Testimonials

Testimonials

Bill Taylor came to Lipscomb University at the start of my second year. As a coach, he raised the level of expectation of the cross country and track programs. He brought a vision for success that was beyond what was previously considered possible by the team and the individual athletes. This gave me confidence to run at an elite level. Coach Taylor helped me believe that there wasn't a race in which I couldn't run with the leaders. Through mental training and visualization, my mindset changed from underdog to leader of the pack, and it was reflected in the race results. As a senior, I was an all-conference runner in cross country and a conference champion in indoor and outdoor track. This confidence carried forward in post-collegiate races and has also made an impact in a successful engineering career.

Ryan C. (Franklin, TN)

As a freshman in college, recently diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, I had significant mental barriers to overcome. Coach Taylor started the season with mental exercises to enhance our individual and team potential. Daily, he focused our thoughts in ways that allowed us to improve physically. When I did not have the courage to do the next big thing athletically, he lent me his courage. His attentiveness to our daily heart rates, the way we ate, the thoughts we were having, proves his dedication to coaching the whole person. Ultimately, through his belief in me, Coach Taylor led me to improve my 800m time by 5 seconds at the national meet. This type of improvement was not isolated. Our 4x800m team was not set to make finals. We placed 3^rd in the nation due to the grit Coach Taylor instilled in each one of us. His skill set and talent are unmatched!

Teona G. (Richland, WA)

I’ve known Bill for over a decade now, first as one of his athletes competing in the sport of Track and Field, then as a staff member working directly with him to help build a championship NCAA Division 1 XC/Track and Field program.

What has always struck me as unique and special about Coach Taylor is his ability to connect with his athletes on a personal level and help frame their mindset and belief when approaching training, competition, or even success in the classroom. Many athletes and professionals often stop short of achieving their dreams and goals, for fear of being a failure or that they simply don’t have what it takes to reach the next level of success. Bill truly has a special gift and calling in helping athletes and individuals turn disbelief and frustration into a discipline, drive, and a mindset of believing in the impossible.

Personally as an athlete and then as a part of his coaching team, he has challenged me to push past my own insecurities and self-doubt and truly create a mental framework of “anything is possible”. I would not have been afforded the opportunities in my career had I not been influenced by Bill’s coaching and mentorship. Whether he realized at the time or not, he has been one of the KEY differentiators that has helped me build solid foundation to achieve massive success in my professional career and personal life. I truly owe my mindset breakthroughs to his guidance and expertise. I couldn’t have found a better coach and mentor and I am forever grateful for his influence in helping me become a high performance achiever!

If you’re on the fence about whether mindset coaching can help you, I can guarantee this is most likely the most crucial missing piece to your development and success as an athlete or business professional.

Steven M. (Brentwood, TN)

Bill Taylor was my coach as a first-year transfer student. In under a year, I shaved over a minute off my 5k PR. I went from pool jogging three days a week with periodic cortisone injections to rehab a longtime hip injury, to jumping over barriers to place just shy of All-American in the steeplechase. The reason I was able to succeed is because of the incredible team values Coach Taylor modeled. He took a collection of decent high school runners and taught them collectively to have faith enough in each other and themselves to become All Americans, All-American Scholars and National Champions. Today, as a manager and former Skechers athlete, I still hold close the values and practical lessons he taught me which are essential to any organization, team or individual’s success.

Ashley T. (Colorado Springs, CO)

All through high school I was a short distance sprinter. Even something as far as the 400 meter was outside of what I thought was possible. When I got to college, Coach Taylor really encouraged me to be a part of the 4x400m relay. Initially this was a huge struggle. I didn't feel I had the lung capacity to finish the race strong. This was proved time and time again. I would keep up with the other sprinters for the first 300m but then that last 100m would come, I would run out of steam, and everyone would pull ahead of me significantly. It was frustrating and demoralizing.

Coach Taylor continued to encourage me and tell me that most of my struggle was not my lungs but my mind. I continued to struggle with this. Finally Coach Taylor hit upon my love for movies and specifically the movie, The Matrix. I was talking about how the biggest thing that the hero had to overcome was his own mental walls, and coach Taylor helped me to see that was exactly my struggle. The next race, as I approached the final 100m, I decided to follow coach Taylor's advice and pretend like this was the beginning of the race. Not only did it work, but I was able to pull ahead of the others I was racing against, and I knocked nearly 10 seconds off of my best 400 time. Thank you coach Taylor for that, not just helping me become a better runner, but helping me to understand a powerful tool that I could use in all the other areas of my life.

Dylan M. (Missoula, MT)

I had been coached by Bill for almost four years, two at Northwest University and two years long distance as a consultation coach via e-mails and phone calls. These four years were my most successful during the course of my running career, when I had achieved many Slovak National titles, NAIA National titles both as an individual and as a part of the XC team at Northwest, as well as Slovak National Records, and lifetime personal records.

Most importantly, Bill has helped me realize my full potential not only in running, but also in other areas of life. Through his coaching I realized that most of the limitations in my athletic career were self-imposed, be it through my upbringing, my insecurities, or social pressure and cultural differences.

Once I had joined the fantastic group of women that was being coached by Bill, it took me perhaps two weeks to adapt to the new environment, and the improvement was almost immediate. The atmosphere at Northwest was very positive. Coach Bill always encouraged us to believe in our abilities and to be open to possibilities which we had never even dared to dream.

I had been physically trained for over 12-years even before joining Bill’s team, but my results in the past were inconsistent and most often mildly disappointing. In just the first year of being trained by Bill I had improved by over two minutes for 5000m, four minutes for 10,000m, 15s for 1500m, 6s for 400m and by almost 1 minute for 3000m Steeplechase.

As a certified track & field coach myself with a Master of Physical Education, I knew even then that it could not have been attributed solely to harder physical training, to which I was already used to. Surely a new training system is a physical stimulus, but the biggest change was in the mental approach of our coach, towards the team and towards each individual.

Finally, I had seen a purpose in the steps of physical preparation over months and years, by connecting the rigors of hard work with the mental aspect of preparing oneself like a champion, thinking like one and finally performing according to the new strengths I had accustomed to find in myself and believe in.

I cannot emphasize enough how it had helped me in all areas of my life; to set challenging and once thought impossible goals, believe in the set course, be accountable for my actions and most importantly, to deliver when it counted. It has been almost twenty years since my time under the tutelage of Bill, and I will always cherish those memories as the best time of my life. Now a mother of four, I can only wish that my kids would have a similar opportunity to be coached by such a skilled professional and simply a great human being.

-Kristina G. (Bratislava, Slovakia)

Coach Taylor coaches the whole athlete: mind, body, heart, and soul. I learned from Coach what it meant to push myself, to dig deep, to give more, to move beyond what I ever believed I could do. His attention to detail, frequent checks on how I was doing, daily devotions, and challenges to my workouts allowed me to see improvements little by little. There is nothing so inspiring as seeing improvements and knowing that there are more to come. When we tap into that part of our mind that helps us focus and persevere, we can overcome any challenge we face. That is what Coach Taylor inspires, step-by-step feedback, encouragement, and challenges that link your mind, body, heart, and soul to bring out the best in every area of your life!

I remember my first team meeting and how overwhelmed I was by all the information that Coach Taylor provided us. We had nutrition articles and worksheets, exercise/stretching/weightlifting informational sheets, past times for his returning athletes from all practices/races broken down into splits, and articles on tapping into your potential by using your mental abilities. I had taken two years off running while attending community college and had lost a lot of confidence and running ability. As I began training with Coach Taylor and the athletes at Northwest College I knew I was in a whole new league and I would have to overcome some serious mental hurtles in order to become the athlete my team needed. Coach Taylor began by breaking down my fears and pushing me to run with athletes that were far beyond my current abilities. His attention to detail, frequent checks on how we were doing, daily devotions and challenges to my workouts allowed me to see improvements little by little. There is nothing so encouraging as seeing improvements and knowing that there are more to come. That is what Coach Taylor inspires, step-by-step feedback, encouragement, and challenges that link your mind, body, heart, and soul to bring out your best in every area of your life.

