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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!
July 19, 2026

Episode 21 - Nothing but curveballs

Former basketball coach and long-time broadcast analyst Joe Cravens returns to discuss his book choice - The Last Innocents by Michael Leahy. We each share some of our f...   (46:36)
July 12, 2026

Episode 20: Chari Hawkins and The Happiness Advantage

Olympic and Utah State track athlete Chari Hawkins joins us to talk about how reading The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor changed her life. The Idaho native talks abo...   (48:45)
July 5, 2026

Episode 19: Joe Cravens on sports and politics

Join us for a wide-ranging, entertaining conversation with a man who has done it all - retired coach and current broadcaster, Joe Cravens. Recently inducted into the Utah Sports H...   (47:21)
June 28, 2026

Episode 18: Morgan Scalley and the lessons of the ego

University of Utah head coach Morgan Scalley returns to discuss why he loves the book - Ego is the Enemy - by Ryan Holiday. He tells us how seeing flaws in other people ...   (47:49)
June 21, 2026

Episode 17: Sharrieff Shah and The Energy Bus

Get to know Utah’s new Associate head coach - and longtime assistant coach - Sharrieff Shah in this episode where he shares lessons from one of his favorite books - The...   (47:39)
June 14, 2026

Episode 16: Kevin McGiven, Utah Offensive Coordinator

In this episode, we get to know University of Utah football's new offensive coordinator - Kevin McGiven. We talk about his path to coaching college football, his unique interview ...   (46:59)
June 7, 2026

Episode 15 - Don’t call me coach

In this episode, we get to know Utah’s new football general manager - Joe D’Orazio. A former center, Joe talks about how he was hired to work with the offensive line u...   (47:54)
May 31, 2026

Episode 14 - Morgan Scalley - Ego is the Enemy

University of Utah head football coach Morgan Scalley knows joins the podcast to discuss why he chose Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday. Morgan talks about growing up pla...   (47:35)
May 24, 2026

Episode 13 - Lessons on Untethered Soul

Real Salt Lake head coach Pablo Mastroeni returns to discuss how the principles of Untethered Soul by Michael Singer helped him adjust to disappointment, manage anxiety,...   (47:00)
May 17, 2026

Episode 12: DeAndre Yedlin - Mindfulness and Children’s books

Real Salt Lake right back DeAndre Yedlin talks about how he went from having his soccer dreams come true to rock bottom - and how it was books that showed him how to succeed, no m...   (48:00)
May 10, 2026

Episode 11 - Jason Kreis - Belonging

A lifetime in professional sports has given Jason Kreis a lot of experience in what builds team dynamic and what undermines it. Playing and coaching for Real Salt Lake were unique...   (47:56)
May 3, 2026

Episode 10: Jimmy Coenraets - Surrounded by Idiots

Utah Royals head coach Jimmy Coenraets grew up in Belgium with a heart condition that didn’t allow him to play soccer until he was much older. But once he reached his goal o...   (47:24)
April 26, 2026

Episode 9 - Pablo Mastroeni and The Untethered Soul

Real Salt Lake head coach Pablo Mastroeni was at the top of his professional soccer career when he realized the anxiety he felt everywhere but on the pitch wasn’t normal. He...   (48:04)
April 19, 2026

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 fro...   (47:40)
April 12, 2026

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...   (46:59)
April 5, 2026

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. Ja...   (47:51)
March 29, 2026

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...   (45:44)
March 22, 2026

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 ...   (46:31)
March 15, 2026

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 th...   (47:28)
March 8, 2026

Episode 2: Life Lessons from Adventure Books

Coaches Book Club hosts David James and Amy Donaldson discuss some of the real-life lessons they’re learning as they read this month’s book - "Endurance: Shackleton&rs...   (47:15)
March 1, 2026

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 ...   (49:10)