Redeeming The Game

More Than X’s & O’s: Leadership & the Journey | Zach Hopp — Part 1 What does it take to grow as a basketball coach, a leader, and a follower of Jesus? In Part 1 of this two-part conversation on Redeeming the Game , Coach Sanders sits down with Zach Hopp, a Division I basketball coach whose journey has taken him through the University of Kansas, Washburn University, Ole Miss, Arkansas State...

More Than Wins: The Heart of a Leader What does it really mean to be a successful coach? Is it championships? Winning seasons? Players moving on to the next level? Awards and recognition? Or is there something more important happening every day inside the gym? In this episode of Redeeming the Game , Coach Sanders sits down with a close coaching friend whose journey includes three consecutive state...

When the Game Isn't Enough/ PT.3 Phil Morrison: FROM PRO PLAYER TO BASKETBALL MISSIONARY Phil Morrison has experienced basketball from just about every angle. 🏀 NAIA All-American 🌎 Professional player around the world 🎯 Highly sought-after point guard trainer ✝️ Basketball missionary But his story isn’t really about what basketball allowed him to accomplish. It’s about what God has done through...

Why Players Burn Out:  Are We Helping Them Love the Game? Why do players burn out from a game they once loved? A basketball player recently shared a story that really challenged me. He said that after a bad practice, he couldn’t simply go back to his dorm and enjoy the rest of his day. He felt like he had to immediately get back to work on his game. When practice went well, everything felt great....

Welcome back to Redeeming the Game. We’re continuing our series: When the Game Isn’t Enough. Last week, we talked about developing people instead of simply developing players. Today, we’re going to approach that question from a completely different perspective. My guest has actually reached the dream that so many young basketball players chase. He played in the NBA.He played professionally oversea...

Welcome back to Redeeming the Game. Today, we’re beginning a brand-new series called: When the Game Isn’t Enough. Over the next few weeks, I’m sitting down with some incredible friends of mine who have experienced basketball at very different levels. We’re going to talk about the game. We’re going to talk about success. We’re going to talk about identity. But most importantly, we’re going to ask a...

7 wins. One championship. Two future pastors. But this story isn’t really about the championship. It’s about grief. It’s about personal battles. It’s about grace. It’s about redemption. Two former players. Two very different journeys. One faithful God. Years later, one is a youth pastor. One is a lead pastor. And both are living proof that your story is never over when Jesus is still writing it. M...

They won only seven games… and then won a championship. Nobody saw it coming. But years later, I’m realizing the championship wasn’t the greatest part of their story. These two former players took very different paths. One walked through the devastating loss of his father during his freshman year. The other has faced deeply personal struggles and battles of his own. But neither man’s story ended t...

The Greatest Victory Wasn’t a Championship.” What if the greatest thing basketball ever gave you wasn’t a trophy… but the person you became? In this special episode of Redeeming the Game , I sit down with two former players from the early years of my coaching career to reflect on a journey that began in a high school gym but has shaped the rest of their lives. One was one of the most gifted athlet...

What Was Basketball Created For? Why did James Naismith invent basketball? Was it simply to create another sport or was there a greater purpose behind the game? In this episode of Redeeming the Game , we step back into basketball’s origins and explore the vision that shaped its beginning. Dr. James Naismith believed athletics could do more than entertain. His philosophy emphasized developing chara...

What if the greatest battle in basketball isn’t against the opponent—but against the story we’ve come to believe? In this episode of Redeeming the Game , we go back to the beginning. We explore the original vision behind the game of basketball and contrast it with the three forces that quietly shape so much of modern sports: fear, guilt, and shame. Fear tells us our value depends on winning. Guilt...

How God Used Basketball to Shape Two Lives What happens when two athletes from completely different backgrounds find themselves on the same team—and discover that God has been writing a much bigger story all along? In this episode of Redeeming the Game , I’m joined by two former players whose journeys could not have started more differently. One grew up in Alaska. The other in Missouri. They came...