Amye S. (Olympia, WA)

I walked onto campus as a young man full of passion, energy and drive. These traits were instilled in me by my parents and are blessings from God. These traits alone would have only taken me so far, but with the proper mentoring, they’ve become part of the foundation that guides my professional career today.

Bill Taylor has been teaching the methodology at EML long before starting the business, and when our paths crossed at Lipscomb University, the timing was seamless.

Bill challenged me to never negotiate my goals, to envision greatness and to pursue it with relentless passion. Under the mentorship of Bill, I left college with the proper mindset to utilize my gifts in a way to maximize my potential. When you adopt an elite mindset, you don’t see a wall as an obstacle…you simply search for a door to kick in.

Clint C. (Franklin, TN)

As a former cross country athlete for Bill Taylor, I can attest to the fact that he holds many skills and character traits. During the three years I had with Bill as my coach, he demonstrated skills of motivation, communication, care, and creativity. With these skills, Coach Taylor had great success as a coach, leading the team to several conference titles, as well as many other individual conference and regional titles throughout the years. From an individual standpoint, I found it very easy to work with Coach Taylor. He always motivated me with positive affirmations. He consistently told me how much he believed in me and lifted me up after what I considered to be a bad race. He also made it a priority to communicate race tactics with me, as well as every other athlete, before each race. Communication was always a priority for Coach Taylor in order to prevent conflict and allow us to go into each race with confidence. Because of this, I never went into a race feeling unprepared. One of the best qualities I have found in Coach Taylor is his caring personality which significantly stood out during his time as a coach. He always put every athlete’s health and happiness before their running abilities. As I was struggling with health problems myself, Coach Taylor always told me he considered my health and future to be more important than any time I could run on the track.

Courtney V. (Wrightwood, CA)

I struggle putting the significance of his involvement in my life into words, because the impact Coach Taylor had on me reaches far beyond anything I could possibly express in a letter. Keeping this in mind, I will do my best to explain to you Coach Taylor’s character as a coach and a friend, as well as how he proved to his athletes and to the school that a cross-country and track program can be built from the ground up with little resources and support.

People who know Coach Taylor know of his desire and the passion that he carries for the success of each of his athletes. I remember him standing in the pouring rain for hours, hearing the story of him nearly being struck by lightening at the track, and staying at the track until 11 p.m. because an athlete still needed to finish a workout. He would go as far as to conduct extensive research on diabetes in order to assist an athlete of his who was diabetic. He gave his athletes tools to succeed and develop individually. He taught his athletes to trust in themselves by simply believing in them, keeping a positive environment, and offering himself selflessly as a coach and friend.

Without the trust, belief, dedication, knowledge, patience, experience, desire, and passion of Coach Taylor, we as a team (with Coach included as a central piece of team) would never have won a National Championship in cross-country. He produced several national qualifiers in track, numerous All-Americans in cross-country and track, and disciplined his team so well that his program was not only competitive in the NAIA, but able to best many teams at the Division I level. Most significantly, each and every athlete to go through Coach Taylor’s program at Northwest has been able to post personal records while under his coaching.

He is a knowledgeable coach and has created a coaching philosophy that has been proven to be successful for individual athletes and as a team. Overall Coach Taylor has made it his responsibility to connect with and support each individual athlete, as well as emphasize the importance of each individual belonging to the team, rather than simply existing as a group of individual runners.

Korinda B. (Costa Mesa, CA)

As a high school runner, I was not a standout athlete. Yet I wanted to run in college. Bill was one of the few coaches who genuinely took an interest in coaching me, and wanted to see me reach my potential as a competitive runner. Under his coaching, I dropped close to three minutes off my 5k. I am only one example of the many runners to demonstrate this type of improvement under his tutelage.

Tiffany S. (Kenmore, WA)

I have known Bill for over ten years as a coach, mentor and boss. In that time, I have seen first hand how successful Bill is in team development, individual coaching and managing people. He is a proven communicator and dynamic leader.

