Life on the Road - A Coach's Journey

🎙️ NEW EPISODE OUT NOW! 🎙️ Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage are back with another incredible episode of Life on the Road: A Coach's Journey, and this week's guest is one you cannot miss! You never know who's watching. Nobody on the planet proves that more than Darrell Armstrong ! Think about this journey for a second. Darrell didn't even play high school basketball until his senior...

This week's episode hits close to home. Coach Alphonza Kee and Coach Scott Bollwage sits down with Mark Bass , the Head Basketball Coach at Girard College , and this one is more than an interview, it's a reunion. Mark and Scott go all the way back to playing on the same middle school team at Sacred Heart in Trenton, NJ, before walking the halls together at McCorristin Catholic High School....

What does it take to build a 30-year coaching career that has taken you from the hardwood floors of Fayetteville State all the way to the power corridors of the Big 12? This week, Coach Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage sit down with one of the most well-traveled and respected minds in college basketball, John Cooper , Assistant Coach at Kansas State University . Cooper's journey is the kind of...

In this episode of Life on the Road, hosts Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage sit down with Coach Mark Downey , Head Men's Basketball Coach at Arkansas Tech University. This one carries a personal touch right from the start, as Coach Downey began his coaching career at Barton College in 1995-96, the same institution where host Scott Bollwage was a student athlete playing baseball. Two guys connec...

In this episode of Life on the Road, hosts Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage sit down with one of the most accomplished junior college basketball coaches in the country, Coach Mike Apple , Head Men's Basketball Coach and Athletic Director at Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Coach Apple's story is one of roots, loyalty, and relentless commitment to excellence. A Moore...

What happens when a young woman with no intention of ever coaching ends up becoming one of the most respected voices in women's basketball? You get Coach Niya Butts , and this week she's pulling back the curtain on all of it. From winning back-to-back NCAA Championships at Tennessee under the legendary Pat Summit, to taking the lessons she learned in Knoxville and building something of her...

In this episode of Life on the Road: A Coach's Journey, hosts Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage sit down with Head Coach Rob Jones of Norfolk State University, one of the most accomplished coaches in HBCU basketball history. Coach Jones brings 251 wins, 5 MEAC Regular Season Titles, 3 MEAC Tournament Championships, 3 MEAC Coach of the Year awards, and a 2024 CIT National Championship to the conv...

What does it take to go from graduate assistant to national champion in less than a decade? Coach Easton Bazzoli , Head Men's Basketball Coach at Gannon University , sits down with Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage on Life on the Road, to tell the complete story of one of the most remarkable rises in college basketball history. Bazzoli's journey did not start with a head coaching offer or a...

🎙️🏀 Life On The Road: A Coach's Journey | ft. Bob Szorc, Associate Head Coach, Appalachian State Men's Basketball Coach Alphonza Kee and Coach Scott Bollwage sit down with Coach Bob Szorc . We go back and watch the Journey of a kid from the Chicago area pick up a whistle, step into a gym, and decide to give his life to the game of basketball. Trust us, this journey is one you do NOT want...

What does it actually take to make it in the coaching world? Coach Grant Leonard is pulling back the curtain and holding NOTHING back. From working multiple jobs just to stay in the game, to grinding through the camp circuit building relationships one summer at a time, to standing on the sideline of the NCAA Tournament for the FIRST TIME in Queens University history , this is the story nobody tell...

This week, Coach Alphonza Kee & Coach Scott Bollwage tap in with Akeem Miskdeen , assistant coach at Michigan, and this one is all about the journey. From knowing at an early age he wanted to coach… to starting as a volunteer at Hampton… to grinding his way through stops at Mount Olive, Wingate, Hampton again, Kent State, Florida Atlantic, Florida, Georgia… and now Michigan. We get into the mi...

This week, Coach Alphonza Kee and Coach Scott Bollwage sit down with Tryston Lawrence and take the journey global. Tryston began building his coaching foundation through player development; which opened the door for him to get onto the sidelines. His attention to detail in his training created opportunities to train some of the best in the game from Chris Paul and Aliyah Boston . From there, he di...

Season 2 is here… and we’re setting the tone right away. Coach Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage kick things off by catching you up on their journeys since Season 1, the grind, the growth, and everything the road has taught them along the way. We’re also introducing two new segments: “Hoops Took Me Here, Hoops Took Me There” , the best places and the wildest, most unexpected stops the game has taken...

