playoffs in two of his first four seasons and had them on the cusp of making it last season. But two inexplicable losses to close the season behind quarterback Carson Wentz, whom Reich lobbed to acquire in a trade, kept Indy out of the postseason.

    Indy traded Wentz to Washington in March then acquired Ryan in a subsequent trade with Atlanta.

    Reich also coached previously with the Arizona Cardinals and the then-San Diego Chargers after starting his coaching career working for the Colts and with Peyton Manning.

    The longtime backup quarterback with the Buffalo Bills finished his first head coaching job with a 40-33-1 record. Reich is the second coach to be fired this season, joining Matt Rhule of Carolina.

    ———

    AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson in Henderson, Nevada, and AP Pro Football Writer Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tennessee, also contributed to this report.

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    AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP—NFL

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  • Why Founders Need Coaching in Each Stage of Company Growth

    Why Founders Need Coaching in Each Stage of Company Growth

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    As organizations grow and mature, they go through predictable stages, each of which requires a different form of leadership in order to drive success at each stage. Coaching ensures that leaders are supported and growing exponentially in order to support this rapid evolution.

    We can refer to the stages of venture capital funding as a roadmap to match leadership and organizational dynamics. Each stage of organizational growth requires distinct skills and mindsets, and they are surprisingly different.

    The shift from being a contributor to a leader brings in the human factor, and managing others who are doing the work becomes primary over doing the work yourself as a founder. This is accompanied by increasing pressure from the market, board and associated complex decisions that involve many other humans for the first time. The best investment a leader can make is in having a place to actively develop in an effort to meet the different needs of each stage. Coaches can support the transformations that are required.

    Related: Coaching: The Best-Kept Secret to Growing as an Entrepreneur

    Early stages (pre-seed to A)

    At the earlier stages, from pre-seed to early A-rounds, the work is hands-on, intensity-driven and revolves around key decision-making with co-founders and other early-stage employees. Leaders are individual contributors, and the work is both creative and technical. This stage requires moving very quickly, focus, ruthless prioritization and sharp hiring practices, as each new hire can be existential. That is, based on its small size, the company can either thrive or struggle based on one person. All of these efforts are focused on establishing the core product and service.

    This stage is fairly existential: The company is literally being born, and most decisions have a big impact. Keeping things focused and moving quickly is paramount; people report that this stage is fueled by energy and the passion of the founder. A coach can help a founder focus, prioritize and learn about the beginnings of their business. At this stage, coaches frequently counsel the entire team; their effect is systemic and broad as they help the team work through designing early management processes, provide feedback to each other and learn as they make critical decisions. They can also help quarterback other key resources and advisors who assist in the success of the business.

    Related: If You Haven’t Hired a Business Coach, You’re Holding Yourself Back

    Growth stages (B to C)

    The beginnings of the growth stages, sometimes from the A-round but peaking at B or C rounds, are where the true organizational foundations are laid. A leadership team forms, strategic HR is hired, and processes are built to drive the organization and enable it to scale. It’s during this time that culture comes to the forefront. In this stage, the CEO and other executives begin to focus on the organization as much as the product, and a true executive team begins to form. This requires a different, more human, skill set. Leaders have to become process builders.

    These are also the stages in which leaders need intensive counsel and coaching so they can successfully make the transition from early-stage product leader to organizational leader. This requires an operating system change. It also typically requires a deep dive into where they ascribe value and the mental model of their role, which is to enable others to build and thrive versus doing it themselves. Growth-stage leaders also have to be process builders. They are the ones who build infrastructure that has not existed before, and this lays the foundation for the organization at scale. The competencies that enable this include emotional intelligence, vision, communication and narrative-building skills, a subtle understanding of cultural and social dynamics and the ability to motivate and inspire.

    Coaching is key in developing these areas. A coach can help a leader upgrade their operating system and process the fundamental shifts at this stage. By offering reflective inquiry and support, the coach helps the leader understand that their value comes from letting go of parts of the business, building culture and the more symbolic aspects of their leadership. If they make it, these stages of growth can transform a leader into the mature version of leadership we know from larger companies.

    Related: 4 Ways a Coach Can Help You Lead Your Business to Success

    Late stages

    Later-stage companies build on the growth stage capabilities, and human-centric skills become even more important. For many, cross-functional relationships facilitate their effectiveness. However, this can feel political or jarring, as they are used to having full vertical control and have experienced seamless collaboration with a smaller leadership team. As such, this requires having more one-on-one meetings with peers and realigning mental models around horizontal leadership: your peers are how the work gets done.

