Coaches' Book Club

Coaches' Book Club

Sports are more than just games. Competition is a classroom for the human experience. While scoreboards declare winners and losers, the real value of athletics is the lessons that transcend any field of play. Lessons like perseverance, leadership, and resilience. And coaches are the people responsible for teaching these principles to athletes and fans alike. Have you ever wondered what shaped the philosophy or leadership style of your favorite coaches? A new podcast from KSL - Coach’s Book Club - asks coaches and athletes to share how their favorite books educated, changed or inspired them.  Hosts David James and Amy Donaldson are veteran journalists who’ve covered everything from Olympic triumphs to high school heartbreaks. Each month, they'll introduce you to a coach and get their book club pick. Then, we'll read the book together and discuss the characters, themes and lessons. And we want to hear your take, too. This isn't just a podcast to listen to, it's a community. So join the coach's book club!

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Most Recent Episode

Coaches' Book Club
Episode 8 - Lessons from Boys in the Boat
Weber State cross country and track coach Corbin Talley returns to discuss what we learned reading this incredible book. We share the quotes that moved us, the lessons we took from the gut-wrenching story of the University of Washington rowing team’s journey to representing the U.S. in the 1936 Olympic Games. The book weaves world history, athletic challenges and personal struggles in way that is both poetic and riveting. It is a story that underscores why even the toughest and most talented individuals need a team. We loved it, and Coach Talley shares personal stories and favorite passages with us.
Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
00:45:10
Apr 20, 2026 5:0 AM
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More Episodes

Coaches' Book Club
Episode 7: Dream Crazy

In this episode we talk with Olympic steeplechase athlete Courtney Wayment on her unlikely path to fulfilling a childhood dream. The former BYU All-American was the youngest child of two talented runners, but she wasn’t sure running was her sport until late in her high school career. She talks about her dad’s reverse psychology that made her want to embrace the sport her siblings rejected, how her high school coach Corbin Talley helped her find her path, how BYU coach Diljeet Taylor inspires her to ‘dream crazy’. She said Talley recommended this month’s book - Boys in the Boat - to her, and it helped her navigate painful personal challenges as she trained and competed to make the U.S. Olympic team in 2024.

00:45:59
Apr 13, 2026 5:2 AM
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Coaches' Book Club
Episode 6: An improbable Olympian
Olympic marathon runner Jared Ward joins Coaches’ Book Club to discuss our April book - Boys in the Boat - his career, and two books he wanted to share with us. Jared Ward has enjoyed one of those athletic careers that no one predicted. He wasn’t the most talented, or committed, runner in high school, where he was coached by Corbin Talley, who chose this month’s book. So what changed? Jared shares why running became more than a hobby, especially after he began running for the legendary Ed Eyestone at BYU. He talks about how he battled self-doubt and some untimely injuries, and why he bought into something his coaches saw in him that he didn’t - making an Olympic team as a marathon runner.
He also talks about two books he loves and how they’ve influenced his athletic career and his new business ventures. The books are Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman and The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow.
00:45:21
Apr 6, 2026 5:3 AM
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Coaches' Book Club
Episode 5 - Corbin Talley and The Boys in the Boat

Weber State head cross country and track coach Corbin Talley is stalwart member of Utah’s running community, and he chose the book we are reading in April - The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. In this episode we talk about his background and why running appealed to him, how that changed when he began coaching and what he learned about teamwork and leadership from a book about rowing. This is Amy’s favorite sports book, and Coach Talley shares how the book helped him navigate personal challenges and coaching puzzles. This book illustrates why individual excellence doesn’t always lead to team success, and how putting the team first can transform every aspect of competition. Join us in reading this gritty, inspiring true story!

00:44:44
Mar 30, 2026 5:5 AM
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Coaches' Book Club
Episode 4: Why we loved Endurance

U.S. Bobsled coach Chris Fogt returns for our review of his book choice - Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. We talk about what happened after the ship became locked in ice, how Shackleton kept his crew physically and emotionally engaged, and how his leadership helped them maintain hope, even when it seemed there was no chance of survival. What makes us take on extreme challenges? How do leaders inspire us in the face of adversity? And what can we learn from the doomed, 110-year-old voyage? Join us for a wide-ranging conversation about a book we all loved!

00:44:01
Mar 23, 2026 5:3 AM
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Coaches' Book Club
Episode 3 - Olympic medalist Noelle Pikus-Pace 
Why is it so hard to go from setting a goal to achieving a dream? How do challenges actually help you succeed? And how do you sabotage your own success? These are just a few of the questions we discuss with Olympic silver medalist and world champion Skeleton racer Noelle Pikus-Pace. She joins the Coaches’ Book Club to discuss how our March selection - Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage - influenced her life, and it became part of her new book - No Excuses. She talks about how her struggles and her success molded her, and how she shares what she’s learned about mindset and leadership with business leaders and athletes of all ages. 
00:44:58
Mar 16, 2026 5:3 AM
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Coaches' Book Club
Episode 2: Life Lessons from Adventure Books
Other books recommended by Amy and DJ:
The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko
127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston
And the documentary - “Touching the Void”
00:44:45
Mar 9, 2026 5:3 AM
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Coaches' Book Club
Episode 1: U.S. Bobsled Coach Chris Fogt

U.S. Bobsled Coach Chris Fogt discusses his unlikely path to Olympic glory and why he chose “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage” by Alfred Lansing in the first episode of Coaches Book Club. Lt. Col Fogt had enlisted in the Army and was competing as a college athlete when someone suggested he try out for the sport of bobsled. He turned out to have talent, and he made his first trip to the Olympics in 2010 as part of the Army’s World Class Athlete Program. He discusses crashing at the Olympics, serving in Iraq, winning an Olympic silver medal and sticking with the sport through heartbreak and disappointment. He discusses why Lansing’s book is a lesson in leadership, perseverance, teamwork and hope. Pick up the book and read along with us. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the book - and the podcast - at adonaldson@ksl.com 

00:46:40
Mar 2, 2026 5:3 AM
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