A Pen And A Napkin

It's time once again to sit down at the Mellow Mushroom in Lincoln, Nebraska to discuss a bunch of different topics related to the state tournament. We chat about the excitement of the state tournament, the preparation level that you need to have at the tournament, mistakes we've made, and how to bridge the downtime between your substate title game and your first round state tournament game. Along...

We all got into coaching so we could help plan large meals, right? Well, the end of the year banquet is important to your program, as it is the last time that this edition of this team will be together, so everyone deserves a great send off. In this episode, Tony and I break down the details of putting together a good banquet and how to retain favor with parents, players and administrators. We als...

Kyle Courtney has built a really nice program at Rapids City Christian (SD), and he is our guest for episode #265! Coach Courtney has spent time in a variety of places, and he discusses how those travels have influenced his career. Along with that, Coach Courtney discusses his run and jump defensive philosophy, getting to the state tournament last season, the unique culture of his program and much...

Breaking bad habits and building good ones are the key to any player's or teams success. In this episode, Tony and I discuss strategies that you can implement to help yourself, your players or your teams to break bad habit and create new habits that are going to be much more positive for you. We also have our trivia portion, alot of great #21's, a down time for Jayhawk fans, an good time for Fight...

On episode #264 we are pleased to have Mike Vuncannon, the head boys basketball coach at Columbus Scotus (NE)! Coach Vuncannon has been with the program for over 20 years and has the Shamrocks on the brink of a state tournament appearance. In this episode, we discuss Coach Vuncannon's influences, correlating being a golf pro with coaching basketball, the rigors of playing in a really tough confere...

As we enter into tournament time, the pressure mounts on both coaches and players. How do you get your players to relax, enjoy the moment and make plays under pressure situations? That's what Tony and I take up this week! We discuss visualization, breathing, practice situations, one on one conversations and much more to help you put your players in the best situations possible. Along with that, we...

Basketball lifer and longtime NBA player development coach Dave Severns is our guest for this week's podcast! Coach has had a long career in the game, and currently serves as a scout for the Indiana Pacers. Coach discusses his career, his "Hoop Of The Day" tweets, some of the best coaches he's seen this year, being a great assistant, networking, building trust and some of his favorite skill work d...

February and March are when the microscopes really come out when it comes to your team's attention to detail and ability to execute under pressure. What are some of the things that you should be working on, and how should you be working on them? That's what Tony and I break down this week on "The Coaching Staff"! Along with that, Tony and I discuss a couple of big NBA trades, the Texas-South Carol...

Mid-American Nazarene MBB HC Adam Hepker is our guest for episode #262! Coach Hepker, after an outstanding playing career, has taken over at his alma mater and continued to build on the legacy of Rocky Lamar. Coach Hepker discusses Coach Lamar, how playing overseas influenced his coaches career, the ability to tell players the truth, practicing with great temp and much more. A really fun conversat...

Late January is a time period where we are stereotypically hit with numerous disruptions, from injuries to illness to discipline issues to transfers and players who unfortunately decide to quit. When these things inevitably happen, how do you navigate through the process and still keep your team moving in the right direction? That's the topic that Tony and I are breaking down this week. We do that...

Brad Vaught, the head women's basketball coach at North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC), comes on "A Pen And A Napkin" for episode #261. Coach Vaught has built a strong program over the last five years at NIACC and his team is on the brink of a national tournament birth this season. Coach Vaught discusses some of his coaching influences, the advantages of going the JUCO route, how recruiting m...

It's late January, and we are in the proverbial "Dog Days" of basketball season. You still have to have the urgency to get better, but you also can't burn out your players and make practices so intense that they don't have the proper physical and mental rest that they should have, so how do you do that? That's what Tony and I discuss this week, along with our TWIB topics, Who's up and down and muc...

Todd Hale, the veteran boys head coach at Atkinson West Holt (NE), comes on the podcast to discuss a variety of topics. Coach Hale discusses his influences, constantly adjusting your program, bringing in outside instructors to his program, some of his favorite drills, practice set up and much more! Coach Hale has built a solid program at West Holt and it shows in this interview!

Hey, just joking on that earlier post this morning! You got a preview of this week's interview podcast, but here's Tony and I from last night discussing thoughts and strategies on how to kickstart your team in January!

We are officially in the middle of January, and by now we have some teams that are really hitting their stride, while other programs are struggling. There are a variety of reasons why teams may be struggling, but the question we ask ourselves when we are in that situation is "How do we get ourselves out of this?" This week, Tony and I go through numerous scenarios and give out our advice to help c...

How many times, as high school coaches, have we complained that our players and our parents really don't understand what Varsity athletics is truly all about? Well, here at "A Pen And A Napkin", we're going to do our best to help educate and change that! May 3rd and 4th, 2025 at Omaha Marian High School will be our 1st Annual "Varsity Preparation Academy" basketball event! This will help both play...

Chip Daehling is the boys basketball coach at Douglas County West (NE) High School, and he has built a high competitive program the last few years, culminating in his first trip to the state tournament last season. In this week's pod, we discuss that state tournament birth, building his program, replacing a strong senior class, building an identity in his program, moving up a class and much more!...

At the heart of any defense is your defensive transition philosophy. This week, Tony and break down the importance of defensive transition, drills that you can use to help implement your philosophy and help with repping your transition, and then we wrap up our discussion with various different methods that you can transition. We have our trivia, our TWIB segment and Who's Up? and Who's Down? to ca...

Brandon Shaver, the head boys basketball coach at Lake Travis (TX) High School comes on the pod this week to chat about a variety of topics. Coach Shaver discusses his interview process, building a culture through his "Man Up Monday" program, getting the community involved, the importance of working camps outside of your own, networking and much, much more! Alot of good stuff to help you build. yo...

Once you have been established and the wave of immediate responsibilities have been taken care of when you take over a job, one of the first things you may consider doing is building up your alumni network within your program. Having alumni support is always a bonus to have with your program, so Tony and I go through a variety of different ways to build your network and support from players that c...

Matt Sayman is our first guest of 2025, and I'm excited to have him on! Coach Sayman is the boys head basketball coach at Grapevine Faith (TX) High School, and he has built a terrific program that starts with building shooters first. We discuss that, along with his writing of the book "The Leftovers" about his experiences with the Baylor program during the last days of Dave Bliss and the first day...

Merry Christmas, or as we say in our house "Happy Festivus"! This week, Tony and I discuss our Christmas wish lists for the game of basketball, especially at the high school level. We talk about rules, contracts, parent relationships and a whole slew of stuff that we'd love to see changed about the game. Along with that, we have trivia, TWIB and "Who's Up?" and "Who's Down?" . . . Tony and I since...

Dave Slifer is in his 35th year of being a head coach at the collegiate level at the NAIA and NCAA DII ranks, and he has a great story to tell! This week, Coach Slifer and I discuss his career (with a few minutes down memory lane) while also discussing his coaching family (literally), signing a multi-year deal, winning a national championship, offensive and defensive philosophy and much more. A re...

There's nothing better than having a packed, loud gymnasium with great student bodies going after it in the dead of winter. We'd all love to have a great student body presence, but how do we build that up within our programs? That's the topic that Tony and I dive into this week, and we give our thoughts, tips and advice on how to build a great student body presence at your games. We also have triv...

It was a privilege and an honor to have on "Basketball Lifer" Clay Moser for this week's interview! Coach Moser has coached all over the country and the world, from the Los Angeles Lakers to China, and he discusses his experiences coaching with everyone from Jim Valvano to Phil Jackson. Coach also discusses networking, his consulting programs, analytics and how to come up with simple formulas to r...