A Pen And A Napkin

It's the scenario that no coaching staff wants to deal with, but it's an inevitability at some point; you're going to have a player that is going to make a poor decision and there needs to be some sort of repercussion. In today's podcast, we discuss the areas that you need to be concerned about with your players, what you should have prepared and the important conversations that you should have. In addition, we've got two really good sayings that you can use with your players to help them discipline themselves, and if you liked the ":07 or less" Phoenix Suns, you'll love our coach today, Ben Jobe!

1/3 of the "Holy Trinity" of parent complaints (along with roles and playing time), team placement and dividing of teams is part of your early season process that needs to be throughly thought about and planned by your coaching staff, not only for this season, but next season and beyond. In today's pod, we discuss seven major things to consider as you divide your teams up; some you'll agree with, while others you may not. In addition, we've got a great quote from Scottie Pippen, and we discuss the great career and important lessons to learn from the great Mark Few!

Every coach is going to make substitutions during every game, but do your players know why you are making those substitutions? What is your own rationale for making substitutions? How deep are you going to go? These are all decisions that coaching staffs have to make, and that is the topic for today's podcast. We also talk about emotional substitutions, taking a player out of the starting lineup and what your job truly is. To wrap things up, we discuss Norm Stewart, the legendary coach from the University of Missouri and what we can learn from him, including how to be a "new" coach every season!

Managers are the unsung heroes of every sports program in the country, and without them, our jobs as coaches would be much more difficult. In today's program, we discuss outlining responsibilities for your managers, ways you can keep them involved and make them feel valued in your program and how to develop great relationships with them. In addition, we've got a great quote from Robert Frost, and we discuss the great Dr. Tom Davis, a legend in my home state!

Coming back home to Winterset (IA), Josh Henry has turned around his hometown program into a consistent winner who is pushing for state tournament berths! In this week's podcast, we discuss his background, building a program through character and off-court activities, creating an identity with the 2-3 defense and the 'Read and React' offense! This was a lot of fun chatting with one of Iowa's young, bright coaches!

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"Go out and win the game" was a phrase that we would often use in the middle of tight, contested games on our bench . . . but how do you get to that point to where you are getting ready to go out and win the game? You first have to figure out how you're not going to lose that game! In today's podcast, we take a look at the philosophy of coaching and preparation to put your team in the best position possible, and how to advance your team from bad to average, average to good and good to great. In addition, we've got a great quote from Sundance Wicks, and we learn from and about the great career of the always classy Muffet McGraw!

We would all benefit from bringing in someone we trust to watch us do our job and give us constructive criticism on how we're doing. Today, we talk about the steps that you can and should take to bring in a coach outside of your orbit to watch your team practice or play and how to get the most out of it. In addition, we've got a great quote from Josh Shipp, and we discuss and learn from one of our great modern coaches, Steve Kerr!

Screening is one of the fundamentals of the game that is a great equalizer of talent, and a team filled with great screeners can create offensive advantages that they didn't know that they had. In today's podcast, we go over four fundamentals on screening and we follow up with eight thoughts on screening and it's importance. We've also got a short video for screening fundamentals that will be on "The Opening Tip" newsletter! In addition, we've got a great quote from Wes Unseld, and we discuss and study one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game, especially at the high school level, the great Bob Hurley Sr.!

Bringing your team together off the floor is a great way to accelerate their growth on the floor, and it's difficult to have a great season between the lines if you don't create great relationships. In today's podcast, we go through the importance of team building exercises, including seven great examples that we've used over the years. In addition, we talk about being a transformational coach versus a transactional coach, and we discuss the great career and what to learn from the great Pat Summitt, including a personal story . . .

One of the most useful tools that a coaching staff should be using to help shape their team before their first competition is their exhibition games and scrimmages. In today's pod, we discuss strategies for how to coach these situations, what you should be looking for and how to spin those opportunities into positives for your team, regardless of the outcome. In addition, we've got a great quote from John Havlicek, and we study the great career and perhaps the greatest coaching achievement of the great Geno Auriemma.