Is the 'C' a reward or a burden? Mike Boyle says too many teams get it wrong.

Legendary strength coach Mike Boyle joins Tex McQuilkin to talk culture, consequence, and captaincy.

Mike co-founded Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning, spent 25 years with Boston University men’s hockey, and trained the Boston Bruins, the 2013 World Champion Red Sox, and two US Women’s Olympic Hockey teams.

In this episode: Why naming your best player captain can be a burden. Why leaders must risk being unpopular. How consequence builds culture. Why strength coaches are the true culture creators.

Captains, coaches, and parents. This one’s for you.

Education -    "Funishment: Reframing Discipline in Athletics" -  https://fun.captainsandcoaches.com/

"Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com [http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com/]

Training - Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

C&C Merch - shop.captainsandcoaches.com [https://shop.captainsandcoaches.com/]

158 - Real Coaching & the Captaincy Burden w/ Mike Boyle

A Purdue scientist wanted more eggs. Starting in 1982, William Muir bred only his most productive hens for six generations. By 1996, the average flock was healthy and laying more than ever. The superchickens were down to three survivors, picked bare of feathers and laying poorly. They hadn’t been producing more because they were better layers. They had been producing more by suppressing every hen around them.

Tex breaks down the superchicken experiment and what it means for your team. What happens to a star-built roster when the star gets hurt, gets a big head, or has a bad day? Why did the 2004 U.S. Olympic team go home with bronze, and what changed when the 2008 Redeem Team won gold? Why didn’t Michael Jordan win a title until he trusted his teammates? And what can captains do this week to keep their best players from silencing everyone else?

Education -    "Funishment: Reframing Discipline in Athletics" -  https://fun.captainsandcoaches.com/

"Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com [http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com/]

Training - Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

C&C Merch - shop.captainsandcoaches.com [https://shop.captainsandcoaches.com/]

157 - Superchicken: Why Your Best Player Might Be Hurting Your Team

Gratitude was Gerry Byrne's first message when he took over Harvard Lacrosse in 2019. Grit carried his team through two lost COVID seasons. Generations is how he thinks about leadership: every player touches seven classes, and those bonds last a lifetime.

Gerry has done just about everything in this game. Long Island kid. All-New England defenseman at UMass. NLL champion. Sixteen seasons at Notre Dame. Founder of the Texas Top 99, where Tex and Gerry first crossed paths. Now he leads a Harvard program that beat No. 1 Syracuse for the first time in program history.

In this episode we get into:

 * What Harvard looks for in a recruit beyond skill
 * Shackleton's Endurance and the leadership "boats" that kept his team connected
 * Why a freshman has to be able to tell a senior what to do
 * Player-elected captains and the guy who didn't get the C
 * Short-term compliance vs. real buy-in
 * Banter, candor, and the power of a team meal
 * His approach to pregame, halftime, and postgame

You don't need a title to have impact.

Education -    "Funishment: Reframing Discipline in Athletics" -  https://fun.captainsandcoaches.com/

"Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com [http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com/]

Training - Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

C&C Merch - shop.captainsandcoaches.com [https://shop.captainsandcoaches.com/]

156 - Generations of Grit & Gratitude w/ Gerry Byrne | Harvard Lacrosse

Most coaches talk too much. The best ones cue.

In this episode, recorded for the Soldiers to Sidelines Sports Performance Seminar, Tex breaks down the science and art of coaching cues. Where brain, body, and behavior connect. What to coach, when to coach it, and how to say it so it sticks.

You'll learn the DMSR teaching framework: Define, Model, Shape, Reinforce. You'll learn how to time feedback with the 4 R's: Rep It Out, Real-Time, Reference, and Reflection. And you'll learn cue triage, a simple system for deciding which correction matters most right now.

Your primary job on the floor is to capture and keep attention. Cues, not conversation. There is no failure. Only feedback.

Education -   
"Funishment: Reframing Discipline in Athletics" -  https://fun.captainsandcoaches.com/

"Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com [http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com/]

Training - Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

C&C Merch - shop.captainsandcoaches.com [https://shop.captainsandcoaches.com/]

155 - Coaching & Cues: Talk Less, Teach More

Most captains get the "C" for the wrong reasons. Best player. Most popular. Loudest voice. Then complacency creeps in and the culture cracks.

Pick up the book - Captain: The Athlete's Guide to Being an Exceptional Team Leader - https://amzn.to/4ionoFJ

John O'Sullivan is the founder of the Changing the Game Project and co-host of the Way of Champions Podcast. He is a former Fordham captain, pro soccer player, and coach at every level. His new book with Dr. Jerry Lynch, Captain: The Athlete's Guide to Being an Exceptional Team Leader, gives athletes and coaches a playbook for building leaders on purpose.

Tex and John break down why leadership is a skill, not a trait. They also dig into the best player trap and what happens when your star gives 80%. Why trying stopped being cool. Why influence is never neutral. How to name the dragons in your locker room before they burn it down. And why the strength coach may be the best person in the building to teach leadership.

Education -   "Funishment: Reframing Discipline in Athletics" -  https://fun.captainsandcoaches.com/

"Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com [http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com/]

Training - Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

C&C Merch - shop.captainsandcoaches.com [https://shop.captainsandcoaches.com/]

154 - Captaincy, Complacency, & Earning the "C" w/ John O'Sullivan

Every team ends. The great ones change shape instead.

Tex just ran three Captain's Workshops in four days, starting at his alma mater, Marymount University, and finishing in Boston. Then he stayed a few extra days with his senior-year co-captain. They hadn't seen each other in seven years, and within a minute the banter picked right back up.

