Leadership and team success depends upon the culture created from the top down. While this talk focuses on coaching philosophy and the environment created both on and off the field, the speaker shares insights that apply to a variety of areas and sectors.

Originally from Chillicothe, Ohio, Jay Miller was hired to lead the LakeSumter State College softball program in 2015. Jay played collegiate baseball at Oklahoma Panhandle State University, where he completed his undergraduate degree in Exercise Science in 2012 before earning his Master’s Degree in Applied Health and Sports Sciences at Northwest Missouri State in 2014. In five seasons at LakeSumter, Jay has amassed over 100 wins and in his third season became the alltime winningest softball coach in school history. His program has produced a President’s Award winner (2016), a Jean Williams ScholarAthlete award winner (2018), 14 NJCAA AllAcademic studentathletes, 14 AllConference players and five consecutive years as an NJCAA AllAcademic Team. Jay’s book, The Island: An Unconventional Approach to Coaching People, Not Players, was released in 2020 and is focused on the LSSC softball program. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx