A Pen And A Napkin

Legendary Nebraska hoops coach John Miller comes on the podcast this week to chat about a variety of topics. Coach Miller is a Nebraska Hall of Famer with multiple state championships under his belt at both Chambers (on the girls side) and Southern Valley (boys). We discuss coaching perhaps the greatest player to come out of the state, building a consistent winner in a small community, playing upt...

EPISODE #100!!!!! Holy cow, we made it!!! What a great ride it's been, and Tony and I hope you will stick around for the next 100 . . . Roles are so important to any program, and role definition is vital to your program. Although we often associate role definition to our players, this week Tony and I expand that thought to other areas of your program; your parents, your assistant coaches and your...

Episode #242 features Steve Spiehs, the new HC for boys basketball at Heartland Lutheran (NE). Coach Spies was a long time assistant for 27 years who is now getting his first crack as a head coach, so we discuss that transition. We also discuss Butler basketball, BLOBs, defensive philosophy and a bunch of other topics. Coach Spiehs is going to do a great job at Heartland, so let's get a preview of...

This week, Tony and I break down our favorite coaching phrases that we have used with either our players or in the building of our programs. We go through things that we've used with our players to try to establish a common language, as well as different phrases we've used to build our programs. Along with that, we have trivia, an Arby's winner (and Olympic hero), along with discussing the WBNA pl...

Very excited to bring on Nick LoGalbo, the head boys basketball coach from Lane Tech (IL) High School for this week's pod! We go through a variety of different topics, including social justice issues, stoicism and Marcus Aurelius, fundamental development, Nick's experience with international basketball and 3 on 3, balance in life and much more! We also take a segment to combine our passion for bas...

Despite what anyone will say, we all want to be liked. The process of being liked begins with being respected, and this week, Tony and I discuss a bunch of different ways that you need to not only teach your team about what it takes to be a respected teammate, but you need to also work at being a respected teammate by your coaching peers. Along with that, we have our usual trivia, an Arby's award...

Early this summer, I had a series of coaches come on for a podcast to discuss what they wanted to accomplish this summer. This week, I've got six coaches on to discuss how their summer went and what they did. Really enjoyed having Andy King of Elkhorn North (NE), Dane Bacon of Bellevue West (NE), Lucus Dalinghaus of Johnson Brock (NE), Jason Dasinger of Etowah (GA), Andy Gillen of Ogallala (NE) an...

As programs start to get ramped up for the upcoming season, the months of September and October are critical to ensure that the program's culture is as strong as it can be heading into the season. In this episode, Tony and I put out numerous ideas and thoughts on what you can do as you head into the season to help build your culture to be as strong as it can be before practice starts. Along with t...

Gavin Petersen, the Associate Head Coach at the University of Utah women's program, is our guest this week! Coach Petersen began his journey on the beaches of Hawaii and is now in the mountains of Utah, and he talks about his journey, the growth of the Ute program, switching conferences, player development, scouting, analytics and much more! A really enjoyable conversation with one of America's up...

The greatest thing about coaching is the relationships you have, but sometimes the most difficult thing about coaching is the relationships. At some point in your career, you're going to have to work with what some people would call "toxic" people. For us as coaches, that is usually either parents or players, so how do you work through it? Tony and I discuss this topic, along with recapping the Ol...

This week's episode features Corey Harvey, the new men's basketball HC at Knox College (IL)! Coach Harvey talks about his background, including his time with the Dallas Mavericks, along with his climb into a head coaching position. We also discuss player development and scouting in depth, along with recruiting and other topics. Enjoy this week's podcast!

No new pod this week; Tony and I had some scheduling and travel conflicts, but we have a short pod highlighting all of the great things that Ruiz Auto Services and Exhaust have for you through August 31st! -Oil change 45 for small vehicles and for trucks we can give 10% off -$45 for inspection -Free battery testing -$12 on each tire rotation -Purchase a Set of tires and get mount and balance free...

Legendary St. Joseph's MBB HC Phil Martelli comes on the pod this week to talk about a variety of topics this week! Coach Martelli recently retired and is passionately working on developing coaches and leaders, so we discuss that, along with his basketball journey, stories of the "Big 5", little known facts about his best friend Geno Auriemma, being an AC for Juwan Howard, and much more. A really...