This episode digs into the fifth stage of Tuckman's model of team development. Adjourning. Mourning. The stage nobody coaches. You'll learn why what survives the last whistle gets built in storming. You'll hear how accountability, banter, candor, and conflict forge bonds that last. And you'll see why adulthood adds a fourth layer: compassion. Drawing on Ep. 144 with Tim Fletcher, Tex walks through six emotional needs that former teammates are uniquely built to meet.

It closes with four moves captains and coaches can use this week.

Education -   "Funishment: Reframing Discipline in Athletics" -  https://fun.captainsandcoaches.com/

"Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com [http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com/]

Training - Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

C&C Merch - shop.captainsandcoaches.com [https://shop.captainsandcoaches.com/]

153 - Buddies Become Brothers: Build a Team for All Seasons of Life

Half the roster was new. The season was months away. George Greene had to build a team out of strangers. Then the Minutemen shock the CFB world on Week 1.

George is the head strength and conditioning coach for UMass Football. He started there as a paid intern in 2008. Now he leads the program, with his first mentor's picture hanging on his office door.

In this episode, we get into how George and his staff turned the offseason into a competition. Eight teams. Eight captains. Points for strength, speed, and body comp. Minus points for missing class. Every rep was a chance to lead.

We also talk:

 * Why six weeks is really 30 opportunities
 * How confidence comes from preparation
 * Why strength coaches shouldn't overcoach on game day
 * His go-to interview question: "Teach me something in 60 seconds"
 * Why he helps his best staff leave for bigger jobs
 * Micro-dosing sport psychology every single day
 * The three stages of peer leadership: example, vocal, emotion

Education -   "Funishment: Reframing Discipline in Athletics" -  https://fun.captainsandcoaches.com/

"Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com [http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com/]

Training - Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

C&C Merch - shop.captainsandcoaches.com [https://shop.captainsandcoaches.com/]

152 - Be Where Your Feet Are: Building a New Team Every Year w/ George Greene | UMass Football

Your kid just joined their first team. The coach is a volunteer with a job, a family, and a full calendar. They raised their hand anyway. That takes heart. But heart isn't a practice plan.

In Part One of our new series, Dad on the Sidelines, Tex is joined by Luke Summers and Patrick Ford, DPT. Together they built curriculum in the child development space, coached thousands of kids, and trained hundreds of coaches to work with kids from walking age to 11. Very few coaches in the world have more reps with kids and the coaches who lead them.

Now Luke and Pat are watching from the sidelines. This episode is their field guide for the parent who said yes to coaching 6U and is now Googling what to do on Tuesday.

In this episode:

 * How to define a win that has nothing to do with the scoreboard
 * Why fun equals focus
 * Why downtime is the enemy of attention
 * How to raise the stakes and break the script
 * What to do with the kid who won't join the drill
 * The one fix every volunteer coach can make this week

And if you coach high school, college, or lead a team at work, these principles still apply. If you can hold the attention of ten four-year-olds, you can lead anyone.

You're not a thermometer. You're a thermostat.

Education -   "Funishment: Reframing Discipline in Athletics" -  https://fun.captainsandcoaches.com/

"Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com [http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com/]

Training - Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

C&C Merch - shop.captainsandcoaches.com [https://shop.captainsandcoaches.com/]

151 - The 6U Coach Field Guide w/ Dr Pat & Luke Summers

Live from the NSCA Tactical Conference, Tex sits down with Bert Sorin, CEO of Sorinex Exercise Equipment.

Using the seven stages of Predictable Success as a roadmap, Bert shares how Sorinex grew from his dad's trail in the woods to a five-lane highway. He talks about chasing his own athletic goals while the business stalled, building a culture where everyone has a hand on the wheel, and the last conversation with his dad that keeps him hungry today.

If you lead a team, a program, or a business, this one is for you.

Education -   "Funishment: Reframing Discipline in Athletics" -  https://fun.captainsandcoaches.com/

"Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com [http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com/]

Training - Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

C&C Merch - shop.captainsandcoaches.com [https://shop.captainsandcoaches.com/]

150 - Early Struggles, Heavy Squats & Sustained Success w/ Bert Sorin

Jeff Fisher shared a story at the 2026 Soldiers to Sidelines Summit about a cornerback who cost his Titans a football game. The player heard his assignment, said "I gotcha, coach," and got it completely wrong. That gap, between hearing and listening, is the subject of this episode.  

Tex breaks down what actually separates the two, why "got it" from a captain is a reflex and not proof of anything, and what to do instead. That includes a teach-back method for high-pressure moments, a framework for building shared language with your leaders before the season starts, and a story Tex heard Jeff Fisher tell live, about a group of hearing-impaired kids who never missed a word.  

Most people aren't hard of hearing. They're hard of listening. This episode is about closing that gap before it costs you a game, or a season.

Education -   "Funishment: Reframing Discipline in Athletics" -  https://fun.captainsandcoaches.com/

"Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com [http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com/]

Training - Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

C&C Merch - shop.captainsandcoaches.com [https://shop.captainsandcoaches.com/]

149 - Hard of Listening

Tex McQuilkin (@captainsandcoaches) · Zencastr

Tex McQuilkin (@captainsandcoaches)

The Fast-Track to Becoming a Game-Changing Leader.

Discover how the greatest minds in sports build winning cultures. Dive into raw, no-nonsense conversations with elite coaches and captains who've been in the trenches. We're not here for fluff – expect:

 * Hard-hitting strategies to skyrocket your team's performance
 * Insider tips on building unbreakable team chemistry
 * Career-defining lessons from both victories and failures

Whether you're calling plays or taking the field, we're building you up, not breaking you down. 

Ready to raise your game? Let's do it together.

Press play. Listen and lead with purpose. Become the leader your team needs.

www.captainsandcoaches.com [https://www.captainsandcoaches.com/]

Captains & Coaches Podcast