Client Quotes and Case Studies from Sport Coaches and Teams

We appreciate that you are most interested in honest feedback directly from clients as it is the most reliable and credible way to gauge the quality of our Team Program and the service we provide. Below are quotes and case studies of our coach clients who use Athlete Assessments’ DISC Profiles and our specialized service for teams.

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Read some of the detailed case studies about our clients….

Elissa Kent
Melbourne University Lightning
Head Coach, Women’s Championship Netball Team

“Bo and Athlete Assessments were an invaluable tool for me as a new Coach with a new group. Working with them gave me the confidence to see that my natural behaviors were strengths and that they were supported by my Coaches and team. It allowed me to make quicker connections with the athletes, understand how to best communicate with them and understand everyone as individuals. And, as importantly, allow the dialogue and understanding between the athletes to develop quickly with the DISC Profiling tool and to use DISC associated activities that facilitate self-awareness and generate roles within the group that everyone is comfortable and confident with. Throughout the past season, we were constantly able to evaluate our roles in a technical and non-technical capacity and each player could make an impact whether on court or not. These roles made sure everyone understood not only what was needed from them but also to understand the strengths and roles of the people around them. This allowed for very little confusion within the group, great connections on and off the court and an ability to address problems quickly in a positive way.”

Roland Thornqvist
University of Florida
Head Women’s Tennis Coach, 4 x National Champions

“Working with Athlete Assessments and using their DISC Profiles has been revolutionary. Knowledge is key and we should never stop learning. Learning is how you become the best Coach you can be. Working with Bo and Liz has been a fantastic experience not only for me, but for the entire team. Our players have gained so much from learning about their own profiles and those of the rest of the team. After working with Athlete Assessments, it created a greater awareness that we all have different skills and all bring something to the team. It made practice drills so much easier because the team embraced the challenge of learning to work with others they might not normally. It helped shape the culture and environment on our team which is so important because Florida First is something we just don’t compromise on. With so many great players, our team goals must come first.”

Elise Ray
University of Washington
Gymnastics Head Coach

“Athlete Assessments made us a tougher team and that toughness is one reason why we were so great this year. This year’s team was the toughest team I’ve ever worked with and I credit that to the consistent work we did with ATHLETE TOUGH™ all season. They learned how to reset when things didn’t go as planned, they learned that taking full advantage of an uncomfortable situation makes them better, and they learned that they can endure much more work than they thought they could. The season was full of “tough” situations and they handled them all because of the tools they had from ATHLETE TOUGH™.”

Tim Walton
University of Florida
Gators Softball Head Coach, 2014 and 2015 NCAA Division 1 National Champions

“The most valuable thing that I gained from Athlete Assessments was that the understanding of who I was helped me better coach who they were.”

Becky Carlson
Quinnipiac University
Head Coach, Women’s Rugby Team, 2017, 2016 and 2015 National Champions

“Our program recognizes the strengths of DISC and our staff could not be happier with the results it has yielded. I will say that there is work involved. As coaches we spend our days making decisions, itineraries, purchasing equipment, recruiting etc. If you are truly interested in DISC for your program, you must be willing to go beyond just reading profiles. The act of applying this does take work and additional effort but when you really look at all the other categories, the time investment for DISC ultimately lightens your load in all the other areas and then some. I would recommend DISC to those coaches who have a passion for becoming better at understanding their athletes and getting the most effective performances out of them.”

Tim O’Brien
Saint Mary’s College of California
Head Coach, Rugby Team, 2017, 2015 and 2014 D1A National Champions

“An article in USA Rowing on the topic of synergy caught my attention. As I started to read it, I immediately searched to the end to contact the author, and found that it was Bo Hanson. We had been so close in three previous championship games and I knew this was the missing link. It was through Bo’s assistance that we found a way to get closer to team synergy. He helped us look deeply into the mirror and build honesty with one another. Ultimately, the trust we created was what provided immense value to the end result.”

