🏆 It Only Takes One

Greg Berge
May 01, 2025

Good morning, and welcome! Welcome to the 119 new subscribers who joined 14,300+ coaches and leaders this week! Excited to have you on board!

Here’s What’s Coming: It Only Takes One → Every coach knows the power of one player. One who leads. One who inspires. One who changes the team from the inside out. Today’s newsletter is all about building that kind of leader because the right one can shift your entire culture.

Let’s dive in.

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💭 ONE THOUGHT
It Only Takes One

Why is building leaders so important?

Because every coach knows this truth:

One player can change everything.

One player can set the tone.
One player can bring the energy.
One player can speak up when no one else will.
One player can lead, and others will follow.

Leadership is contagious. But it has to start with someone.

Here’s the flip side…

A study by Will Felps at the University of South Wales found that when a single "bad apple" - someone who was negative, disengaged, or selfish - was placed in a group, the entire group’s performance dropped by 30–40%.

Watch this interview with Will Felps to learn more.

One player’s attitude—good or bad—can shape the whole team.

That’s why developing the right leaders matters so much.

The challenge?

Finding and developing that one.

And then building a team where everyone is pulling for each other, not just themselves.

🏆 Leadership and the Bamboo

The story of the Chinese Bamboo is a fascinating one. And it can be applied to leadership development.

gregberge.beehiiv.com/p/leadership-bamboo

Here are 5 ways to start:

Call it out when you see it.
Leadership moments happen every day, but too often, we miss them. When a player picks up a teammate, stays late, or holds others accountable, say something. Reinforce the behavior you want repeated. Remember, Culture is what you emphasize!
Give them a voice.
If you want your players to lead, they need space to speak. Start small: a pre-practice huddle, leading a drill, or guiding a younger player. Leadership grows with reps, just like any skill.
Let them lead through service.
Real leaders serve first. Assign players to lead team chores, organize gear, or help with community projects. When they learn to serve others, they learn to lead for the right reasons.
Share the stories of past leaders.
Culture is built on stories. Tell your team about former captains, great leaders you've coached, or players who impacted the program in quiet but powerful ways. Storytelling builds a legacy worth living up to.
Train it on purpose.
Leadership doesn’t happen by accident.
It happens when you teach, model, and integrate it into your culture. Just like you wouldn’t run a practice without a plan, you can’t build leaders without a system.

Want a system that helps you do this?

That’s why I created the Team Leader OS: a plug-and-play leadership program for coaches who want to develop confident, accountable leaders within their teams.

You’ll get:

✅ 20 video-based leadership lessons + training manual for players
✅ Team activities, reflection questions, and practical tools
✅ A full “Coach the Coaches” training course
✅ 25+ leadership resources for coaches
✅ 20+ bonus leadership lessons
✅ Lifetime access for your entire staff

…and more!

It only takes one to change a team. Build them on purpose.

Get The Team Leader OS today!

Good Luck!
- Greg

🔗 LINKS FOR LEADERS

🎥 Video: Kobe Bryant, Leader of the Pack [LINK]

🆇 ICYMI: Character is Contagious [LINK]

📰 Newsletter: 10 “We Will” Statements for Teams [LINK]

📜 TWO QUOTES

"I've never felt my job was to win basketball games. Rather, that the essence of my job as a coach was to do everything I could to give my players the background necessary to succeed in life."

Bobby Knight

"A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be."

Rosalynn Carter

𝐗 THREE POSTS FROM OTHERS

You can't become a true team until you care about your teammates more than you care about yourself.
— Jamy Bechler (@CoachBechler)
3:01 PM • Mar 23, 2025

Brad Stevens said, "You have a choice to make when you're not playing. Either you're invested and a great teammate or you're not."
You choose to be a great teammate through your actions.
• It means commit.
• It means invest in others.
• It means ownership and responsibility.
— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings)
9:58 PM • Mar 27, 2025

No, Rome WASN’T built in a day, but you better believe they were laying bricks while no one was watching!
— Coach Hines 🇺🇸 (@CoachKurtHines)
1:46 AM • Mar 22, 2025

📚 LOOKING FOR RESOURCES?

Click HERE to check out my many resources for coaches → Many are FREE.

👀 LOOKING FOR MORE?

Interested in Sponsoring an Issue? Reply to this email or click here: Sponsor Great Team Better Leaders.
Are you seeking a Culture or Leadership workshop for your team or school? Contact Greg for more information.
Check out my website for more: www.gb1leadership.com
Need resources? www.gberge.gumroad.com

Contact Me: Greg Berge, [email protected]

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