    Innovation and breaking down processes can also be important, as the creep of institutionalization requires a refresh of the original fire. Leaders have to focus even more on presence; their leadership brand is what speaks when they leave the room.

    Lastly, at this stage of scale, a business has a greater responsibility to all of its stakeholders, including the community and the planet. It is critical for a leader to have a point of view and aligned actions around that responsibility.

    A coach at later stages helps a leader untangle cross-functional relationships and practice difficult conversations. Coaches support the leader in understanding the subtle cause and effect of leadership at scale and provide a mirror for a leader to pull apart incredibly complex decisions. Leadership at this level is highly symbolic and drives ripples of culture. A coach can help the leader understand how they are showing up and how that impacts engagement and motivation across thousands of people.

    At all stages, having an open space to process the complex changes that occur and make diligent adjustments is critical. Coaches help leaders address key blind spots that can impact a company’s long-term, sustainable success. Investing in coaching at all levels of leadership provides one of the best mechanisms to scale the humans and human-centric skills as the business scales.

    Matt Auron

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  • World Cup goal for Japan is quarterfinals — at least

    World Cup goal for Japan is quarterfinals — at least

    TOKYO — Saying it is one thing, but doing it is another.

    Japan soccer coach Hajime Moriyasu repeated his aim again for the World Cup.

    “Our goal for the tournament is to reach the quarterfinal — and least,” he said on Tuesday as he named Japan‘s 26-player squad. “We know it won’t be easy.”

    Perhaps an understatement: Japan is in Group E with Germany and Spain — two former World Cup champions — and Costa Rica, which made the quarterfinals in 2014 in Brazil.

    This is Japan’s seventh World Cup appearance, and it has reached the round of 16 on three occasions. In 2018 it lost 3-2 in stoppage time to Belgium after leading 2-0. It also was eliminated by Paraguay on penalties in 2010, and lost to Turkey 1-0 in 2002 when the country co-hosted the event with South Korea.

    “Hopefully, we have a different view of the landscape this time,” Moriyasu said.

    There were no real surprises on the 26-player squad, certainly not among the first line of players who are expected to play the most.

    Defenders Maya Yoshida and Hiroki Sakai will be playing in their third consecutive World Cup. Defender Yuto Nagatomo and goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima will be playing in their fourth.

    Japan opens against Germany on Nov. 23, faces Costa Rica on Nov. 27, and Spain on Dec. 1. It will play its last friendly on Nov. 17 against Canada in Dubai.

    ——

    Japan squad:

    Goalkeepers: Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt, Eiji Kawashima.

    Defenders: Miki Yamane, Hiroki Sakai, Maya Yoshida, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Shogo Taniguchi, Ko Itakura, Hiroki Ito, Yuto Nagatomo, Yuta Nakayama.

    Midfielders: Wataru Endo), Hidemasa Morita, Ao Tanaka, Gaku Shibasaki, Kaoru Mitoma, Daichi Kamada, Ritsu Doan, Junya Ito, Takumi Minamino, Takefusa Kubo, Yuki Soma.

    Forwards: Daizen Maeda, Takuma Asano, Ayase Ueda.

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    AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Vince Dooley, longtime Georgia football coach, dies at 90

    Vince Dooley, longtime Georgia football coach, dies at 90

    ATLANTA — Vince Dooley, the coach who carried himself like a professor and guided Georgia for a quarter-century of success that included the 1980 national championship, died Friday. He was 90.

    The school announced that Dooley died peacefully at his Athens home in the presence of his wife, Barbara, and their four children. No cause of death was given.

    Dooley was hospitalized this month for what was described as a mild case of COVID-19, but he pronounced himself fully recovered and ready to attend his regular book-signing session at the campus bookstore before an Oct. 15 game against Vanderbilt.

    Dooley had a career record of 201-77-10 while coaching the Bulldogs from 1964 to 1988, a stretch that included six Southeastern Conference titles, 20 bowl games and just one losing season.

    He is the fourth-winningest coach in SEC history, trailing only Bear Bryant, Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban.

    After retiring from coaching, Dooley continued as the school’s athletic director, a job he held from 1979 until 2004. He built a program that achieved success over a wide range of both men’s and women’s sports.

    The field at Sanford Stadium was dedicated in his honor during the 2019 season.

