This week we're joined by Greg Tonagel, head men's basketball coach at Indiana Wesleyan University.  With over 500 wins and 3 national championships, we discuss how he's created a winning culture and his journey as a coach and transformational leader. He shares his early learning moments and the mistakes he made as a young coach. Coach Tonagel highlights the root of their team culture and how they made a significant jump as a program when he focused on taking fear out his coaching.

Hear more about the I AM THIRD philosophy: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/iwuhoops-presents-the-pursuit/id1375802520

Go to https://www.iwuhoops.net/ to learn more about their program.

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This week we dive into current events with Sam and TJ’s teams to see if you can relate as a leader and coach as we discuss a variety of topics including creating player-led teams, and fighting complacency. It's also important to be able to pinpoint why your team is struggling. Do you have a basketball, head, or heart problem? We typically like to solve our team's problems with better drills, strategies, and practices, but there's also a chance there's something deeper for you to address. Listen this week to hear how your own coaching strategy stacks up.

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Managing your player’s expectations as well as your own can be one of the toughest tasks as a coach.  From social media influences, the role of parents, the overvaluing of the stat sheet, and dealing with disappointment all of these factors can create a frustrating situation for coaches. This week we discuss underlying factors, opportunities, and solutions to help you turn the corner in this area. Building a strong team culture and setting team standards are key to helping players adjust their expectations, set new ones, and create an environment where everyone can find fulfillment.

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Talent is overrated… A statement that TJ and Sam explore in this episode how in a given coaching career you can experience the highest levels of success along with the lowest of lows in losing and frustrating seasons. When we face these challenges how do we figure out what’s hurting our team the most and help our team reach their potential? Accountability, consistency, building culture and more are big keys discussed when it comes to maximizing your team’s talent.

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In this episode, TJ and Sam discuss winning offensive habits as they each draft their top five habits, including valuing the ball, playing with pace, decision-making, spacing the floor, and more. Wherever you’re at in your season, you can see how your team’s habits stack up with Sam and TJ’s picks.

Show Notes:

• Valuing the ball
• Choosing great shots
• Passing
• Good spacing
• Decision-Making
• Playing with pace
• Using the glass 
• Offensive rebounding
• Being great cutters 
• Using fakes
• Role identification
• Puncturing the defense v. zone

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There's power in being able to say, "I don't know." This week Sam and Lisa dive into the topic of leadership and the importance of being able to admit we don’t have all of the answers, and what we can do about it. It’s facing the ever-present challenge to stay humble and live what we preach by being honest, prepared, and committed to growth.

Leaders have to evolve and adapt, by balancing old school principles with new age approaches. The value of surrounding oneself with complementary team members is critical to our success. We reflect on the leadership lessons learned about making tough decisions, embracing change, and the rewards of the leadership journey.

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This week, Sam and TJ discuss frustrations and questions coaches face during seasons as we try to problem solve strategy and scouting decisions as well as common mistakes we’ll want to avoid making. The conversation emphasizes the importance of understanding the variability of opponents and the need for players to adapt to different game situations. Good offensive coaches are characterized by their clarity of how they want to play and their ability to generate good shots. Good passing, cutting, and spacing on offense can be the little details that make your offense go. On the defensive end, coaches should have a clear defensive identity and make adjustments based on their personnel. Not to be left out of your in-season priorities is the importance of player development and keeping that a focus for your players and within your practice plans.

Show Notes:
• Understanding changes from game to game
• The 80/20 Rule
• Growing your offense by adapting and evolving
• What Good offensive coaches do 
• Shot selection and playing to your strengths
• Having multiple ways to generate the shots you want
• Knowing the most frequent decisions in your offense
• "Offense gets better when your passing gets better"
• Common coaching mistakes
• Defining good spacing
• Adapting to your opponent
• Defensive identity and creating clarity
• Characteristics of good defensive teams
• Forcing baseline v. playing square
• Overcoming lack of athleticism with basketball IQ
• Complementary defensive principles
• What are you taking away and what are you living with
• Process v. outcome oriented
• Minor adjustments v. wholesale changes
• In-season player development

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This week, JP Nerbun is back to help us discuss the important topic of working with and ultimately building partnerships with parents. If we can get this right in our programs, we have the opportunity to create an even better experience for our athletes and make an even greater impact in our communities.

If you listen to this episode and  want to go deeper, check out his new book, The Sports Parent Solution available on Amazon.

More On J.P. Nerbun:
J.P. Nerbun is a bestselling author, leadership coach, and founder of TOC Culture Consulting, a leading global sports-consulting and leadership coaching business. His mission is to support leaders and their teams to achieve their full potential through 1:1 coaching, consulting, and community.

In 2019, he published his first book, Calling Up: Discovering Your Journey to
Transformational Leadership, which has received critical acclaim. In 2022, he published
The Culture System: A Proven Process for Creating an Extraordinary Team Culture, a
groundbreaking book offering a framework for developing team culture.

In 2023, he launched The Culture System Online Training Platform, which has been
praised for being one of the most applicable online coach educations available. His
podcast, Coaching Culture, is one of the top sports leadership podcasts globally. Nerbun lives in Ireland with his wife and their three children.

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This week TJ and Sam discuss style of play and the advantages and disadvantages of varying styles as well reasons for adjusting, changing, or doubling down on the style you choose for your team. 

Show Notes:

• Does your offensive and defensive systems fit each other.
• Year to year changes
• Grinding styles: Layups & Threes
• What's your style of coaching?
• Getting your opponent to play your style
• Why make a change?
• Big picture 'Why'
• The teaching factor
• Starting back at zero
• Being able to "just play"
• Having a hodgepodge of players & choosing a style
• Regular and post season expectations
• How do you want to win?
• Shot quality on both ends
• When it's not working... 
• Have a curveball

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This episode is part 2 of the Read & React offense with Rick Torbett, celebrating 20 years since its creation and impact on the basketball community. In this episode we dive into teaching, implementing, and gamifying the Read & React where you can get ideas and strategies for coaching any offense.

To go deeper on the Read & React offense, sign up for Rick Torbett's free Read & React Master Class. Go to PGCHustle.com to sign up.

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