A Pen And A Napkin

It's early February, so we're all looking for an edge heading into. post season play. What are the things that we should be focused on as we head into the final stretch of the regular season? Fundamentals, execution, confidence and camaraderie are at the top of the list, but here's some of my thoughts on prepping. your team for the home stretch!

Every team needs days off; that's obvious. But sometimes, especially this time of year, it's great to take a day off WITH your team and do something that will boost morale and energy for the stretch run of the season. In this "Foundation Friday", we talk about different ideas that you can use to "surprise" your team with a great bonding experience!

Legendary Minnesota coach Larry McKenzie comes on the podcast this week. A 6-time state champion, Coach McKenzie talks about building up programs in two different schools, finding his calling as a high school coach, developing the Minnesota Black Basketball Coaches Association, pressure defense, "The Creed" and creating an individual plan for each player. Terrific conversation with a great coach!

Newly minted IGCA Basketball Hall of Famer (Class of 2022) Don Martindale comes on the podcast this week! The GBB HC at Estherville-Lincoln Central, Martindale has 12 Regional Final and 5 State Tournament appearances on his resume. We chat about influences, the origins of the Estherville "Midgets" nickname, rebuilding a program, organizing a youth program and much more. Enjoy listening to one of Iowa's finest!!

The best way to evaluate our teams and make them better is by meticulously watching our own game footage. There are good ways and bad ways to use game footage to your advantage, so this week we'll go through some of the things that I've picked up upon when it comes to game evaluation, along with how to share those things with your team!

This week's episode features Greg Berdnt, GBB HC at Hastings St. Cecilia's (NE) HS. With a career record of 126-17, Coach Berdnt has built a juggernaut at St. Cecilia's, and he details his "Competition Culture", the bond with his child hood friends and what it taught him about coaching, coaching at lower levels, half court offense and defense and much more!

Many times, we get caught up in the day to day grind of the middle of the season, but we need to keep our big picture goals and purpose in mind. From practice length to quotes, here's some quick hitting things that we all need to remember as we get into the dog days of January!

We open up 2022 with Todd Wolfson, the Boys HC at St. Francis (Pasadena, CA) High School. As I record in a blizzard and he records a stone throw from the Rose Bowl, we discuss leaving one successful job for another, having a slow build over the season, having a great coaching staff, stats and what he looks for and creating a great family atmosphere and culture. This is a great pod to start off 2022!

Alot of teams will be traveling over the break and spending the night with their teams. Although it's a great opportunity to bond as a team, it is also your responsibility to make sure that everything is lined up as well as possible. Here's some things that I've learned over the years about putting together a travel itinerary for a team trip

In our latest (both figuratively and literally) episode of "A Pen And A Napkin", Chris Strathman, the highly successful GBB HC at McPherson (KS) comes on the pod! In this pod, we discuss the value of continuity of our coaching staff, building a youth program, transition basketball, half court defense, and the lost art of the live scout. Alot of great information in this late night conversation!!