    “It was a great experience and a moving day,” Dooley said after the ceremony, which he shared with his wife. “I’m thankful for all the people that were a part of making it happen, and all the people that shared in this, which is the greatest thrill. The players, family, cheerleaders, the band, the managers, the trainers, some very special people of the Bulldog nation.”

    Dooley was the second prominent member of Georgia’s storied football history to die in the past two weeks.

    Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Charlie Trippi died on Oct. 19 at the age of 100.

    Dooley’s death came just one day before Georgia, the defending national champion and ranked No. 1 in the nation, faces one of its biggest rivals, the Florida Gators, in the annual “Cocktail Party” game at Jacksonville, Florida.

    Dooley dominated that series during his coaching career, going 17-7-1 against the Gators. The most famous victory came in 1980, when Lindsay Scott hauled in a 93-yard touchdown pass from Buck Belue in the closing minutes.

    The improbable 26-21 triumph propelled the Bulldogs to a perfect season and their first consensus national title.

    Dooley lived long enough to see another. Georgia won it all last season, beating Alabama in the national title game.

    Dooley withstood the pressure of winning at a football-mad SEC school during an era when Bryant ran a powerhouse program at Alabama. Dooley won over skeptics early on, using a trick play to upset the defending national champion Crimson Tide 18-17 in the 1965 season opener.

    The following year, Georgia won the first of his SEC titles. By the time Dooley stepped down from coaching at age 56, he was one of only 10 NCAA Division I-A coaches to win 200 games.

    Stoic in his demeanor and elegant with words delivered in a Southern drawl, a renaissance man who dabbled in horticulture, studied Civil War history and wrote numerous books, Dooley had his greatest run of success after landing a running back from tiny Wrightsville, Georgia.

    Hershel Walker.

    During Walker’s three years between the hedges, the Bulldogs went 33-3, won three straight SEC titles, captured their only undisputed national title and nearly won another in 1982.

    Dooley was a graduate of Auburn, one of Georgia’s most hated rivals, and had no head coaching experience when he was hired by the Bulldogs at the age of 32.

    It was not a popular hire, as Dooley often noted through the years.

    “My qualifications were such there’s no way I would’ve hired myself,” Dooley conceded in a 2014 interview with the school newspaper, The Red & Black.

    No one was complaining by the end of his reign.

    Dooley once described coaching as a “series of crises,” adding that he could draw upon plenty of experiences on and off the field.

    There were low moments, to be sure.

    Near the end of his reign as athletic director, the men’s basketball program was caught up in a scandal that led to the resignation of coach Jim Harrick and resulted in the Bulldogs removing themselves from the SEC and NCAA tournaments.

    Dooley’s four-decade stay ended unceremoniously. He was forced into retirement after a nasty spat with then-university President Michael Adams in 2004.

    Dooley never left Athens and remained a fixture around the football program, often sitting in on news conferences conducted by the last coach he hired, Mark Richt, and the current coach, Kirby Smart.

    Coaching ran in the Dooley blood, for sure.

    Vince’s younger brother, Bill, was the head coach at North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. Son Derek held the top jobs at both Louisiana Tech and SEC rival Tennessee.

    When Derek returned to Athens as the Volunteers’ coach in 2010, Vince knew he couldn’t pull against his son, but he didn’t want to be seen rooting against the Bulldogs in their own stadium.

    So he stayed at home, watching the game on television as Georgia romped to a 41-14 victory.

    “In a perfect world, I’d rather him be farther away and not in the same conference,” Vince said. “But it is what it is. We’ll make the make the best of it. I am very proud of him.”

    At Georgia, Dooley coached a plethora of standout players — from Bill Stanfill to Scott Woerner to Rodney Hampton. But his most famous recruit was undoubtedly Walker, a running back who possessed an almost supernatural combination of bruising power and sprinter’s speed.

    Walker made his mark in his very first college game, running right over Tennessee defensive back Bill Bates for a touchdown that helped the Bulldogs rally for a 16-15 victory.

    “My god, a freshman!” longtime Georgia radio announcer Larry Munson screamed over the air.

    Walker rushed for 1,616 yards and 15 touchdowns that season, but the Bulldogs’ national title hopes appeared doomed when they trailed Florida 21-20.

    Then Belue and Scott hooked up on perhaps the most famous play in school history. Thanks to another memorable call by Munson, the game would forever be known as “Run, Lindsay, Run.”

    Georgia capped its 12-0 season with a 17-10 win over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl to clinch the national championship.