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Julie Darty Dennis

Mississippi State University,

Head Coach, Volleyball

“As part of our program’s initial leadership development processes, our athletes explore their unique strengths and styles through the Athlete Assessments AthleteDISC Profile Reports. By examining what each individual needs for success, what motivates them, and how they are likely to behave under stress, our players were eventually able to understand each other’s needs and want what’s best for the team.”

Becky Burleigh
University of Florida
Head Coach, Soccer, Division I National Championship Coach

“DISC has given our team a much better understanding of themselves and others and created a common language to discuss our similarities and differences. It has totally enhanced our communication both on and off the field… We get a lot of feedback on DISC…who doesn’t like learning about themselves? [The athletes] also love being able to identify their coaches, teammates, etc. They also enjoy hearing about our team’s culture and how we reframe things like competition (both internally and externally) and how we focus on the person’s character and how that has a positive impact on our results.”

Deanna Gumpf
University of Notre Dame Softball Coaching Staff
NFCA Mid-Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year (2014 & 2016)

“We completely attribute the staff dynamic success to working with Bo and Liz at Athlete Assessments. We had known each other first as players and Coach, then as Coach and Coach, which helped us really truly understand ourselves as person to person. Through this understanding and the guidance of Bo Hanson, we have been able to better connect with our athletes and have more effective communication to get the very best out of each athlete that is possible. The drama is minimized, the culture is clean and our athletes know exactly what is expected of them. It has been the best investment we could ever make in our team.”

Stephanie Wheeler
Head Coach, University of Illinois Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team
Head Coach, USA Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team

“This challenge was game changing for us because I think we were at a point where our technical skills on court weren’t going to improve the way we needed them to unless we invested in the people side of the sport and connect with one another in a way that we hadn’t before. The trust we developed amongst the athletes this season allowed our technical skills to grow in a way that they wouldn’t have if we were not working with Bo and Athlete Assessments.”

Matt Thurmond

Matt Thurmond
Head Coach
Arizona State University

“I’ve been working with Bo Hanson and using the Athlete Assessments’ DISC Profiles for a few years now. I really enjoy working with him and he has significantly helped me understand my players and how to get the most out of each one of them.”  

Roselee Jencke
Head Coach, Queensland Firebirds
ANZ Champions 2011, 2015

“The change in coaches and athletes behaviors and ownership of living these behaviors everyday has given us the ability to achieve success. Everyone understands each other’s unique personality and the role they must play in the team on and off the court to perform consistently and successfully. Bo’s knowledge, expertise and guidance was critical to our success in the Firebirds undefeated premiership season of 2011 and 2015 Championship. He is an integral part of our ‘team’ and the success of winning we all strive for.”

London City Lionesses Pre-Season Media Day

Melissa Phillips

London City Lionesses

Head Coach

“The most important aspects of DISC are the learning around self-awareness and communication with others. We use DISC as a development tool, where we’ll first have each player undertake an AthleteDISC Profile. Then I’ll meet individually with players to talk about their strengths and how to understand the content of the report. What are your strengths? Are you bringing those to the table everyday? What are the behaviors that you aren’t so proud of and what do they look like? Can you adapt those to meet the needs of the situation? It’s really just diving deeper into understanding who you are and being better able to engage with others. Athlete Assessments’ DISC Profiles are the foundation for getting the best out of people.”

Beth Launiere
Head Coach
Utah Utes Volleyball Team, University of Utah

“Utah uses the [Athlete Assessments] DISC Behavioral model to explore and define the way each member of its team prefers to behave in different situations. DISC leads to in-depth conversations about how people are different, the strengths they bring, and how different behavioral types can work together to create a winning team.”

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David Zelenock
Head Coach

The Citadel

“[With DISC] the players, I think they understood each other so much better that all the little fights/annoyances that happen during a season were pretty much taken care of with no drama. ‘The unexamined life is not worth living’ is something I really believe. Every coach, administrator, support staff and player should be using DISC. I think if you aren’t trying to understand yourself and others so you can work more effectively and efficiently…then what are you doing?”

