Coach Patrick Murphy is the Head Softball Coach at the University of Alabama. His career accomplishments rank among the very best in college sports, with a career winning percentage of 78%, winning the National Championship in 2012, and leading the Crimson Tide softball team to the NCAA tournament for a remarkable 22 straight years. In this convers…

Tyler Johnson is a mental skills and performance coach and host of the Elev8 Podcast. His primarily focus is working with student-athletes and coaches to elevate attitudes and potential through a focus of strength and balance of mind. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks to Tyler about coach Mark Farley and the rise of the Northern Iowa football p…

Hunter Sims is the Director of Athletics at Howard Payne University, where he spent 6 years as an assistant coach, offensive coordinator, and head coach of the school’s football program before his promotion into the AD role. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks to Hunter about appreciating the “invisible paychecks” coaches receive, how he develope…

Joan Ryan is the senior media advisor for the San Francisco Giants and the author of the book "Intangibles: Unlocking the Science and Soul of Team Chemistry." In this conversation, Evan Burk talks to Joan about team chemistry and how it affects performance, why trust among teammates and co-workers is crucial to building great chemistry, and how rel…

Brian Decker is the Director of Team Development for the Indianapolis Colts and was previously Commander of Special Forces Assessment and Selection for the U.S. military. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks to Brian about his model for talent assessment, how character is the bridge between talent and performance, and how the Colts’ see the cultur…

Kelvin is an 11-year NFL player currently playing for the Arizona Cardinals, and is also a two-time Walter Payton Man of the Year Award nominee for his volunteer and charity work. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Kelvin about his success in professional football despite being an “undersized” NFL Offensive Tackle, the great leadership abil…

Steve Mellor is a performance coach, former college swim coach , and host of the Career Competitor podcast. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Steve about his competitive swim career, his transition to becoming a career and executive coach, and setting a minimum standard to achieve sustained success. https://careercompetitor.com/ Get Evan’s…

Mitch Ford is a former basketball coach with experience working as an NBA player development coach with the Dallas Mavericks and a Front office assistant with the Charlotte Hornets. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Mitch about how a NBA coaching legend helped him get his start in the NBA, working first-hand with great NBA players Dirk Now…

Brittni Donaldson is a former NBA assistant coach and data analyst with the Toronto Raptors and currently serves as the Director of Coaching Development for the Hamilton Honey Badgers, and co-founder of Strata Athletics. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Brittni about coaching across genders as a female NBA coach, the factors that are igno…

Alan Stein Jr. is a speaker, author, and performance coach who spent 15 years working with the highest-performing basketball players on the planet, including NBA superstars Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Kobe Bryant. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Alan about how he embraced being “the warm-up guy” to set the foundation for his career, h…

Kevin Eastman is an author, speaker and former NBA coach. Kevin has coached the game at the college and professional levels over a career spanning 35+ years, and recently published his first book, Why The Best Are the Best. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Kevin about what he learned working for with Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett’s “silent wo…

Yogi Roth is a storyteller, a Pac-12 Networks college football analyst, former college coach, Award-Winning Filmmaker, Best-Selling Author, World-Traveler and podcast host. In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Yogi about what he learned working for Pete Carroll at USC, what separates the great athletes he’s worked in his career, and how he el…

Dr. Rick Sessinghaus is a Mental Performance Coach, Author, Speaker, and Flow Trainer for high performance golfers. He has been a mental performance coach for some of the top amateur golfers and teams in college, and is currently the Swing and Mental coach for one of the top golfers in the world, PGA Tour winner Collin Morikawa. In this conversatio…

Ryan Larsen is the head football coach at Carnegie Mellon University. Coach Larsen also worked at Indiana University, Wabash, Rhodes College, and Columbia University. In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Ryan about how his elite organizational skills, creating a culture that is all about the team, and how he evaluates both the person and the…

Josh Boyd is the Assistant General Manager of the Texas Rangers, where he oversees all functions of pro player evaluation and the R & D department. Boyd has been with the Rangers since 2008 serving in roles within Player Personnel and Pro Scouting, and spent 4 seasons as an area scout with the San Diego Padres. Photo: John Gilchrist (Rotary Club of…

Dickey Simpkins is an NBA Scout, TV Analyst, and 3-time World Champion as a former NBA player. He led Providence College to a Big East title his senior year in college, played on 3 championships teams with 4 Hall of Famers on the late 1990's Chicago Bulls, and has served as an NBA scout for the Charlotte Hornets and currently for the Washington Wiz…

This special edition episode of The Highest Level features a keynote speech I delivered recently at a national leadership conference entitled "The NFL Approach to Building Winning Teams". This speech was the closing keynote at the American Society of Crime Lab Directors national leadership symposium on August 26, 2021 to an audience of leaders and …

Cody Royle is an author, speaker, podcast host and football coach. He served as the head coach of AFL Team Canada, the men's national program for Australian Rules football, and author of the books "The Tough Stuff" and "Where Others Won't" In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Cody about his work as a coach for head coach's, developing traits…

Coach Mark Richt served as the head football coach for the University of Georgia and the University of Miami, as well as a longtime assistant coach for the Florida State University Seminoles under his mentor, Bobby Bowden where he was part of 2 National Championship teams. In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Coach Richt about learning under…

Coach Matt Doherty served as the head basketball coach for 4 college programs: Notre Dame, his alma mater North Carolina, FAU, and SMU. He played at the University of North Carolina under legendary head coach Dean Smith and is the author of the book "Rebound: From Pain to Passion". In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Coach Doherty about lea…

Jared Sandler is a play-by-play announcer and studio host for MLB's Texas Rangers. Before commentating in Major League Baseball, he broadcasted in the minor leagues and for USC athletics as a college student. In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Jared about his path as a broadcaster, his front row seat on the Pete Carroll era of USC football…

Taylor Jenkins is the head coach of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies. Before becoming a head coach, Jenkins cut his teeth as an assistant for the San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks, and Milwaukee Bucks. In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Taylor about developing his coaching voice as a young NBA coach, earning trust and respect in the locker room,…

Michael Lombardi is a former NFL executive, author, and podcast host. His football career spans over 3 decades, where he served as an NFL executive with the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, and Oakland Raiders. He is the Author of the book Gridiron Genius, co-founded and writes for the daily newsletter “The Daily Coach”, …

Blaine Scully is a recently retired professional and international rugby player. His comprehensive leadership experience includes being captain of the United States Rugby team from 2016-2019, co-founding the US Rugby Players Association, working as a broadcast analyst with NBC Sports, and advising a number of sport technology companies. In this con…

John Thomas is an executive with the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves, where oversees basketball development for both Minnesota's NBA and WNBA franchises. As a former NBA player, he played for the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Atlanta Hawks, and his hometown Timberwolves, and was a part of the University of Minnesota's Final Four run in the 1997 NCA…