    That season would be the pinnacle of Dooley’s career, though the Bulldogs nearly won another national title two years later. Walker won the Heisman Trophy and Georgia was ranked No. 1 heading into the Sugar Bowl after an undefeated regular season.

    But No. 2 Penn State captured the championship with a 27-23 victory in what turned out to be Walker’s final college game. He bolted for the upstart U.S. Football League after his junior season.

    Walker is now running for the U.S. Senate as a Republican. Locked in a tight battle with incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock, Walker received the endorsement of his former coach in a recent ad.

    While Georgia’s run of three straight SEC championships ended in 1983, the Bulldogs capped a 10-1-1 season with a 10-9 upset of Texas — a game that Dooley would still look back on with pride years later.

    Best known for his coaching accomplishments, Dooley took pride in running an athletic program that was among the nation’s best in a wide range of sports.

    “The greatest satisfaction from being director of athletics comes from working toward the goal of putting a program together in which all the sports have an opportunity to compete at the highest level,” he said.

    From tennis to swimming, gymnastics to baseball, the Bulldogs won 19 national championships under Dooley. He was inducted into the National College Football Hall of Fame in 1998.

    Dooley was born into an athletic family in Mobile, Alabama, on Sept. 4, 1932. After graduating from McGill High School, he went to Auburn on a football scholarship and played basketball.

    Dooley was an outstanding defensive back and captain of the 1953 team, a year in which he also played in the College All-Star Game. He graduated from Auburn in 1954 with a degree in business management before serving in the Marine Corps for two years.

    In 1956, Dooley became an assistant coach at Auburn and was freshman coach at the school for three seasons before being named head coach of Georgia shortly after the end of the 1963 season, taking over a program in disarray after three straight losing years under Johnny Griffith.

    Twenty-five years later, Dooley was carried off the field after his final game, a 34-27 victory over Michigan State in the Gator Bowl.

    Survivors include his wife and their children: Deanna, Daniel, Denise and Derek.

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    Retired AP Sports Writer Tom Saladino contributed to this report.

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    Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at https://twitter.com/pnewberry1963 and find his work at https://apnews.com

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  • Boston, Clark headline AP women’s hoops All-America team

    Boston, Clark headline AP women’s hoops All-America team

    Aliyah Boston of South Carolina and Caitlin Clark of Iowa were unanimous picks for The Associated Press preseason women’s basketball All-America team released Tuesday.

    Boston led South Carolina to its second national championship and swept nearly ever major award last season. Expectations are high once again for the top-ranked Gamecocks and Boston, who was on all 30 ballots from the national media panel that selects the AP Top 25 each week.

    “I don’t think all the awards define who she is but also puts her in a position of she’s in a more relaxed mode because she accomplished those things. She’s still in a place of hunger,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “She still wants to be the best. When you’ve proven that at such an early stage of your career, you want more and more. She’s entered a phase of wanting more yet is confident in who she is, since she was able to accomplish it.”

    Seniors Haley Jones of Stanford, Ashley Joens of Iowa State and Elizabeth Kitley of Virginia Tech were also selected for the team as was sophomore Aneesah Morrow of DePaul.

    Boston, who averaged 16.8 points and 12.4 rebounds, and Clark were both on the preseason team last year. Clark followed up a fantastic first season with an even better one as a sophomore, averaging 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Hawkeyes, who are ranked fourth in the preseason poll for their best mark since 1994.

    “She worked on a little bit more emotional control in her leadership. I think that’s really important,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “You want those officials to be your best friends let’s treat them like that.”

    Bluder also said Clark has added some post moves to her game: “That may sound silly with Monika (Czinano) on the block. She’s almost 5-foot-10 and no reason she can’t post up. She’s looking for that a lot more.”

    Joens opted to stay at Iowa State for another year, passing up a chance to enter the WNBA draft. She averaged 20.3 points and 9.5 rebounds last season and is the first preseason All-American in school history.

    “This is a great honor for Ashley and the entire Iowa State program,” coach Bill Fennelly said. “To be recognized with such a great group of players is an outstanding accomplishment. I know she will continue to work hard to play at an All-American level this season.”

    Jones helped Stanford go 32-4 before falling to UConn in the Final Four. She averaged 13.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Cardinal. Last season, coach Tara VanDerveer called her star the “Magic Johnson of women’s basketball.”

    Kitley had a stellar year, averaging 18.1 points and 9.8 rebounds for the Hokies. Her return is a big reason why the team is ranked No. 13 in the preseason, its best mark since the final poll of 1999 when the school was also 13th.

