Author Event: Matthew Raidbard "Lead Like a Pro" (Virtual)

THIS PROGRAM IS A VIRTUAL-ONLY EVENT. REGISTER BELOW BY LEAVING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO RECEIVE LOGIN AND CALL-IN INSTRUCTIONS (SENT TO YOU ONE DAY BEFORE THE PROGRAM). 

In Lead Like A Pro, Dr. Matthew Raidbard draws on over a decade spent as a college basketball coach and senior-level athletics administrator, as well as his own original research into what leadership styles and behaviors help athletic coaches be successful. This practical, yet informative book provides coaches with the resources to transform their leadership practice and reach their full potential.

Athletic coaches today are being asked to take on more responsibilities outside of traditional X’s & O’s, but don’t necessarily have the leadership tools to help them take on this outsized challenge. Whether you are a volunteer coaching your child’s team, a part-time high school coach who’s also a teacher, or a full-time college or professional coach, this book will teach you new ways to enhance your leadership style and become a better coach for your athletes and team.

After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree in history and classical studies from Indiana University, Dr. Raidbard decided to pursue his dream of being a college basketball coach. His first college basketball coaching job was at Western New Mexico University, where in addition to coaching he completed his Master’s degree in Educational Leadership. After leaving Western New Mexico he served as a men’s basketball coach at Dartmouth College, Florida Gulf Coast University, and Chicago State University. While working at Chicago State, he completed his Doctorate in Educational Leadership, with his dissertation focusing on determining the best leadership style and behaviors for athletic coaches to practice. From his dissertation research, he realized that coaches at all levels of sports were being asked to take on increased leadership responsibilities for their athletes and team without sufficient opportunities to receive leadership education and training. His research also uncovered that a significant gap existed between the leadership style and behaviors that athletic coaches thought they were practicing and the leadership style and behaviors they were actually practicing. These findings were the inspiration for his book, “Lead Like A Pro,” where he helps inform coaches about leadership practice, and teach them how to align their perceived and actual leadership styles and behaviors, allowing them to become more intentional and effective leaders. During his last two years at Chicago State, he transitioned into athletics administration and since that time has worked at the University of Northern Colorado, before moving into his current role as the Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director for Administration, Compliance, and Student-Athlete Success at the University of Hartford.