A Pen And A Napkin

Many times, we get caught up in the day to day grind of the middle of the season, but we need to keep our big picture goals and purpose in mind. From practice length to quotes, here's some quick hitting things that we all need to remember as we get into the dog days of January!

We open up 2022 with Todd Wolfson, the Boys HC at St. Francis (Pasadena, CA) High School. As I record in a blizzard and he records a stone throw from the Rose Bowl, we discuss leaving one successful job for another, having a slow build over the season, having a great coaching staff, stats and what he looks for and creating a great family atmosphere and culture. This is a great pod to start off 202...

Alot of teams will be traveling over the break and spending the night with their teams. Although it's a great opportunity to bond as a team, it is also your responsibility to make sure that everything is lined up as well as possible. Here's some things that I've learned over the years about putting together a travel itinerary for a team trip

In our latest (both figuratively and literally) episode of "A Pen And A Napkin", Chris Strathman, the highly successful GBB HC at McPherson (KS) comes on the pod! In this pod, we discuss the value of continuity of our coaching staff, building a youth program, transition basketball, half court defense, and the lost art of the live scout. Alot of great information in this late night conversation!!

At this point of the season, we're all looking at our teams and what we can or need to do to improve our teams. Some of us might be considering radical adjustments to our teams and lineups, while others are looking at tweaks. Here are some things to consider before you make any major adjustments to your team, both for the short term and the long term.

In part two of our podcast, Carl Pierson goes through the writing of "The Other Side of Glory". The book details the journey of the Waconia Wildcats' 2019-20 season and their pursuit of a state tournament berth that has eluded the program for over four decades. In a season of ups and downs, high expectations, joys and disappointments, the spirit of the team and the joy of high school athletics shi...

In this special two-part podcast, we talk to Carl J. Pierson, the author of "The Politics of Coaching". We talk about how the book came about and then dive into some of the major political pitfalls that a coach can get caught up, from parental agendas to working with administration to the structure of your program. A great listen and a lot of really important topics discussed for all coaches at al...

Some of us are big scouters, spending alot of our practice time and time with the team, while other coaches don't spend nearly as much time on our opponents. Both methods have produced successful results, and you have to do what you're comfortable with. In this "Foundation Friday", here are the methods that we use to prepare for our opponents.

Legendary Harlan (IA) boys basketball coach Mitch Osborn, owner of over 700 wins, jumps on the podcast this week to discuss a wide variety of topics. We chat about the overall success of Harlan's athletics, mixing business with coaching, being an administrator, youth programs, practice set up and fighting cancer. A great conversation that you're going to get alot from.

In the hustle and the bustle of the early season, we sometimes forget the details of what we could or should be doing on game days to get prepared for the game, then we're left scrambling at the last minute to get these things taken care of. Here's a preemptive list of things that you should be thinking about before game night!

Lisa Steele, the former GBB HC at Paul VI (New Jersey) comes on the podcast this week! In this terrific conversation, we talk about the adjustments that great players have to make to be a coach, coaching at different levels, the importance of a mentor, taking care of the family first, marketing your program and her fledgling broadcasting career. We also dive into the "Blizzard" match-up zone, work...

Here are a few quick updates about this season and things to expect for the upcoming 3-4 months!

We organized our first youth tournament last weekend, and it was a great success, but it didn't come without some lessons along the way. We had a great group of people that helped organize the tournament, so here are some things that we did well, and there are a few things that we plan on adjusting for next years tournament.

Clark Ribble, the head boys basketball coach at Beatrice (NE) high school, comes on the podcast to discuss a wide variety of topics, including coaching in California, his progression as a head coach, "rebuilding" the culture of their program, the great influences of his career and building a community culture where everyone in the community is behind the program. A great listen this week!!

We're all going to be in a situation where we are going to move a player up a level. As coaches, we look at it as a talent issue, but there are alot of variables that we should consider before we pull the trigger on this decision. In this "Foundation Friday" we look at those variables and what you should do when you make that decision to move a player(s) up.

Women's Basketball Hall of Famer and WNBA champion Lin Dunn comes on the podcast this week to discuss a wide variety of topics. We chat about the beginnings of Title IX, coaching in the 1992 Olympics and sharing a private plane with the "Dream Team", getting your team to peak at the right time, coaching the shot clock, special situations and much, much more. You're going to love this conversation!

Establishing clear boundaries, clear lines of communication and other important variables to your program while also creating an environment of fellowship and trust is a daunting task for most of our coaches. In this "Foundation Friday" we discuss tactics that you can use to try to take a situation that most coaches dread, the early season parent meeting, and try to turn it into a positive experie...

Wow, 100 interview episodes!!! That is just crazy to believe!!! In celebration of hitting triple digits, we're bringing back the three that got things going; Kelly Flynn from Fremont (NE) High School, Jen Wragge from Elkhorn (NE) High School and Kevin Scheef from Wahoo (NE) High School. We discuss transition, what we're prepping for the first week of practice, breaking down the season into smaller...

We know what we want our players to look like at their optimum level, but have we really taken the time to really map out our players journey and find the checkpoints along the way? In this "Foundation Friday", we go through our "Mastery of Skills" checklist and what we should and should not include to show positive progress for our players.

I'm excited to have Jordan Arensdorf, the GBB HC at Pleasanton (NE) High School. We chat about a variety of topics, including the pressure of winning when you're expected to win, handling a locker room after a tough loss, preparing for the state tournament, half court offensive and defensive philosophies, and the advantages of teaching K-12 PE. Alot of good nuggets in this pod!

There are a million different ways to end practice, but we often forget how important it is to end practice on a high note. It's important that before you get to the end of practice, you have a plan for how you're going to end practice. Here's some thoughts and ideas on how to end practice in a variety of different scenarios and ending it on a high note!

Casey Hall and I come back to discuss who we think is going to win the major awards this season, and then we break down the playoffs round by round to try to predict who is going to be hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy next June. We had alot of fun doing this, so let us know what your picks are and what you think of ours!

Casey Hall and I get together to discuss and preview the Western Conference for the upcoming NBA season, highlighting the teams that we like, some teams that we don't like, and we both identify a sleeper that we think is due to get over the top this season. Have some fun with some amateur prognosticators, and let us know what you think of our predictions!

Casey Hall and I take some time to preview the 2021-22 NBA season this week, starting with the Eastern Conference. We go through the three tiers; the 5 teams that we don't believe will make the playoffs, the four teams that we think will be in the play-in, and then we preview the six teams that we believe to be in the top six. We're just having some fun, but let us know what you think of our predi...

In our latest episode of "Quick Hitters", we bring on a variety of coaches. Jamie Smith, the GBB HC at Solon (IA) comes on to discuss program building, while University of Nebraska Men's Assistant Head Coach Doc Sadler jumps on to discuss their half court defensive concepts. In our second half, Winona State MBB HC Todd Eisner is back to discuss half court offense, including a deep dive on ball scr...