    She is the first player from the school to be honored as a preseason All-American.

    “She’s the hardest working kid I’ve been around,” Virginia Tech coach Kenny Brooks said. ‘If she doesn’t do something, she has FOMO (fear of missing out). She’s added so much to her game to make us the best we can be. My responsibility is to prepare her for the next level.”

    Morrow had an incredible first season, averaging 21.9 points and 13.5 rebounds for the Blue Demons. She is the first DePaul player to earn preseason honors since Latasha Byears did it in 1995.

    “She earns it through her daily work ethic and competitiveness,” DePaul coach Doug Bruno said of Morrow.

    All six players were honored last spring on the AP All-America teams. Boston, Clark and Jones were on the first team while Joens and Morrow were on the second. Kitley made the third team.

    The AP started choosing a preseason All-America team before the 1994-95 season.

    ———

    The Associated Press’ 2022-23 preseason All-America women’s basketball team, with school, height, year and votes from a 30-member national media panel (key 2021-22 statistics in parentheses):

    Aliyah Boston, South Carolina, 6-5, senior, 30 of 30 votes (16.8 ppg, 12.5 rpg, 2.4 bpg.)

    Caitlin Clark, Iowa, 6-0, junior, 30 of 30 votes (27.0 ppg, 8.0 apg, 8.0 rpg)

    Haley Jones, Stanford, 6-1, senior 28 of 30 votes (13.2 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 3.7 apg)

    Ashley Joens, Iowa State, 6-1, senior, 24 of 30 votes (20.3 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 2.0 apg)

    Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech, 6-6, senior, 9 of 30 votes (18.1 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 2.4 bpg)

    Aneesah Morrow, DePaul, 6-1, sophomore, 9 of 30 votes (21.9 ppg, 13.5 rpg, 3.0 spg)

    Others receiving votes: Cameron Brink, Stanford; Rori Harmon, Texas; Hailey Van Lith, Louisville; Olivia Miles, Notre Dame; Angel Reese, LSU; Maddy Siegrist, Villanova; Azzi Fudd, UConn; Jade Loville, Arizona State; Jordan Horston, Tennessee; Deja Kelly, North Carolina; Tamari Key, Tennessee.

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  • 8 Ways Coaching — Whether It’s Business or Personal — Can Change Your Life

    8 Ways Coaching — Whether It’s Business or Personal — Can Change Your Life

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    If you are looking to ascend to another level personally or within your organization, you may want to consider working with a coach. But if you are unsure about how to find a coach or what to work on with a coach, here are some facts about coaching that may help you.

    You may be wondering, “What does coaching mean, exactly?” Well, I’m glad you asked.

    In the past 10+ years, coaching has gotten increasingly prevalent. Because of this, many different definitions of the term “coaching” have emerged. Many people first think of coaching in the form of sports, but today, there are several various types of coaching programs, therefore coaching can mean anything from the following:

    • A process that provides an individual with feedback, insight and guidance on achieving their full potential in their business or personal life.
    • The development of a range of appliable skills and abilities, or a model of communicating with others, which helps develop both parties.
    • A professional relationship in which you work with a mentor to outline your options, set goals and create action plans to achieve these goals.

    Let’s discuss two main types of coaching: life coaching and business coaching.

    Related: How to Become a Coach That Makes a Real Difference

    Five benefits of business coaching

    A business coach is a mentor that focuses on improving a component of your company that may be struggling or an area you’d like to develop. This relationship and the conversations tend to be project-based with specific targets and metrics. A great business coach will outline a clear vision of success, and then fill in the steps to take to achieve the goal.

    1. Team performance. The increase in performance is the primary benefit of corporate coaching. This develops the positive qualities of individuals and teams, and enables their use for the general good of the business. Therefore, corporate coaching in management significantly increases staff productivity.
    2. Communication. A coaching session is a question-and-answer type of conversation, which provides value to both parties. This establishes an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust. When a business leader has a great coach, it will typically lead to better communication with their staff. Good interactions in the workplace pave the way for productive staff teamwork, whereas the rules and directions used for the characteristics of directive management are not as likely to bring about such positive changes.
    3. Training and development. Training and development of staff are essential for any company. It allows employees to grow and improve their skills, which in turn increases efficiency and productivity. Coaching is one method of staff development that enables employees to learn and grow in their roles. Therefore, it is vital for management to create an environment that supports and encourages employee development.
    4. Organization’s ability to adapt. Flexibility and adaptability are primary skills that business owners need to stay competitive in the modern digital age. That is why help through coaching is so vital for entrepreneurs today.
    5. Staff morale. Coaching provides individuals with guidance to develop their potential, increase their self-esteem and improve their work quality. In today’s workforce, people are motivated to work of their own volition, not a constraint. By coaching employees, employers can create a more productive and efficient workforce.

