Jeroen Delmee: Forging a Legacy in Leadership and Coaching

Jeroen Delmee on Culture, Clarity, and Winning as a Team

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership. So we ask the world's great coaches how they do it.

In this episode, Olympic gold-winning Dutch field hockey coach Jeroen Delmee shares that great coaching starts with selflessness, deep player connection, and creating clarity, while adapting communication to different cultures and flatter modern team hierarchies. He explains how international hockey has become a sprinting game requiring higher intensity, smarter load management, and training plans that close the gap between club and international demands. Delmee describes learning “soft skills” through mistakes in Belgium and France, using doubt to make rational, transparent decisions, and building trust through individual attention and development plans. He details how he rebuilt Dutch team culture after Tokyo by prioritizing cohesion over star names, protecting standards (“ignoring is accepting”), and defining winning as both medals and restoring pride, energy, and legacy. If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at [email protected] and if you would like to receive our newsletter with 5 ideas to help you improve your leadership, then sign up at: https://thegreatcoaches.beehiiv.com/subscribe

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at [email protected] or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.