A Pen And A Napkin

In this "Foundation Friday" on a Monday, we'll dive in on two things; first, I'm asking for my listeners help for something near and dear to my heart, a big ask, if you will. In the second half, we focus on why we do what we do and why it is important to focus on the big picture in coaching and our coaching relationships.

Longtime MOC/Floyd Valley Boys HC Loren DeJong comes on the latest edition of the podcast to discuss his evolution as a coach, building a program in a small town, the influential coaches in his life, building a defensive mindset and developing players within your program. Terrific information from one of Iowa's best!!!

As you examine your team for the upcoming season, what is the best way to put together the pieces of your program and how do you truly evaluate your players? Along with that, how do you decide your rotation and how deep would you ideally go into your bench? Here are some thoughts on roster construction and evaluating your team going into the upcoming season.

In celebrating our 1 year anniversary, APAAN welcomes back Dick Jungers, GBB HC at Newell-Fonda (IA). We go through last year's epic comeback in the state championship game, along with building your program and getting positive involvememnt with the community. We also discuss disrupting the opposition's offenses in various ways, among other topics. Great to have a life-long friend back on for our...

As we creep closer and closer to the start of the season, what is your plan as far as what you are going to do for your practices? What is your strategic view point for implementation? How are you planning week to week? Here are some thoughts and ideas on what you can do to help plan for your entire season before it even starts to get the most out of it.

Long time Norfolk Catholic (NE) GBB HC Tim Kassmeier hops on the podcast this week to discuss a variety of topics, including being at the same school for almost 3 decades, getting your players involved in building the culture of your program, footwork drills, variations of shell drill and a bunch of other stuff. Great podcast!

Practice is going to be starting for most high school coaches in the next few weeks, and many of us are already working on practice plans. What do you want your practice to look like? What, other than the obvious drill work and X's and O's, do you want or need to emphasize? What are other factors that you might need to consider as you build your program on a daily basis? Here are some thoughts on...

In a quick hitter interview this week, Ames (IA) Boys HC Vance Downs jumps on the podcast for a variety of topics, including discussing the strength of Iowa as a "basketball state", out of bounds philosophy, building a solid staff, game day preparation and more! Alot of good information in a short amount of time!!

The Denver Nuggets shook up the basketball world this week with their epic 3-1 comeback against the heavily favored Los Angeles Clippers. With the other LA team waiting for them, my Headlines! partner Casey Hall and I break down the other side of the bracket and make our picks to see who will represent the west in the NBA Finals.

Casey Hall joins me once again, this time to discuss the NBA Eastern Conference finals. We go through the match-ups, discuss which team have the edge in what spot, point out where both teams might be suseptible, and give our predictions as to who is going to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA finals this year.

Madison Memorial (WI) Boys HC Steve Collins, the owner of teachhoops.com comes on the podcast. We have a great, free flowing conversation about the use of social media, building relationships with your players, building a great staff, using analytics and how to navigate the coaching world while social issues and Covid-19 continues to change our job description every day. Terrific podcast from end...

For the first time, we're going to combine an interview podcast with a Foundation Friday podcast! NBA shooting coach Dave Love, who has worked with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Phoenix Suns and the Cleveland Cavaliers, along with Team Canada, goes through his philosophy on shooting and things you can do as a high school coach to make your players better individual shooters.

In the second half of Jon Gordon's book "The Carpenter", we discuss important topics that are relevant to coaching, like serving with love to your team, how success often takes a long time, dealing with failure and how to recover from it and many more lessons that can be applied to both basketball and life!

Bennington (NE) GBB HC John O'Connor comes on the pod to discuss a variety of topics, including lessons learned after being a first time state tournament HC, involving players in social media, building a program up from scratch, offensive and defensive transition, while we wrap with a back and forth on program building. A ton of great information!

Although the traditional back to the basket post player is not as prevalent as it once was, at some point it is going to come back. As a high school coach, if you have a back to the basket post player that is one of your five best players, you HAVE to develop that player and make them an effective part of your offense. Here are some tips to help develop your post players around the basket.

The famed author Jon Gordon is famous for his stories of everyday people who are lost and need direction, someone who has encountered a situation where they are not really sure what the next step is. In "The Carpenter", Gordon puts together a story where many of us as coaches have been; stressed, burnt out and frustrated, losing our passion that once burned so brightly. Here are some lessons from...

I can't believe we're at 50! Tim Cannon, the Boys HC at Millard North (NE), jumps on the podcast to discuss his four decades of coaching in the Omaha metro, building a juggernaut at Millard North, coaching a top 20 player in the nation, pressure defense, attacking pressure and much more. So much good information from one of the best in the business!

No matter how talented your team may be, if you don't have a great point guard (or we may want to start referring to this position as "decision maker"), your team is probably not going to reach their goals. Here are some tips and ideas on how to develop great decision makers and methods that you can use, both on and off the court, to put your decision makers in the best positions possible.

Our most important job as basketball coaches is to use basketball to help shape our players for the rest of their lives. "Rules For A Knight" by Ethan Hawke gives a "code of ethics" that can help us, as coaches, start conversations and help teach our players how to be better teammates and people, while also strengthening the core principles of any program.

York (NE) GBB HC Matt Kern comes on the pod to chat about a lot of free flowing topics, including being influenced by Marty Gilson, coaching with his childhood best friend, the importance of being a great teacher, prepping for a game and sharing athletes in a smaller school. Towards the end, Kern becomes the interviewer as we chat about my new position. Great podcast!!

In our latest version of Headlines!, Casey Hall and I get together to predict the eight first round playoff series, including key players and injuries as the NBA kicks off the bubble with first round series this week.

Having great ball handlers and decision makers are important to the success of your team. As you develop your ball handlers, what is your philosophy and what are the things that you want to emphasize to your ball handlers? Here are some ideas to help narrow that down for you and your players.

On this episode of the pod, Broken Bow (NE) and Nebraska Pride GBB HC Kelly Cooksley comes onto the pod to discuss a variety of topics, including being a "Keyboard Warrior" in the time of Covid-19, struggles in district title games, breaking down how to run a dribble drive offense, rebuilding programs and a preview of a great event for girls hoops in Nebraska this upcoming season!

Your youth program is the lifeline to most high school basketball programs, but there are a myriad of pitfalls that come along with organizing your system. Here are some things to consider as you look at your youth system and the important things that you should communicate to your coaches, players and parents as they commit to your program!

Steve Merfeld, the Associate Head Coach at Creighton, comes on the podcast to discuss his career, including his time with Jim Larranaga, growing as a coach, the importance of having great chemistry within your coaching staff, coaching an undersized team, and much more!