Rod Root is a performance coach, basketball fanatic, owner of Teamwork Bloomington (a sports performance and fitness facility in Bloomington, Indiana), and a mentor/teacher to young athletes.

Rod is a very serious rec league/pickup basketball player at the local YMCA and by his own accounts he’s probably logged more 1-on-1 games (and losses) than any other performance coach in the country.

In this show, Rod and I talk about his 5 F’s, how to develop a young middle or high school basketball player, and how he uses social media to forge a deeper connection with his athletes.

Here's an overview of what we covered in this show:

* How stopping for a pee break was the beginning of Rod's physical preparation career.

* Why he's so passionate about basketball, and how he got his start in that world.

* The biggest issues he sees nowadays with his young basketball players (he calls it "Basketball Syndrome.")

* Rod's big rocks and overarching philosophy when it comes to training his athletes.

* What development means to Rod, and how he goes about developing his basketball players.

* Building on the development idea, how a program changes or evolves from a middle-school to high-school athlete.

* How he works with (versus against) a high school S&C program, to help his athletes have great success.

* A bit OT, but how he uses social media to forge deeper connections with his athletes.

* The BIG Question.

* The always engaging lightning round where we discuss his favorite basketball player (or 10) of all time, the books he's reading right now, what he's excited about right now, and the best advice he can give to young physical preparation coaches who want to be involved with basketball players.