EP 228 | How College Basketball Coaches Build Confidence And Standards with Chris Fowler and Ryan Mizner

"You can miss 11 shots and still be confident, but you can also protect your ego so hard that it blocks your growth." In this episode, our host Lisa Tarkington sits down with Saginaw Valley State University men’s basketball coaches Chris Fowler (head coach) and Ryan Mizner (assistant coach), where we get real about what confidence and leadership look like inside a college basketball program.

We dig into what “development” actually means when you’re responsible for the whole student athlete: practice planning, strength and conditioning, athletic training, academics, and the social pressure of being known around campus and in the community. Chris breaks down why standards have to be crystal clear and why accountability only works when expectations and consequences match. Ryan shares how trust and relationships make hard coaching land, especially when every player learns differently.

Then we hit a point I hope every athlete and leader hears: you are always being evaluated. Not just in games, but in how you show up to class, how you communicate when you’re struggling, how you treat people in public, and how you respond when things go wrong. We also talk about a mindset shift that changes team culture fast: the easiest way to get where you want to go is often to elevate the person ahead of you, not eliminate them.

If you care about confidence coaching, athlete leadership, team culture, and high-performance habits that translate to business and life, you’ll get a lot out of this one. Subscribe, share it with a coach or leader in your life, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

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