    Related: If You Haven’t Hired a Business Coach, You’re Holding Yourself Back

    Three benefits of personal coaching

    A personal coach, or life coach, is a mentor that will work with a mentee on improving areas of your life outside of business. The coaching sessions may include work on home life, friend and family relationships, or even well-being, such as mental and/or physical health. Some personal coaches even incorporate spiritual and religious guidance.

    1. Improvements in personal interactions. The quality of one’s life is greatly improved when that person is emotionally satisfied. This is something that must be taken into account within ourselves. Having awareness and controlling our emotions well is not just for our own benefit but also is paramount in managing a team of employees. Proper coaching in your personal development can have a massive impact on improving all of our relationships, as well as motivating employees to do their best work by providing them with the emotional support they may be looking for in their job role.
    2. Creative thinking. When you have a mentor, there comes along with it an increase in creativity because the coaching sessions uncover ideas we may not have had otherwise. This is one of the most important reasons why businesses should invest in coaching. Coaching creates an environment where the mentee feels comfortable running their thoughts and ideas by their coach. Those ideas are then evaluated and implemented to improve an area of need. One innovative idea can generate many more, making coaching a vital investment for any business.
    3. Trust and confidence. Coaching helps people access hidden resources and potential. By creating an atmosphere of trust and confidence, coaches can help their clients discover inner resources they didn’t know about before. The coach’s questions reveal how the mentee will determine whether their goals are within reach. Coaching facilitates the development of a person’s internal compass, hence understanding how to achieve their goals becomes clear.

    Related: Coaching: The Best-Kept Secret to Growing as an Entrepreneur

    To summarize

    Although we could talk at length about the benefits of coaching, it is a powerful tool that allows fantastic results to be achieved. Many high-performing business leaders will tell you the necessity of having a coach. By learning from a coach, you can then implement what you have learned, making it today’s most effective personnel management style.

    Coaching is not a theory but rather a practice that is not difficult to master. To see its efficacy, try implementing coaching into your personal and organizational development. The results, even from the first attempt, are likely to be positive.

    Regardless of what you decide to do with a coach, remember to keep it simple.

    Brian McKittrick

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  • What To Watch: No. 9 faces No. 10 Oregon in Kelly’s return

    What To Watch: No. 9 faces No. 10 Oregon in Kelly’s return

    UCLA coach Chip Kelly is facing his former school this weekend.

    Never have the stakes been this high.

    No. 9 UCLA plays at No. 10 Oregon this Saturday in a game that will likely narrow the Pac-12’s College Football Playoff chances to two teams.

    Kelly lost the first two games against Oregon, the team he led to the 2011 BCS national championship game, but takes a much better team with him to Autzen Stadium this year.

    “It’s always special going back there, it’s a special place in my life and there’s a lot of great people there that had a profound impact on my life,” said Kelly, Oregon’s coach from 2009-12. “But I’m not playing the game. We’re totally focused.”

    The Pac-12′s first top-10 matchup since 2018 will keep one Pac-12 team alive in the CFP push and likely eliminate the other.

    UCLA (6-0, 3-0 Pac-12) is the conference’s lone undefeated team and is coming off a bye after beating No. 15 Utah. Keep their roll going and the Bruins could work their way up to a top-four spot in the CFP.

    The Ducks (5-1, 3-0) were crushed 49-3 by top-ranked Georgia in their opener, but have scored at least 40 points in five straight games since. Oregon would have to win out and hope a one-loss Pac-12 team will be good enough to get into the CFP.

    No. 12 Southern California also would have to win out to hopefully get a playoff look.

    The What to Watch rundown for this week of college football, presented by Regions Bank:

    BEST GAME

    No. 8 TCU at No. 7 Kansas State. The Big 12’s best defense faces its best offense with first place on the line.

    The Frogs (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) have the offense, averaging 526.7 yards and 45.8 points per game. The Wildcats (5-1, 3-0) have the defense, holding opponents to 16.7 points per game.