Working with Bill completely changed my outlook on mental training and toughness. He helped me realize how important the mind is in performance and worked with me in training the mental aspects of my performance.

Not only is Bill an excellent coach, but he is an excellent communicator. He has a fantastic ability to listen to his athletes/professionals and help translate it into actionable steps for improvement. He helped me break through mental barriers and achieve performances that I didn’t think I could accomplish previously. I can’t recommend Bill and his coaching enough!

Louisa M. (Brentwood, TN)

Prior to my college career at Lipscomb University, I was under the impression that running was an entirely physical sport. All that any talented runner needed were his/her strong legs, lungs, and beating heart. Under the tutelage of Head Cross Country and Track Coach Bill Taylor though, I learned mental toughness is of far greater importance when competing on an elite level, AND IT IS ATTAINABLE through consistent practice.

"The fact that I had a coach ingrained with the following traits - the devout belief and encouragement in my ability to compete, along with the constant expression of successful expectations - provided a driving force for me to believe in myself and pursue the possibility of greatness in my own running career. Visualization practices, coinciding with training regimens, allowed me to attack each standing and water barrier of the 3K Steeplechase with vigor and astute awareness; so much so, I was able to run faster times and push my body to places I never thought possible. Over and over again, Coach Taylor provided the environment I needed in order to TRUST the process. With time, a tremendous amount of patience, and the will to continually press forward, the mental toughness that was established within me provided the avenue required to become the 2011 Atlantic Sun Steeplechase Champion. What once seemed out of reach came to fruition, ultimately with Coach Taylor serving as a guide the entire way.

Catherine B. (Glasgow, KY)

When I first met Coach Taylor he believed in me. He gave me the building blocks to achieve my highest

level. He gave the correct balance of tough love and empowerment. Coach Taylor encouraged me in my

training to visualize running the race and toughening my mind and body to be an athlete for life. I won

many individual championships, and our team won a national championship as a direct result of Coach

Taylor’s guidance. Even today, many years later, I draw on the lessons I learned. I will forever be grateful

to Coach Taylor and his impact on my life.

Kim C. (Frederick, CO)

Coach Bill reached out to us when the pandemic hit and my son's junior year track season was cancelled. He offered him some elite one on one coaching to get my son set up to excel in the fall cross country season. Still needing good times on son's official record to get recruited for college, I was unsure how it was going to work being in completely different states. Bill set up a weekly training schedule, daily emails with my son and weekly phone calls. The schedule was intense and far more detailed than I could ever imagine (warm ups, cool :downs, heart rate monitoring, cross training, mental training, etc.). His junior year XC PR was 17:52 and he finished his senior year with a 15:53 PR, an inbox full of recruitment emails and a knowledge that my son has not yet hit his peak performance. Training was suppose to last until the beginning with the XC season in August but my son was seeing such amazing results he continues coaching now as he heads into spring senior track. Bill's attention to detail, making a thorough specialized training schedule and also having the ability to counsel athletes through the mental portion of the sport guarantees any client to see results. My son would not have the opportunities to run collegiately today had we not worked with Bill Taylor. You will be hard pressed to find anyone more committed to your athlete and his/her success than Coach Bill.

Christy B. (Nolensville, TN)

Bill is one of the brightest and innovative coaches I have worked with. He has a passion to help people grow and reach their goals. I consider Bill a friend and a mentor. He is very approachable and will listen to all sides before making a decision. He is a family man and understands balance as well.

