A Pen And A Napkin

As coaches, it is important to have clear lines of communication with your players, but where does that communication start? In this episode of "Foundation Friday", we talk about our preseason questionnaire and how that can be used to get to know your players on a level other than basketball, while also giving you the opportunity to clean up possible areas of concern before they even start!

Really excited to have Liz Kay, the GBB HC at Wahconah Regional HS (Mass.) to chat hoops! In our conversation, we theorize about the smaller number of female coaches in relation to male coaches in the profession, having her best team ever but not having the opportunity to play for a championship, working camps, building a great culture, building a youth program and more!

As much as we would like to have ALL of our players get along and love each other ALL of the time, that is simply impossible. Conflict is inevitable, even in the best of times, so what are some things that we can and/or should do to help resolves these situations and keep your team on the right track.

We're back with another great roundtable discussion with Millard West GBB AC Casey Hall, Creighton Prep HC Josh Luedtke and Omaha Marian HC Tom Tvrdy. In this episode, we discuss the 2021 state tournament, off-season preparation, using the fall to get ready for the upcoming season and ways to minimize stress as you coach. Terrific discussion!

Elkhorn Mount Michael (NE) HC Derrik Spooner is our guest this week! Coach Spooner talks about a variety of topics, including the uniqueness of Mt. Michael, wearing dual hats as an administrator and as a coach, preparing for the season, developing a strong class, passing, practice planning and more. Alot of great information to mine from this one!

Although there are many coaches who run some sort of pressure defense, there are alot of different things and philosophies when it comes to pressure. In this pod, we discuss different thoughts and ideas on pressure defense; when to apply, why you would apply it, how to apply it, the positives that can come out of it, and when to pull back from applying full court pressure.

Tony Chapman of Striv Sports and Nebraska Preps comes on the podcast as a pinch hitter this week to discuss a bunch of great topics, including being a coaches kid, covering the historically great 2021 Nebraska Boys Basketball tournament, things that can be done to make youth sports better and great things that he sees in coaching while covering a wide variety of sports and activities. Great conversation; enjoy!

Our time as coaches is limited; probably for most of us, AT THE MOST we'll have 35-40 years to do this job, which is not that long in the big picture. Are you enjoying what you're doing? Are you taking an inventory every day of what is bringing you joy? Realize that our coaching careers are short, so enjoy every practice, every game and every season, and enjoy the ride from beginning to end.

As part of the "University" program, I've put together a series of videos on each one of these topics. Now, I've made them available for ANYONE to purchase; listen to this pod to get all of the details!

Excited to have Dell Leonard, the GBB HC of Mountain Home (AR), whom I met while at Snow Valley! Dell and I have a great conversation, including the importance of mentors, getting your team to peak at the right time, transition offense and defense, attacking pressure and we even throw in some "Top Gun" talk. Enjoy the conversation!