Dan O’Brien
Head Coach
Santa Clara University Baseball

“Right around the time we started working with Bo Hanson and his company, I changed my focus from winning games to really caring about our student-athletes. Ironically as soon as I started caring more about our student-athletes we started winning more games, we started being more successful. Athlete Assessments really helped us connect with one another. Bo did an outstanding job helping our staff and players understand how important the team dynamic is to be successful.”

Kristi Stefanoni
The University of Massachusetts
Head Coach, Softball Team

“Bo and Athlete Assessments guided us through the people side of the championship formula and the results are unmistakable. Bo inspired us and educated us that learning to understand the people in our program is the greatest advantage in guiding us back to a championship program. We had the skills, strategies, technologies and even the facilities. However, to move forward we needed to be able to better connect and understand the people of our program. It was at this point, I knew I needed Bo and Athlete Assessments. His expertise in team dynamics and athlete profiling were exactly what we needed to grow as individuals so that collectively the team could move forward both on and off the field.”

Ange Bradley

Syracuse University

Head Field Hockey Coach

“Coaching is all about helping your athletes through their journey of self-discovery, and that’s what I think is so great about sport and Athlete Assessments’ suite of DISC profiling tools specifically. They provide an efficient way to gain an understanding of ourselves and our athletes. I also think of myself as a teacher in those terms, being able to expose them to the opportunity to know themselves is just one of the greatest gifts you can give them and the world.”

Ange-Bradley-Syracuse

Andrea Gaston
Golf Coach
University of Southern California

“Bo is very engaging, upbeat and personable. His presentations are informative and extremely useful for all coaches. It’s one thing for coaches to recruit top talent, but it’s even more important to find out how to coach them successfully. Bo Hanson and Athlete Assessments has a comprehensive program that will help a coach guide and navigate their team to greater success.” 

Where to from here…

We’re proud of our track record and excited to showcase these amazing coaches and teams. Some are multiple National Championship winners, others have turned their program around in the very first year and some have made the successful transition from Championship player to Championship coach.  

Are you inspired by our clients above?

Our Team Programs include DISC Profile assessments plus a series of consultations via video conference, and an extensive Coach Resources pack. It is all about making this effective in practice and competition – and importantly, getting results now and into the future! Commit to taking your coaching and team performance to new heights.

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Athlete Assessments'

TEAM PROGRAMS

Where so many other factors in sport, across sports programs and organizations are very similar, managing the ‘people side’ well is what differentiates the mediocre and truly great. DISC Profiling will take your team’s performance to the next level, allowing you to get ahead and stay ahead.

Our team packages include DISC Profiles for each team member, plus importantly, a series of consultations via video conference. Our goal is to use the information of the DISC profiles to the benefit of your program and coaching and make it as useful and practical as possible.

Learn more about Athlete Assessments

About Us

We are the unrivaled experts in the ‘people side’ of sport…

DISC Profiling

Learn how to master the people side of sport using DISC Profiling...

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Bo Hanson

Senior Consultant & Director

Bo Hanson’s career within the sport and the business sector spans over 25 years, delivering leadership, management, and coach development. In addition to his own athletic career comprising of four Olympic appearances and including three Olympic medals, Bo has worked for many years with coaches and athletes from over 40 different sports across the globe. Bo was also the winner of the Australian Institute of Training and Development (AITD) 2023 Award for L&D Professional of the Year, for his dedication to L&D and transformational work across various industries.

After a successful career in sport including four Olympics and three Olympic Medals, Bo co-founded and developed Athlete Assessments in 2007. Bo now focuses on working with clients to achieve their own success on and off ‘the field’, and has attained an unmatched track-record in doing exactly this.

Headshot Bo
BoRowing-Atlanta Olympics

Now, watch us interrupt him for a round of quick fire questions.