A Pen And A Napkin

Book Club is back! Today we break down Coach K's "The Five Point Play", a book on leadership based on "The Fist": Communication, Trust, Collective Responsibility, Caring and Pride. There are also some outstanding quotes and general coaching thoughts that comes from one of the greatest to ever do the job!

Boys Town (NE) Boys HC Tom Krehbiel comes on the podcast to discuss the Boys Town structure, putting together a team on the fly every season, the Metro Basketball Coaches Association, "RAP", and the future of basketball this summer with our current global health situation and how it will effect next season. Alot of great information on this one!

After your season ends, you enter the last phase of your responsibilities for your season; organizing your post-season. Here are some personal and professional tips to help you end your season on a high note while also beginning the process of preparing both yourself and your program for the upcoming season.

We sit down with 11x state champion Russ Ninemire, 4x state champion Tom Tvrdy, Papillion LaVista South Head Coach Andy Gerlecz, David City Aquinas HC Nate Wall and Sidney HC Tyler Shaw to discuss rules changes (including a shot clock), evaluating your season, the influence of AAU on high school programs, shooting drills and much more!

What a terrific episode with Matt Kern (York, NE), Jennifer Wragge of Elkhorn (NE) and the former HC at Millard North, Dave Diehl. We discuss team chemistry, building towards a productive off-season, teaching movement without the ball, defensive drills, getting better as a coach in the offseason and what Coach Diehl will be doing in retirement . . . which is VERY interesting! Absolutely awesome po...

Bishop Heelan's Head Boys Basketball Coach Andy Foster comes on the pod to discuss his journey to the head coaching position, skill development, summer work, organizing his summer workouts and stories about playing for the legendary Don Meyer. Terrific conversation!!!

Making the state tournament is the goal to almost every high school team; qualifying puts you in elite company! With this comes a rush of responsibilities that sometimes overcomes the competitions itself, so here are some tips to keep yourself organized so that you can put your team in the best position possible to not get to the state tournament, but to win it!

In a great episode, LeMars (IA) Head GBB Coach Judd Kopperrund the passion of high school basketball in Northwest Iowa, building a consistent winner at LeMars, influences on his career, attacking zone defenses, creating an identity and much more! Great listen!!

Having a solid relationship with your administration can help you work through alot of things, but it is important that you, as a coach, build those relationships with your administration. Here are some do's and don'ts in working with your administration to create a positive work environment.

If you win 748 games, you're doing something right. Legendary South Dakota boys coach Larry Luitjens discusses losing a job, his relationship with the Lakota Nation, working through tragedy, practice setup, organizing his programs and the importance of great assistant coaches. Terrific pod!!!

Both coaches and parents have a vested interest in the players that are associated with your program. Sometimes those views don't align with one another, so what are some ways that you can work together and make your relationship with your player's parents the best it can be? Here are some ideas to help you out.

Long time Iowa girls head coach Tony Vis joins the pod this week to talk about his career, the advantages and disadvantages of coaching at multiple schools, being an assistant now and the adjustments it takes, attacking pressure, applying pressure and weight room workouts. Great stuff from a long time coach and friend!!

We all know about the analytics revolution, but as high school coaches, we don't have the time and resources to use analytics the way alot of us would like. Here are some simple analytical ideas that you can use to help your team on both the offensive and defensive ends.

Steve Lutz, assistant men's basketball coach at Purdue University, joins the pod this week to discuss recruiting and team building, player development concepts and drills, what separates pros like Carsen Edwards and Doug McDermott from everyone else and what to look for while hunting for a job. Great information from an outstanding coach!

The dog days of the season are upon us, and everyone is tired. How do you keep everyone fresh, both mentally and physically? Here are some ideas for your team and your program to move your squads forward with positive activities while also give them a break from the grind of the season!

Our first group taping in a live setting was a great success, as we sit down with three highly successful coaches in Kelly Flynn of Fremont (NE), John O'Connor of Bennington (NE) and Jerome Skrdla of Gretna (NE). We discuss the influence and legacy of Kobe Bryant, how coaching has changed, changes we'd like to see in girls basketball, attacking pressure defense, creating chaos in practice and how...

As the season moves along, it is easy to get sucked into the latest crisis or to feel TOO good about your team. You need to remind yourself to come to practice and competitions every day ready to teach the game as you would in the classroom. Here are some important reminders about teaching during this important stretch of the season!

We step outside the realm of basketball and crossover to soccer in this week's Book Club. Chris Brady and David Bolchover wrote "The 90 Minute Manager", analyzing the qualities of a soccer manager to leadership. A lot of good, crossover information comes out of this book!

This episode features Tyler Struck, the head boys basketball coach at Nevada (IA). Struck discusses the influence of Greg McDermott on his career, and also the pros and cons of taking over a highly successful program. He also gives us insight on the process of switching from a man to man defensive scheme to more zone, dribble drive implementation and developing the concept of "mindfulness" with hi...

As we move into mid-January, teams are starting to hit their stride with their own schemes, so you should be able to move into a more detailed scouting report and prepping your team. What to look for, how to present it to your team, and how to divide scouting responsibilities amongst your staff are all touched on in this pod!

Jay Wright's "Attitiude" is a great read for any aspiriing coach or leader. Coach Wright details how he has built a top-notch culture, the challenges he faced as his program came down from great heights and how he built it back up to a championship level

Hillsdale (MI) Head WBB Coach Matt Fritsche goes into detail about all he's learned at every stop, how to build a program, keeping a positive spin on things when things aren't going your way, shooting drills, defensive philosophy, practice planning & more

It's early January, and your base system is in; it's time to work on situations that could make or break your season. End of quarter, end of game, negotiating foul trouble, BLOB's, SLOB's, free throws and timeouts are all discussed on this podcast!

Rick Pitino is one of the most successful coaches in the modern era of basketball, and he explains the thought process that has made him so successful in this book. Pitino outlines 10 steps that will help anyone achieve their goals in all walks of life!

Coach Drake Beranek from Kearney (NE) High School is our guest this week. Beranek discusses his coaching influences, including his father, being a young head coach, skill development, his offensive philosophy, pheasant hunting, & turning down Don Meyer