Raising Competitors Without Losing the Child How do we raise children who compete with excellence without believing their worth is determined by their performance? In this special episode of Redeeming the Game , I sit down with my two brothers and my sister for an honest conversation about growing up as athletes and now raising athletes of our own. Together, we reflect on what our parents modeled,...

What if your gym is more than a workplace? What if it’s a mission field? In this episode, we talk about calling, purpose, and what it means to be sent through the game of basketball. This conversation challenges coaches to see their influence differently—not just as instructors of the game, but as leaders entrusted with lives, relationships, and transformation. Because basketball may be the platfo...

Pressure, Surrender, and Trust Every coach feels pressure. Pressure to win.  Pressure to perform.  Pressure to carry everything. But what if we were never meant to lead from anxiety and control? In this episode of Redeeming the Game , we talk honestly about burnout, surrender, trust, and learning how to coach from peace instead of panic. Because leadership becomes lighter when we stop trying to ca...

What if coaching was never just about basketball? In this episode, we explore the deeper responsibility of coaching—not simply developing players, but helping shape people. We talk about discipleship, relationships, influence, and why some of the most meaningful moments in coaching happen far away from the scoreboard. This episode is a reminder that players are more than performers, and that great...

What My Parents Got Right | The Foundation That Mattered More Than Sports Before there were wins and losses, championships and coaching, there were two people laying a foundation. In this deeply personal episode of the Redeeming the Game Podcast , Coach Matt Sanders sits down with his parents to reflect on the values, lessons, and priorities that shaped his life long before basketball ever became...

What happens when former players grow into leaders of their own programs? In this special episode of the Redeeming the Game Podcast , Coach Matt Sanders sits down with two former players who are now head coaches: Coach Zak Kirkman and Coach Philip Parker . One leads a women’s basketball program, the other a men’s program, but both are navigating the same calling—to lead people before they lead tea...

In this episode of Redeeming the Game , Coach Matt Sanders ,and  Coach Phillip Morrison, “The Basketball Missionary” — answers a powerful question asked by a coach: “Can basketball share the Gospel?” The answer takes us all the way back to the origins of the game itself. Dr. James Naismith didn’t just create basketball to keep athletes busy during the winter. His vision was far deeper: “to win men...

In this powerful conversation, Coach Sanders is joined by fellow basketball missionary Coach Phillip Morrison to unpack one of the deepest identity battles coaches, leaders, and people face every day  living from the “I am nots” instead of the truth of what Father God says about us. Drawing from the teachings of theologian and teacher Baxter Kruger, this episode explores how so many coaches silent...

So many coaches spend their lives trying to prove themselves to parents, administrators, other coaches, and even themselves. But what happens when your identity is built on reputation instead of righteousness? In this episode of Redeeming the Game, we talk about the exhausting pressure of performance-based leadership and the freedom that comes when you realize you are already accepted by God. This...

More Than Wins: The Legacy of a Transformational AD What does it really mean to win in athletics? For 25 years, today’s guest served as an athletic director, leading coaches, building programs, and impacting countless athletes across basketball, baseball, and football. But her greatest legacy isn’t found in championships, records, or trophies it’s found in people. In this powerful conversation, we...

What if you didn’t have to prove anything this season? What if you coached from a place of being already accepted ? That changes: your tone your patience your leadership You don’t coach for approval. You coach from identity. And when that shifts…Everything else starts to follow. This is where coaching starts to change. Because when your identity is secure…You stop using the game to build yourself....

What if the game is doing more than just developing players? In this episode of Redeeming the Game , I sit down with two of my former players to reflect on their journey—from who they were when I first met them to who they are becoming today. We talk about when basketball became more than just competition, the challenges and growth they experienced along the way, and how God used the game to shape...

If I could go back and talk to my younger self as a coach, these are the 10 things I’d tell him first. I put them all into a free guide called “10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Coach.” No fluff. No playbooks. Just real lessons from years of coaching, leading, winning, losing, and learning. If you’re early in your coaching journey, or you want to coach with more purpose and clarity, grab it for f...