3 | Clif Carroll on Leading with Authenticity

Written By Evan Burk
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Clif Carroll is in his first season as the Head Coach for the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Men's basketball team, after having previously served as the head coach at McMurry University and Sul Ross University, and had unique privilege to spend his early career working and learning under two Hall of Fame coaches, Steve Green at South Plains College and Bobby Knight at Texas Tech.

In this interview, Evan Burk speaks with Clif on how Coach Bobby Knight's 3x5 index card influenced his approach to coaching, the way his recruiting philosophy changed after having kids, and how he uses the lessons of Texas BBQ restaurants to lead his players and his coaching staff.

Find this episode for free on your favorite podcast player.

Tune into this episode to hear:

  • 2:00 | Learning from working under Coach Bobby Knight at Texas Tech

  • 4:30 | What stood out about Coach Knight's leadership?

  • 5:45 | What Clif learned from Bobby Knight - The simplicity of a 3x5 Index Card

  • 8:30 | Coach Leach at Texas Tech and Learning the Air Raid Offense

  • 9:45 | Other sources of inspiration like country music + BBQ restaurants

  • 11:30 | "Great coaches can coach anything"

  • 13:20 | Chris Beard as a young assistant at Texas

  • 16:30 | Using Authenticity in his coaching

  • 20:15 | "Part of being authentic is knowing your weaknesses"

  • 24:10 | Social Media + The "Generation of Celebrity" changing how coaches deal with players

  • 27:00 | Coaches now have to really coach up Loyalty, Community, interaction between the kids

  • 29:30 | Finding intangible traits in the players in recruiting

  • 32:15 | "Circling up the Player" + gathering information

  • 34:30 | How having kids changed his coaching and view of recruiting

  • 35:45 | "I have been really looking for players that are high achievers"

  • 36:45 | Sul Ross and his mentality taking that job.

  • 44:15 | Mentality taking over the UMHB Program

  • 49:30 | The Early Success putting his culture in place at UMHB

  • 52:30 | Expanding his player's horizons with Country Music

Learn more about Clif Carroll:

Learn more about Evan:

 
Evan Burk

Evan Burk is a speaker, former NFL coach, and podcast host who uses the sports world as his backdrop to engage audiences with thought-provoking lessons of leadership, team-building, and creating championship cultures.

Evan Burk is not your typical football coach. Despite not playing football beyond high school and no network in the coaching profession, Evan's unlikely football journey began as a 4th grade coach, where he quickly worked his way to the NFL in just 6 years, and included coaching for teams such as the Miami Dolphins, UCLA, and SMU.

After spending fifteen-plus years working with the highest-performing athletes, coaches, and teams on the planet, Coach Burk uses his unique football coaching background to teach people how to utilize the same strategies in business and life that elite players and teams use to perform at a world-class level.

Evan received his B.S. in business management from the University of Colorado, and his Master of Liberal Studies degree from Southern Methodist University. He also hosts his own weekly sports leadership podcast, The Highest Level, where he reveals how championship team cultures are built and the keys to leadership excellence at the highest level.

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