G-XN0H9MKVVZ George Panagiotou- Former Marine Who's Building Team Culture The Right Way - Courtside Culture

Episode 18

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Published on:

1st Jun 2021

George Panagiotou- Former Marine Who's Building Team Culture The Right Way

George Panagiotou spent 14 years in the United States Marine Corps. He's been coaching soccer ever since he got out. He's taken a program that had one winning season in 20 years and turned it around. How? By rebuilding the culture off the field—first. 

Since the culture change, his teams have put together three consecutive 10 win seasons, won a sectional title, and earned two first-round byes.

Plus, over the past five seasons, his teams have contributed over 3400 hours of community service, doing things like painting buildings, goal posts, and parking lots. Setting up and tearing down the youth field, summer camp coaching, and trash duty, On top of that, his players volunteer to lead study groups and boast a 3.7 team GPA. 

In this episode, Coach George has great advice for coaches looking to turn around their team culture, especially young coaches. We find out how he applies what he's learned in the Marines to coaching, and why he thinks developing relationships with your players is the most important part of coaching. 

Twitter

@NRHSMensSoccer 

@nraslsoccer 

Dave Grendzynski: @grizzer21

Courtside: @courtsidepod1

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About the Podcast

Courtside Culture
How to Cultivate a Great Team Culture and Win at the Same Time
Host Dave Grendzynski is a firm believer in positive psychology, especially when it comes to building a high school basketball program. When coaches provide a positive pathway for their players and parents, they’ll start building a good team culture and the wins will take care of themselves.

On the “Courtside Culture Podcast,” we’ll talk to coaches, psychologists, authors, and players about how the right mindset causes everything else to fall into place—especially in high school. The psyche of 15-, 16-, and 17-year-old kids are very fragile and the approach a coach takes means everything.

If you’re a coach and you can learn to focus on positive emotions and building your players’ strengths, instead of repairing their weaknesses, you’ll find a role for everyone, win games, and build a good team culture at the same time.

About your host

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Dave Grendzynski

Dave Grendzynski is a former Division III college baseball player turned youth basketball and baseball coach. He has coached on many different levels including CYO, AAU, Hot Stove, and Travel Baseball. His philosophy is to celebrate the wins and learn from the losses. There is always a silver lining. He combines his on the field experience with more than 20 years of television and radio experience. A 3-time Emmy Award winner, Dave believes cultivating a good team culture goes a long way to driving success in the studio, on the field, or on the court.