    TCU, picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 preseason poll, is the conference’s lone undefeated team remaining after rallying to beat No. 11 Oklahoma State 43-40 in double overtime last week.

    Kansas State, picked fifth in the preseason poll, is the only other Big 12 team still undefeated in conference play after grinding out a 10-9 win over Iowa State.

    HEISMAN WATCH

    Dorian Thompson-Robinson, UCLA. USC’s Caleb Williams is getting the most Heisman hype out West, but DTR has been putting up big numbers for the only Pac-12 team that hasn’t lost.

    Thompson-Robinson has thrown for 1,510 yards and 15 touchdowns with two interceptions, adding 231 yards and four more scores rushing. If the Bruins make it to the CFP, he will likely be in the Heisman conversation.

    NUMBERS TO KNOW

    1 — Sack allowed by Oregon, fewest in the FBS.

    16 — Receptions by Utah’s Dalton Kincaid against USC last week, most by a tight end since Northwestern’s Jon Harvey had 17 against Michigan in 1982.

    24 — Years since No. 25 Tulane was ranked before cracking the AP Top 25 this week.

    40 — Consecutive top-5 appearances in the AP Top 25 by Alabama before dropping to No. 6 this week.

    551 — Total yards per game by Tennessee, tops in the FBS.

    UNDER THE RADAR

    No. 6 Alabama at No. 24 Mississippi State. The poor Bulldogs seem to have a knack for playing Alabama right after a Crimson Tide loss. It hasn’t gone well.

    Alabama has played Mississippi State coming off a loss three times since 2019, winning those games by a combined 71 points.

    The Bulldogs also will be playing with heavy hearts following the death of freshman offensive lineman Sam Westmoreland earlier this week.

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  • Alexis Ohanian gets sports award, calls for reforms in NWSL

    Alexis Ohanian gets sports award, calls for reforms in NWSL

    NEW YORK (AP) — Alexis Ohanian called out the need for a safe work environment in the National Women’s Soccer League while receiving the Champions for Equality Award at the annual Salute to Women in Sports event on Wednesday night.

    The former executive chairman of Reddit is a founding investor of the newest women’s professional soccer team, Angel City FC in Los Angeles. He was accompanied by his wife Serena Williams and daughter Olympia.

    “As a club owner, as a husband and as a father, I have been disgusted by what’s been brought to light as part of this ongoing investigation,” he said. “I’m hopeful it will lead to necessary reform.”

    He praised the players in the NWSL who are demanding accountability and changes after last week’s report from an independent investigation highlighted systemic sexual misconduct and emotional abuse. The investigation detailed administrative reporting failures in the sport, impacting several teams, coaches and executives in the league.

    “It’s to their strength, their bravery and their courage that we’re going to get a better NWSL,” Ohanian said to cheers at the Women’s Sports Foundation’s event in Manhattan.

    Five of the 10 head coaches in the NWSL either were fired or stepped down last season amid allegations of misconduct. Two owners have recently stepped away from their teams.

    Ohanian said he watched the U.S. women win the 2019 World Cup and mused about how Olympia might someday play in a World Cup: “Serena said, without missing a beat, ‘Not until they pay her what she’s worth.’”

    Ohanian is part of the majority-female Angel City FC ownership group that includes Williams, Natalie Portman, Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, Julie Foudy, America Ferrera, Uzo Aduba, Candace Parker and Billie Jean King, among others.

    Foudy, a two-time U.S. World Cup champion, said rigorous guidelines are needed to combat sexual misconduct and it would “absolutely” help to have more female owners and female coaches in the NWSL.

    “The change of mindset in Angel City and that ownership group … is remarkable to see,” she said. “You don’t have to spend so much time expending energy about why you should support these women. They get it. The Angel City refrain I always get is: ’What’s possible?’”

    Olympic gold medalists Sunisa Lee in gymnastics and Maggie Steffens in water polo were also honored as Sportswomen of the Year at the awards dinner, which commemorated the 50th anniversary of Title IX.

    South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley received the Billie Jean King Leadership Award. Staley not only led the U.S. women’s basketball team to the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics but also guided South Carolina to its second NCAA title in five years in April. Staley is the first Black coach to win two NCAA Division I basketball championships.

    Bobsledder Elena Meyers Taylor, the most decorated Black athlete at the winter Olympics with five medals, was given the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award. She accepted the award with her young son, Nico, at her side. Meyers Taylor won her most recent medal despite having COVID-19 at the Beijing Olympics.

