A Pen And A Napkin

One of the challenges of any head coach, especially as the season moves forward, is making sure that all of your players feel valued and part of the program. Many times you get focused on your Varsity group or your rotation players, and because of that, some players on your may not feel as involved in your program. This week, Tony and discuss strategies to try and make all players feel involved in the program.

Episode #159 features BJ Blase, the boys basketball coach at Central City (NE). In this episode, we discuss a variety of topics, including the importance of facilities, teaching kids how to win, not rushing players up, transition offense, building a playbook and building a tradition where there hasn't been alot of tradition. Enjoy this episode with one of Nebraska's best!

Andy Gillen, the highly successful boys HC at Ogallala (NE) comes on the podcast this week to discuss a variety of topics, including his influences like Phil Jackson and Bill Belichick. We also discuss "Truth Sessions", the pros and cons of multiple stops, building chemistry, his defensive philosophy and much more! Great conversation with one of western Nebraska's best!

Every team is going to have its strengths, and almost every team is going to have some sort of weakness; most teams are going to have multiple weaknesses. How do you minimize those weaknesses, and how do you improve those weaknesses while also playing to your strengths? That's what Tony and I break down this week!!

Terrific conversation with Dane Bacon, GBB HC at Bellevue West (NE) High School. Coach Bacon and I go through a variety of topics, from rebuilding the culture of the T-Bird program to the keys to winning close games. In addition, we talk about their recent 93-91 game (you read that correctly), along with shooting drills, transition offense, BLOB philosophy and more!

January is a tough month for basketball teams; no holiday break, the grind of the season has set in and it can be a battle to get the performances that you would like to get from. your team. This week, Tony and I discuss some of the strategies that we have used to help our teams work our way through "The Dog Days" of the basketball season!

We're back on the interview trail with Jason Dolliver, the head girls coach at Pender (NE) High School. Coach Dolliver and I touch on a variety of topics, including being a leader in the community, changes in coaching basketball, his basketball influences, how he gets his teams to not foul, communication with parents and much more! A terrific interview with one of Nebraska's best educational leaders!

90-95% of the parents in our programs are terrific people who understand their boundaries and are supportive of the coaching staff. However, we all know that, from time to time, parents can sometimes be a little too passionate about their children and their goals. This week, Tony and I break down our experiences in working with parents and strategies that you can use to help work through these situations.

Game day organization and preparation are what we are geared to do; it's one of the biggest reasons why we coach! In this episode of "The Coaching Staff", Tony and I break down our game day procedures, how we prepare for competitions, how we organize our benches, what we do at our pregames, halftimes and post games, and much more!

It's essential that you have an organized bench during your games to make sure that your team's execution can be as sharp as possible. In this episode, Tony and I discuss bench organization, the use of managers and how to stay as organized as possible!