168
Hour
Coach
How great coaches develop athletes beyond practice. Every week has 168 hours. The best coaches understand that their influence extends far beyond the ones spent on the field.
The Question
What happens after
practice ends?
Practice ends. Players gather their gear and head home. The coach is no longer in the room — but development does not stop. The question behind 168 Coach is simple: how do great coaches continue to positively influence athletes when they are not physically with them?
The Project
A Project About
Coaching Influence
168 Coach explores how coaches develop athletes beyond practice — through culture, leadership, accountability, relationships, communication, and intentional development environments.
It began as a technology question. It became a coaching question. This project is built around the voices of coaches who have spent years creating programs that continue shaping athletes long after practice ends.
168 Hours In A Week
Practices, games, and film sessions account for only a fraction of them. What a coach does with the remaining hours — how they build culture, set standards, stay connected, and influence behavior — often determines whether their impact is temporary or lasting.
DOWNLOAD THE FREE EBOOK
Based on interviews with coaches and athletes, The 168-Hour Coach explores what development really means outside the limited hours of formal practice. Not a playbook. Not a training manual. A reflection on coaching influence — how it is built, how it is sustained, and why it matters.
Voices of the Coach
Lessons From Coaches
of Consequence
Grounded in conversations with coaches who have built lasting influence through relationships, standards, traditions, and trust.
Building a community-centered program sustained by culture, alumni connection, youth alignment, and long-term commitment.
Developing leaders through trust, accountability, player ownership, mentorship, and relationships that extend beyond the game.
Fifty years of coaching, teaching, and staying connected to athletes beyond the season.
What We Are Learning
The Patterns Are Clear
Influence Outlasts Instruction
The best coaches shape standards, habits, confidence, and identity — things that persist long after the final whistle.
Culture Has To Travel
A program's culture matters most when the coach is not present. The goal is not control. The goal is ownership.
Development Is Bigger Than Practice
Physical training, mental skills, leadership, character, and relationships all develop in the hours outside formal team activity.
Join the Conversation
Help Build The
168 Coach Project
We are continuing to learn from coaches, athletes, parents, and researchers who care about development beyond practice. If you know a coach whose influence extends beyond the scoreboard, we would like to hear their story.
About the Project
Why 168 Coach
Exists
Every week contains 168 hours. Practices, games, meetings, and film sessions account for only a small fraction of them. The question behind this project is simple: how do great coaches continue influencing athletes when they are no longer physically present?
The Story
From Technology Question
to Coaching Question
168 Coach began as an exploration of how technology might help coaches stay connected with athletes outside formal practice. The deeper we looked, the clearer it became that the real story was not technology. The real story was coaching influence.
This project is built around the experiences of coaches who have spent years creating cultures, relationships, traditions, and systems that continue shaping athletes long after practice ends. Their stories are the project.
The People
The People Behind
the Project
Nearly five decades of coaching and teaching experience focused on developing athletes and people. Co-author of The 168-Hour Coach and the original reason the question was worth asking.
Former athlete, entrepreneur, and investor exploring how leadership, culture, and relationships shape performance and development beyond formal coaching environments. Co-author of The 168-Hour Coach.
Get in Touch
Contact
the Project
Resources & Evidence
What We Are
Reading
The 168 Coach Project is shaped by coach interviews, athlete perspectives, practical experience, and outside work on leadership, culture, motivation, trust, and long-term development. These resources helped shape the questions behind The 168-Hour Coach.
Recommended Reading
Research Behind
The Project
We particularly recommend the work of EverRise, whose reports examine coaching behaviors, athlete experience, and the conditions that help young people grow through sport.
EverRise Report
The Coaching Pillars
A framework for understanding the core coaching behaviors that shape athlete experience, trust, growth, and development.
EverRise Report
The State of Coaching
A broader look at coaching effectiveness and the behaviors that influence how athletes experience teams, coaches, and development.
EverRise Report
Moving the Needle on Effective Coaching
Research focused on the coaching behaviors most associated with stronger relationships, better environments, and athlete growth.
Expand the Project
Know a
Great Coach?
We are continually looking for coaches whose influence extends beyond the scoreboard and into the lives of their athletes.
If you know someone worth talking to, tell us who they are, what sport they coach, and why their influence extends beyond practice. We'll take it from there.
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Coach
Roundtables
The best ideas rarely come from a single coach. Roundtables provide opportunities to discuss challenges, share experiences, and explore practical approaches to athlete development beyond practice.
- Culture Building
- Leadership Development
- Mental Skills
- Parent Relationships
- Accountability Systems
- Off-Season Engagement
- Athlete Ownership
Host a Roundtable
We are looking for coaches, schools, athletic departments, coaching associations, and youth organizations interested in hosting future conversations. Roundtables may be conducted in person or virtually.
Suggest a Topic
What conversation would most benefit you and the coaches in your network?