    “I’m inspired by this remarkable group of honorees, who are breaking records, eliminating barriers and blazing a path for a brighter future in and out of sports for girls and women,” said King, who in 1974 created the Women’s Sports Foundation, which provides community sports programs and training grants.

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  • Mark Stone’s last-minute goal sends Vegas past Kings 4-3

    Mark Stone’s last-minute goal sends Vegas past Kings 4-3

    LOS ANGELES — Mark Stone scored the tiebreaking goal with 24.9 seconds to play, and the Vegas Golden Knights punctuated coach Bruce Cassidy’s debut with a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.

    Arthur Kaliyev tied it for the Kings with 7:02 left, but the Knights capitalized in the waning seconds after the Kings made an ill-advised move up the ice instead of running out the clock for overtime. Chandler Stephenson controlled a turnover at mid-ice and carried it in for Stone, who whipped a shot past Jonathan Quick to cap Vegas’ three-goal third period.

    “We had our breakdowns, but that’s just learning curves,” Stone said. “If we can cut those in half, we’ll get it done. Power play got a little talking-to in between periods there. We stepped up for it in the third.”

    William Karlsson had a goal and an assist as the Golden Knights put a whopping 51 shots on Quick, including 20 in the final period. Jonathan Marchessault and Jack Eichel also scored, while Alex Pietrangelo had assists on Vegas’ last two goals.

    Cassidy spent the past six seasons with the Bruins, who fired him in June even though Boston made the playoffs in every year of his tenure. The Golden Knights hired him eight days later to get the NHL’s model expansion franchise back to the postseason.

    “I thought we showed a lot of resilience,” Cassidy said. “We kept pushing back whenever something didn’t go our way. … For a coach, you’re always worried that when you don’t know your team that well — it’s our first league game — what will happen when things don’t go well? It’s always, to me, a sign of good character in the room when a team is resilient, so that’s a big plus for me no matter how the score turned out.”

    Logan Thompson made 27 saves in his first game since becoming Vegas’ first-choice goalie in the absence of injured Robin Lehner and Laurent Brossoit.

    Quick made 47 saves while starting on opening night for the 14th time in the Kings’ last 15 seasons. Gabe Vilardi and Adrian Kempe also scored for Los Angeles, but coach Todd McLellan lamented his team’s poor game management and overall defensive intensity while saying the Kings’ last-minute turnover “makes no sense” and “was just stupidity.”

    “We’ve preached and preached about it,” McLellan said. “Sometimes you’ve got to get hit pretty hard with a two-by-four. Maybe this was it. … That is all game management. That’s getting engaged and being ready to go. Their team did a better job of it than we did tonight.”

    Vegas’ impressive entrance into the NHL in 2017 coincided with the Kings’ decline from the best times in franchise history, but the momentum shifted last season between two teams separated by about 3 1/2 hours of desert freeway.

    Los Angeles ended its three-year playoff drought and stretched Edmonton to seven games in the first round after finishing the regular season five points ahead of the Golden Knights, who missed the postseason for the first time.

    In their first meeting of the new season, the Knights showed they’ve got more than enough offense to break through the defense-minded Kings.

    “We wasted an outstanding goaltending night by not at least getting a point,” McLellan said. “That’s disappointing.”

    Eichel put Vegas ahead early in the third with a rebound goal, but Kempe tied it 2 1/2 minutes later with a one-timer on a sharp pass from captain Anze Kopitar, who is beginning his 17th season with the Kings.

    After Eichel and Kempe traded goals early in the third, Karlsson expertly redirected Pietrangelo’s soft pass from the point with 12:43 to play. Los Angeles answered moments after a power play expired, with Kaliyev hitting an open net after a scramble in front.

    QUIET DEBUTS

    Phil Kessel didn’t score in the 35-year-old forward’s Vegas debut, and prolific Swiss forward Kevin Fiala didn’t score in his first game with the Kings.

    BARNSTORMING BETTMAN

    NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman attended the game and said he was pleased with the renovations and additions to the Kings’ downtown arena. Although the league has no active expansion plan, Bettman said he has received numerous inquiries from parties interested in getting a new franchise in the NHL, which currently has a symmetrical 32 teams.

    Bettman also said the league is still investigating the separate sexual assault allegations against Tampa Bay’s Ian Cole and the 2018 Canadian world junior championships team.

    UP NEXT

    Golden Knights: Host Blackhawks on Thursday.

    Kings: Host Kraken on Thursday.

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