Alot of coaches and alot of players say that they want to run in transition, but are they willing to put in the time, energy and focus to really become effective at it? In this week's pod, Tony and I go through some keys to developing a great transition team, including a few drills that we have ran in the past to help build up your transition philosophy. Along with that, we have trivia, an Arby's...

I've been teasing alot of this for the last month or two, but here we are, ready to make these three big announcements! One, holy $&@# I wrote a book, like a real book! Releasing on Tuesday, October 1st, "Kings Of Their Court: Three Teams, One City And The Greatest Basketball Season in Nebraska High School History" details the story of three teams that were ranked in the Top 25 in the country....

This week we're really excited to have Chad Jilek, the GBB HC at Johnston (IA), on the podcast this week. The Dragons have been to five consecutive state title games in Iowa's largest class, winning three. Coach Jilek discusses a variety of topics including failure, managing expectations and culture, how to develop an effective youth program and much more. Great conversation with one of Iowa's bes...

We found a few minutes to sneak away from Snow Valley Basketball School to have a roundtable discussion with some of the best coaches at Snow Valley; Massachusetts's own Liz Kay, Jason Kern of West Branch (IA) and Nick LaGalbo of Lane Tech (IL). We discuss the week at Snow Valley, summer work and preparing for the upcoming season. We also have a little Snow Valley trivia, as well as a little "Offi...

Episode #234 features Justin Smith, WBB HC at Dubuque (IA) University! Coach Smith has turned around the program at Dubuque, and has alot of great tidbits to share, including making the jump from high school to college ball, moving up from an assistant's position to being the HC of the program, 1/2 court offense, 1-2-2 pressure, and much more! Great conversation with one of Iowa's best!

We often complain about the actions and words of the parents of our players, but can we give them bullet points to help them navigate the world of being a sports parent? This week, Tony and I go through five points from Greg Berge that are pitfalls for both parents and coaches. We also have trivia, this week's "Arby's" award, and a tough discussion on Team USA after three scrimmages. Also, one of...

Perhaps the greatest overall coach in Nebraska history, Doug Goltz comes on the podcast this week to discuss numerous topics, including his long stay at Falls City Sacred Heart, building a school culture, half court offense, secondary actions, the weight room and much more! Coach Goltz's resume speaks for itself, including: * 749 career wins as a basketball HC, the Nebraska state record * 307 wins...

You talked, we listened!! A couple of weeks ago, Tony and I put out a poll to see what you wanted us to talk about, and the #1 topic selected was "What Great Coaches Do". So, Tony and I went through our six top coaches right now (Hurley, Staley, Kerr, Hammon, Mazulla and Reeve) and discussed their topic qualities! Along with that, we have trivia, our newest "Arby's" winner and a discussion on free...

Isaac Sturm, the boys basketball head coach at Bellevue Marquette (IA) high school. comes on this week. Coach Sturm has rebuilt the Marquette program in a short amount of time, getting them to the Class 1A state championship game this past season! In our conversation, we discuss coming home, rebuilding through analytics and accountability, having a rival, communicating with parents, having essenti...

When someone becomes a head coach for the first time, the reality of the situation starts to set in and most coaches along the way make numerous mistakes that are completely avoidable. In this episode of "The Coaching Staff", Tony and I discuss mistakes that we've made, why we made them and what we should have done, both as younger and more "seasoned and experienced" coaches. We have trivia, an "A...

Episode #231 features "Weekday" Wade Coulter, the head girls basketball coach at Gretna East (NE) high school. Coach Coulter goes through his journey and his influences, building programs and giving them belief through psychology, pressure defense, working with parents and much more! A really fun episode with one of Nebraska's up and coming coaches!

The most difficult thing to master in this world is yourself, and your body language, both as a player and as a coach, is for many one of the things that holds them back from achieving their ultimate goals. In this episode, Tony and I go down our many mistakes and successes when it comes to body language, how to handle situations when bad body language pops out and ways to help both. you and your...