This blog will be a space for exploring that kind of leadership and that kind of coaching—across education, athletics, and the workforce. Tools, stories, reflections, and research—all with one goal:

To build better coaches.
To grow better leaders.
To help people unlock their Reservoir Unlimited.

Let’s get to work.

April 5, 2025

The Five Core Questions of a Great Practice - Coaching Beyond Drills, Into Design

Ask most coaches how practice went, and you’ll hear answers like “we got through everything,” or “the energy was okay,” or “they didn’t focus today.”

But a better question isn’t how practice felt—it’s whether practice was designed to deliver the right experience.

At Reservoir Unlimited, we believe great coaching doesn’t start with a whistle or clipboard—it starts with intention. That’s why we use five core questions to evaluate and elevate every practice session.

These questions shift coaching from survival mode into design mode. From just “getting through” to building up.

The Five Core Questions of a Great Practice

1. Did every player get meaningful reps?

It’s easy to assume presence equals participation. But were players actively involved? Did they get the ball, take the shot, run the rep, get the feedback?

A player standing in line for 20 minutes doesn’t grow. A player who gets 200 reps in 20 minutes does.

2. Were the minutes high-value—active, competitive, and engaging?

Time is a coach’s most precious resource. Every drill, every station, every transition should serve a purpose.

We’re not just trying to fill a clock. We’re creating a rhythm where players are mentally and physically locked in—competing, creating, and connecting.

3. Was the challenge level right for all skill levels?

Great practices live in the stretch zone—not the comfort zone, and not the panic zone.

That means balancing the needs of the first-time player and the future all-star. Layering drills. Scaling games. Creating wins for everyone in the room.

4. What was the energy like—were players enthusiastic and having fun?

Fun isn’t the enemy of seriousness—it’s the fuel for commitment.

If the practice is flat, the problem isn’t the players—it’s the environment. Coaches are tone-setters. Energy architects. And when energy is high, buy-in follows.

5. Did we coach the environment, not just the players?

This is the big one. Coaching isn’t just correcting technique—it’s shaping the space.

Did the practice culture promote effort, feedback, teamwork, and reflection? Did players feel seen, supported, and challenged?

Because if the environment is right, the rest takes care of itself.

Design, Don’t Just Deliver

These five questions can guide any coach, in any setting. They work in youth rec leagues, varsity gyms, and leadership team meetings. Because while the content may change, the experience of learning and growth should always be intentional.

Practice is where culture is built. Where skills are shaped. Where identity is forged.
If you want better results, start with better reps. If you want better reps, start with better questions.

Great practices don’t just happen—they’re designed. Let’s coach that way.

Playing Time Is Learning Time

Why Game Days and Practices Both Deserve Our Full Intentionality

In youth sports, few things carry more weight—for players and parents—than playing time. Who starts. Who sits. Who gets the ball. Who gets subbed out. These moments feel big, because they are. They’re public. Emotional. Memorable.

But what if we saw playing time differently? Not as a reward. Not as a status symbol.
But as a chance to grow.

At Reservoir Unlimited, we believe playing time is part of the learning arc. It’s not the end of the process—it’s a stage for development, a setting where young athletes begin to apply what they’ve practiced. And just like with any stage of learning, everyone deserves access to it.

Because growth doesn’t happen on the sideline.

The Practice Window: 60–90 Minutes, Twice a Week

If we’re lucky, most youth teams get two short practices and a game each week. That’s maybe 180 minutes total to shape skills, mindset, and love for the game.

So the question becomes: How are we using those minutes?

Too often, practices are spent talking at players, running one drill too long, or letting lines get too long. It’s not a fault—it’s a trap we all fall into. But we have to remember:

Kids don’t learn by standing around. They learn by playing.

Every practice should be a carefully designed experience where players are:

  • Moving more than waiting

  • Touching the ball more than once or twice

  • Competing in small-sided games that mirror real play

  • Being coached through moments, not speeches

When we use our minutes wisely, we increase the dosage of learning and joy.

Game Days: Not Just for the Stars

Come Sunday, game day isn’t just for the top performers. It’s for everyone. It’s a moment to feel part of the team. To take what was learned and test it under pressure. To belong.

Will playing time be perfectly equal every week? Probably not. But we can be thoughtful—about shift rotations, about pre-game planning, about the small cues that let a player know, you matter here.

A short shift can be a huge moment. A second-quarter substitution might spark confidence that lasts for weeks. These aren't afterthoughts—they’re touchpoints of identity.

Coaching with Intention, Every Day

Youth coaching isn’t easy. It’s emotional, messy, and often undervalued. But it’s also one of the most powerful forms of leadership we’ll ever practice.

So let’s stay anchored in what matters:

  • Every player deserves to learn.

  • Practice time should be active, joyful, and intentional.

  • Playing time should be shared, thoughtful, and tied to development.

Because when we center growth over perfection, everyone gets better. And more importantly—everyone wants to come back.

Let’s keep showing up, designing better practices, and making every minute count.

April 3, 2025.

Unlock the Reservoir: The Coach’s Mindset

There’s a shift that happens when you stop trying to fix people—and start coaching them.
It’s the shift from giving answers to asking better questions.
From managing outcomes to cultivating growth.
From directing others to unlocking what’s already inside them.

This is the Coach’s Mindset—and it’s at the heart of everything we do at Reservoir Unlimited.

When I talk about coaching, I don’t just mean sports. I mean the deeper kind—the kind that happens in a classroom, in a team huddle, in a career conversation, or a hallway moment between meetings. It’s the kind of leadership that sees potential in people before they see it in themselves.

Over the years, I’ve coached athletes, students, teachers, professionals, and entire systems. And what I’ve come to believe is simple, but powerful:

Everyone has a reservoir inside them. A deep, untapped well of ability, purpose, and drive.
The job of a great coach is to help them find it—and then trust them to use it.

That’s what Reservoir Unlimited is all about. It’s not just a brand name. It’s a belief:
That human potential is expansive. That our capacity for growth is deeper than we think.
And that leadership—real leadership—is about helping others unlock their reservoir.

What Does That Look Like?

It looks like:

  • A teacher who sees beyond a student’s struggle and helps them build confidence through effort and reflection.

  • A sports coach who designs high-rep, high-energy practices that develop both skill and joy.

  • A principal who mentors their team with purpose, helping them grow into the leaders they were meant to be.

  • A career coach who doesn’t hand out plans, but helps someone see a future they didn’t think was possible—and take their first step toward it.

It looks like leaders who lead like coaches—curious, present, growth-oriented, and human.

The Unlimited Part

Why “Unlimited”? Because the reservoir doesn’t run dry.
When you lead with the Coach’s Mindset, you don’t drain people—you refill them.
You give them tools, trust, and space. You celebrate their wins and walk with them through challenge. You create environments where people want to return—not because they have to, but because they grow there.

And the more you coach, the more you realize:
This work isn’t about control. It’s about capacity.
It’s not about your voice—it’s about helping others find theirs.