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The Long Game

The Long Game

By: Nathan Pali
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About this listen

The Long Game is a leadership and sports podcast about how the greatest coaches, teams, and organizations built success that lasted.

Championships are won in moments. Dynasties are built over years.

This podcast studies elite coaching, leadership through sports, and the long-term systems behind sustained excellence. Each episode explores a legendary coach, team, or program from across football, basketball, baseball, soccer, hockey, and beyond, blending sports history, biography, and leadership analysis to uncover how the best leaders thought in decades, not seasons.

You’ll learn:

  • How great coaches built long-term systems
  • How culture created consistency across generations
  • How leaders developed talent instead of chasing shortcuts
  • How patience and discipline shaped dynasties
  • How innovation evolved over time
  • How leaders handled setbacks, rebuilding, and transitions
  • How sustained excellence is actually built

This isn’t a highlight show or a podcast about quick wins. It’s a story-driven guide to long-term leadership, coaching philosophy, organizational culture, and understanding how the best leaders in history played — and won — the long game.

If you’re interested in leadership, sports leadership, coaching philosophy, team culture, organizational leadership, performance psychology, great coaches, and learning how enduring success is built over time — this podcast is for you.

The Long Game Because real success is never built overnight.

© 2026 The Long Game All rights reserved.
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Episodes
  • Dan Gable: The Pursuit of Absolute Dominance
    Feb 15 2026
    In this episode, we explore the coaching philosophy of legendary wrestling coach Dan Gable, examining how personal tragedy and a single competitive loss shaped his relentless pursuit of perfection. We also discuss how Gable's unyielding standards and focus on extreme preparation transformed the Iowa wrestling program into a national powerhouse.Chapters00:00 Gable’s Unyielding Standard01:57 Personal Loss and Redirection03:33 The Defining Loss of 197005:32 Coaching at Iowa: Escalation08:52 Overwhelming Opponents13:59 Trusting the System & Legacy
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    11 mins
  • Newt Rockne's Football Legacy
    Feb 14 2026
    In this episode, we explore the strategic decisions and organizational brilliance of legendary football coach Newt Rockne. We discuss how he built a powerful program at Notre Dame through innovation, adaptability, and a focus on systematic excellence rather than individual talent.Chapters00:00 Rockne's Early Innovation00:22 The 1913 Army Game03:38 Building a Cohesive Program08:35 Adapting and Sustaining Excellence15:17 Confronting Complacency and Safety18:20 Rockne's Enduring Legacy
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    12 mins
  • Connie Mack: The Quiet Leader of Baseball
    Feb 13 2026
    In this episode, we explore the unconventional leadership of Connie Mack, who managed the Philadelphia Athletics for 50 years. We discuss how his focus on long-term institutional survival, even at the cost of short-term wins, provides valuable lessons for modern leadership in any field.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Connie Mack's Leadership02:00 Mack's Early Career and Principles05:32 Dismantling Championship Teams10:00 Mack's Enduring Legacy
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    10 mins
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