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About Ian

Ian Tonks’ journey began in the late 1990s when he led a 650-employee youth sports company that served Major League Soccer, the NFL, and Jack Nicklaus’ Golden Bear International. After marrying in 2006, Ian shifted to a role at a Bay Area university, leading capital campaigns and aiding the school’s transition to NCAA Division II athletics. In 2009, he launched a business development practice to help leaders grow strategically and sustainably. His first book, Replacing the Rainmaker, was published in 2015. Since 2016, Ian has been an Expert EOS Implementer, guiding leadership teams through the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS) to help them clarify their vision, strengthen their leadership, and improve business outcomes. With this experience, he has worked with countless entrepreneurs to successfully transform their organizations and align their people with their goals.

With three decades of leadership and entrepreneurial experience, Ian now leads several companies:

• EOS Worldwide Expert EOS Implementer: Provides tools to help entrepreneurs clarify vision, build accountability, and strengthen leadership teams.
• Talegy: Aligns people and business strategies to optimize talent and solve business challenges.
• Masterful Management: Offers 550+ expert soft skill courses for leaders and teams.
• Virtual Business Coaching: Delivers seven coaching programs for life and career transformation.
• Replacing the Rainmaker: Helps accounting firms with business development.
• EZ Coach: Simplifies youth soccer coaching with digital card sets and 12-week plans.
• Team Retreatz: Creates off-site gatherings to boost creativity, growth, and productivity.
• Decidifi: Streamlines decision-making with scorecards for personal and professional choices.
• Charipillar: Offers engaging wellness challenges to boost well-being while aiming to raise $1 billion for charity.

Ian holds an MBA from Dominican University of California and a bachelor’s in sports science from the University of Northumbria. He enjoys fitness, golf, family, and travel and lives in Irvine, California, with his wife and daughter.

Want to know more about other Ian Tonks Companies? Click here.

About Ian’s Coaching Philosophy

Ian’s Constructive Coaching philosophy provides the framework for EZ Coach’s method for coaching in practices and games:

C – Cheer your players to give their best effort. Don’t let the scoreboard to be the barometer of success.

O – Operate from the provided practice plans. Adhere to the structure and flow that’s outlined in each card set. Read and digest the plan before you come to practice. Prioritize your goals for each practice to ensure that you get the “need to know” content across in the time allocated.

N – Nurture a positive attitude and can-do spirit.

S – Set individual and collective challenges for the team during each practice and game (i.e. how many juggles can you do or who can make the most accurate passes through the gate in 60 seconds?).

T – Treat officials with respect and serve as a role model to players and parents.

R – Respect the rules of the game and live by them with consistency.

U – Understand and appreciate differences. Nurture these differences in your players. Recognize creativity and ingenuity just as you applaud discipline and perseverance.

C – Commit to learning, self-betterment and the process of continuous improvement. How players stack up against the competition should be secondary to how players learn and get better each week.

T – Talk to your players. Communication is an essential element of team chemistry. Find out about their interests outside of the game. Listen to them. Ask them questions. Empower them by giving them a voice.

I – Instruct with clear direction but let the game be the teacher whenever possible.

V – Voice constructive criticisms but sandwich them with positive and helpful comments and suggestions (i.e. Great effort, Sarah. You nearly pulled it off. You were just a little too aggressive in closing down the space to the ball. Next time try to delay your movement toward the ball and see if you’re able to win the challenge.”).

E – Establish simple and easy to administer rules and expectations. Adhere to these rules and expectations and be consistent in your judgments.

C – Create individual and team goals. Involve players in setting individual and team goals for the season. Put something tangible to each goal (i.e. a number or a date). Make goals achievable but push each child to strive for things that are presently just out of reach.

O – Offer feedback to players and parents on each player’s progress. Try to call or email three parents every week to let them know how their son or daughter is progressing. Provide some suggestions on what they need to do to continue to improve. Make a connection and show that you care.

A – Appreciate the game. Watch it on TV. Read about it in newspapers and on the internet. Take a state-sanctioned referee or coaching course. Play pick-up or participate in an adult soccer league. Immerse yourself in the sport and be captivated by its rich passion and tradition.

C – Celebrate and honor the opponent’s performances. Encourage a respectful code of conduct on the field and on the sideline.

H – Heap lots of praise on your players and in doing so set the tone for parents and family members. And don’t be afraid to extend your celebrations to team parents. Let them know when you appreciate something they’ve done to contribute positively to the team.

I – Illustrate your words with active demonstrations. Ask players to showcase the technique, skill or activity to the group before the game, during half time or after the game.

N – Notice even the smallest and most subtle improvements. Recognize and reward good deeds.

G – Give players room to grow. Support independent thinking, problem-solving and decision-making.