Tips For Being A Great Leader | Jon Saxton

April 8, 2026·54 min·4 clips

A high school AP history teacher turned energy executive shares his unexpected journey into coaching leadership.

1. The NFCA Dirt podcast welcomes Jon Saxton, a former AP history teacher, school principal, and superintendent, to discuss coaching leadership and educator development. 2. Saxton is introduced by host Joanna, who identifies him as her own high school AP history teacher, and he now works as a senior account executive for an energy services company while continuing to mentor coaches. 3. The episode's core question is: what separates coaches who develop lasting impact from those who stumble — and how do education and athletics reinforce each other? 4. Saxton describes his athletic background as a high jumper who qualified for the central Ohio regional track meet but missed the bus because coach Phil Peloquin forgot to tell him the departure time had moved, and was later told he probably wouldn't have qualified anyway. 5. In his first coaching job interview, Saxton declared that he was 'a teacher first, who happened to coach, not a coach who happened to teach,' framing this as a professional identity commitment he held throughout his career. 6. Saxton argues that young coaches' most common and preventable mistake is trying to be friends with their players rather than maintaining professional distance, and that temper and language are the two behaviors that get coaches into trouble fastest. 7. As a school principal and superintendent, Saxton held a cookout for coaches at the start of each season and laid out clear behavioral expectations, telling coaches he understood their frustrations but could not defend inappropriate conduct if it was raised. 8. Saxton recommends Stephen Covey's seven habits of highly effective people — be proactive, begin with the end in mind, put first things first, think win-win, seek first to understand, synergize, sharpen the saw — as a complete template for coaching and teaching practice. 9. He emphasizes that classroom teaching and coaching share the same core method: keep students or players engaged through varied 10-to-15-minute activity blocks rather than long monotonous drills, and always have a written practice plan. 10. Saxton highlights hall-of-fame football coach Ron Hinton of Amanda Clearcreek and Chillicothe as an example of a coach who actively supported his players in other sports, attending basketball games and encouraging multi-sport participation. 11. He recommends the book 'From Strength to Strength' by Arthur Brooks, which argues that professionals peak in their late thirties to early forties and then shift from fluid capability to accumulated wisdom — and that this second curve is where mentor value comes from. 12. Saxton tells the story of athletic director Bob Stant walking into the locker room after Saxton had canceled a practice mid-season, telling him bluntly, 'We're not paying you to take breaks — your team's not very good and they need to get better.' 13. He contrasts that with host Joanna's account of UCLA coach Sue Inquist, who wanted to punish her losing team with a brutal practice but was told by assistant coach Kelly to 'have a cookout' instead — illustrating that knowing what the team needs requires listening to staff. 14. The episode addresses the coach-parent-administrator triangle, with Saxton arguing that coaches should proactively flag potential problem players or parent situations to their principal before a conflict escalates. 15. Saxton says administrators owe coaches their backing when parent expectations are unreasonable, and describes going to bat for a coach whose player's parent believed the athlete was a 'superstar' who wasn't receiving fair playing time. 16. He argues that administrators who didn't play sports still don't get a 'pass' on understanding athletic programs — a band director principal he worked for understood team dynamics through his competitive band experience. 17. Saxton recalls assigning a graded essay on the first day of his AP history class and giving a hard first test, then sending home a letter to parents explaining he would not water down the curriculum — receiving one notable response from parent Dave Church that read, 'Good hitters never give in to the pitcher.' 18. The conversation is consistently collaborative, with Joanna and Saxton finishing each other's points, and Saxton occasionally pausing to reconstruct memories from 30+ years ago with warmth and humor. 19. Coaches who are early in their careers and want practical, experience-based guidance on professionalism, administrator relations, and player development will find this directly applicable. 20. Listeners looking for tactical X's and O's, game strategy, or sport-specific drill content will not find it here.

As heard by us

Leadership here means clear expectations, steady support, and honest correction when coaches need a teachable moment.

John Saxton's talk with Joanna Lane treats leadership as ordinary work: setting boundaries, backing people up, and turning mistakes into something useful.

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Why you'd press play

If you manage coaches, parents, and pressure, this gives you a steadier script for the next hard conversation with your staff.

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