A Pen And A Napkin

Our latest episode features Jon McKowen, the highly successful boys basketball coach at Cedar Rapids Kennedy. We discuss helping his dad win a state title, coaching a future NBA player, switching man to man defense, adjusting off-season expectations because of Covid-19, practice organization and building a youth program. Really good information from one of the best in Iowa!

We all practice special situations, but have you thought about how you can shape your verbage to help your special situations (and your program at large) more efficient? Here are some ideas to create a verbage and also to pre-educate your team on how you want to execute special situations even before they happen.

In the last of our trilogy on "The Cubs Way", we dive into the leadership style of Joe Maddon; how to build trust, on playing hard, getting your players to play with energy, meetings policy, how to build camraderie amongst your players and coaching staff and much more! A lot of good information that is transferable to all sports and leadership positions!

Long time Millard West (NE) GBB HC Marc Kruger jumps on the pod to discuss his coaching journey, how he prepared himself to be a head coach, game organization with both players and assistant coaches, developing motion offense, and a great group of drills. We also discuss our ultimate Cubs starting lineup in the cable TV era (it's what Cubs fans do together). Terrific information!

How do you get your kids motivated to come in and work on their game in the off-season? How do you track what they are doing? What incentives can you give players that are going to be productive for your program? How do you build trust and a sense of ownership with your players going into your offseason? Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your "improvement season" program!

University of Arkansas WBB HC Mike Neighbors jumps on the pod to talk about his lessons learned in his journey to becoming a Division I Head Coach, multiple job transitions, getting your players to play at their peak level, the growth of his newsletter, book recommendations and why Leo McGary was the best assistant coach in the history of television. Great NEW stuff from one of the great ambassadors of the game!

In our latest episode, Omaha Roncalli boys coach JJ Stoffel comes on A Pen And A Napkin to talk about moving over from an assistant to the head job, two state title game runs and the experiences it taught him, playing for a state title in front of an empty arena, practice set up, defensive principles, building a culture at a smaller school and the influence of Rick Majerus on his career.

As a head coach, it is a fine balance between being a micro-manager and not being involved enough. It is easy to get caught up in the minutia of the job, but how do you separate what is important and what isn't? Here's a podcast detailing how to delegate the responsibilities of your job to your staff and stay focused on winning.

Taking the plan and then putting into action is the focus of this podcast. Communication, evaluating strengths and weaknesses, player development, execution of fundamentals and developing as a coach are the focus of this podcast. Enjoy Part II of this three-part series!

4x National Championship coach Jamie Sale of Morningside (IA) College comes on the pod to discuss rebuilding the Morningside program, jumping from one rival to another, keeping the edge, personal off-season improvement, pressure defense, developing great shooters, offensive sets and how Covid-19 ended the national tournament before it even got started this season.