Jonathan F. (Columbus, GA)

While I was the Head Men's Tennis Coach at Lipscomb University, Bill was the Director of both the Men's and Women's Track/Cross Country teams and had an incredible amount of success with both teams. Bill's humility won't allow him to take credit for this, but I believe his ability to take his teams from essentially the bottom of their conference to being the consistent winner of conference championships and to have success at the national level, helped to change the culture of the entire athletic department at Lipscomb University. You can track how all of the sports teams have done since Bill began his time at Lipscomb University and you can see how all of them have begun to have more success at the conference level as well as the national level. Much credit has to be given to the Athletic Director's leadership, the coaching staffs of each team, and of course the student athletes, but seeing Bill's teams begin to have success when most of the university's teams were struggling, inspired his peers. How did Bill do this? I'm sure he could give you the details on how he led his teams, but as a fellow head coach within the athletic department, what I noticed was that Bill never let his staff or student athletes settle for what had been expected of Lipscomb University athletes back then, which was essentially good character kids but typically weren't as driven or competitive at their sport as well. Bill had a standard and held his program to it. They were going to be a high character program that looked to excel to the max in terms of athletics and academics. I know Bill possesses all of the skills that come with being a successful collegiate head coach. He can coach his sport. He can lead others. He can recruit by relating to student athletes and their families while explaining the vision he has for them while they are under his guidance. He can manage and make the most of a limited budget. With all that being said, I believe Bill's greatest quality is that he has a greater vision and set of standards for himself and those around him, which allows him to exceed the expectations others have for him in any field he chooses to pursue.

Mario H. (Fort Benning, GA)

Bill Taylor is a man, husband, father and leader of integrity. He has demonstrated the ability to develop and lead competitive, character based teams at every stop in his career. Bill has a positive, engaging, inclusive leadership style. He has an extremely high level of care for others. Bill makes the time and has the ability to connect with everyone, demonstrating loyalty and respect. He is a morale builder who makes everyone around him more effective. His attention to detail combined with his work ethic have been two of the keys to his success. One of his greatest strengths is as a communicator. Because of his ability to communicate clearly, every vision has clarity and problems are solved. Bill leads with absolute intention, sets high standards, empowers others and rewarding excellence. I am honored to have him in my life!

Bruce B. (Camano Island, WA)

As parents, we are very proud of our daughter. We have a great amount of respect toward Coach Taylor to this day because he was able to draw out of Kim her fastest times and to lead and encourage her in her personal goals!

Bob S. (Grand Junction, CO)

Coach Taylor’s ability to build a program and athletes is exceptional. Having seen Bill for the duration of his tenure at Northwest College (University) was an amazing evolution. He single handily started a program from scratch without funds, administrative support or talent. The club he began on campus became a NAIA National Championship winning team. His choice of quality athletes testifies to his ability to identify talent early and then improve them beyond they very best. Every woman athlete Bill coached ran better for him then any other time in their life. He can bring the best out of his athletes at the right peak time and with their respect in the process. As a coach Bill Taylor’s ability reaches the highest standard.

Bill Taylor has character. In a day in age when athletes, coaches, and schools are under pressure Bill has never wavered in his character. His integrity as a coach draws the highest quality athletes to his teams. His word is rock solid. His language is encouragement. His temperament is balanced. His pride in a program is unwavering. His faith is strong. His commitment is deep. His tongue does not lie. His morals have fiber and backbone. His work ethic is driving. His love for his family is true. These character traits are what guide Bill’s every decision in his life. Character like Bill’s is priceless.

Jason S. (Springfield, MO)

From the moment that I first met Bill I was very impressed. His knowledge and desire to build a winning program, while at the same time meeting the needs of each individual, was unparalleled. He has a genuine compassion for each and every individual both as a competitor and as a person.

Another aspect of Bill’s coaching that has impressed me is the fact that nearly all of the athletes he has coached have raced at a very high level year after year while at the same time improving all through their college years. Many of his athletes have won numerous All-American honors. One athlete in particular from the area in which I live and coach ran for Bill. She was about a 12-minute two miler in high school. Within two years at Northwest she became one of the better runners in the nation. Bill gave her a chance when most college coaches would not even look at her.

-Rick B. (Selah, WA)

Coach Taylor took our track and cross country programs at Lipscomb to historic levels of achievement while pioneering stewardship of their mental and spiritual development outside of competition. I will stack the alumni from Bill's programs up against anyone when it comes to perseverance, care and concern for others and the ability to DOMINATE and WIN!

-Brent H. (Nashville, TN)