On this week's podcast, Alphonza Kee & Scott Bollwage head out to the home of this year's Final Four (virtually), to catch up with the Head Girl's Basketball Coach at Sequoia Pathfinder at Verrado Way and 2023-2024 Coach of the Year, Lynn Ramage. Coach Ramage is also a part of Coach Bollwage's journey as they worked together at Greensboro College. He has a great story of workin...

On this week's podcast, Alphonza Kee & Scott Bollwage catch up with the Head Coach at Davidson-Davie C.C., Matt Ridge. Coming off another deep run in the NJCAA Division II Tournament, Coach Ridge discusses his early beginnings in the coaching profession as a Student Assistant at UNC, with their JV program to becoming the head coach at Davidson C.C. With five straight 30+ wins seasons, Coac...

On this week's podcast, Alphonza Kee & Scott Bollwage travel across the pond (virtually) and catch up with the head coach for Pallacanestro Trieste in Italy’s Lega Basket Serie A, Jamion Christian . Coach Christian has a remarkable story to share with everyone, from being a "Player/Assistant" at Mount St. Mary's to working for Shaka Smart at VCU, then returning to his Alma Ma...

On this week's podcast, Alphonza Kee & Scott Bollwage bring back the head coach at Life University, Coach Kevin Easley to discuss the some of the "Madness" that takes place in March. Coach Easley was the Director of Basketball Operations (D.O.B.O.) at UNC Wilmington under current NC State Head Coach Kevin Keats when they made it to the NCAA Tournament back in 2016. We take a look...

On this week's podcast, Alphonza Kee & Scott Bollwage catch up with Coach Andre Gray . Coach Gray is one of the most respected coaches throughout the state of North Carolina. We have the opportunity to listen to journey and hear all of the lessons he's learned along the way. As you'll see Coach Gray was very strategic on certain jobs he wanted to take, so he could get the job he wa...

On this week's podcast, Alphonza Kee & Scott Bollwage discuss one of the biggest topics in the coaching profession this time of year, the "Coaching Carousel". This time of year, many coaches are trying to win a conference championship and at the same time trying to keep their job. Coach Kee & Coach Bollwage discuss what is going through the mind of a head coach and an assista...

On this week's podcast, Alphonza Kee & Scott Bollwage catch up with the Head Boy's Basketball Coach at Milan High School in Milan, TN , Jason James . What makes this episode special is Coach James at an early age said he wanted to be a Division I head coach, and at the age of 31 that happened for him. And we get a chance to hear his Journey along his " Life on the Road ". #Li...

On this week's podcast, Alphonza Kee & Scott Bollwage head to Wolfpack Country (virtually), and talk with Larry Dixon who is an assistant coach at North Carolina State University. Coach Dixon started at the high school level and worked his way all the way up to the highest level of college basketball. During our conversation we focus on how being a college coach can effect their children a...

On this week's podcast, Alphonza Kee & Scott Bollwage get a chance the talk with the head coach at Jack Britt HS in Fayetteville, NC, Ike Walker. Coach Walker has been the head coach at Jack Britt HS for 24 years (which is how long the school has been open for). With over 300 wins as a head coach, he shares some great stories and lessons learned along his "Life on the Road".

On this week's podcast, Alphonza Kee & Scott Bollwage talk with Robert Brickey. Coach Brickey, like many coaches wanted to stay involved in the game of basketball once their playing career was over, so coaching was the next step. Coming off of an outstanding basketball career which included being named "Mr. Basketball" in the State of North Carolina, to three final four appearanc...

This week, Alphonza Kee & Scott Bollwage take a trip (Virtually) to Forsyth Country Day, just outside of Winston-Salem, NC to catch up with their head boy's basketball coach, Doug Esleeck . Coach Doug, like many coaches in this profession, have had a few stops along his coaching journey, and at some point we have to decide what is most important to us in our lives. If you are at that point...

On this week's podcast, Alphonza Kee & Scott Bollwage catch up with the Head Coach at Life University, Kevin Easley . Coach Easley has a great journey with some great lessons learned along the way. From his early beginnings at UT Martin, all the way to becoming the Head Coach at Life University, Kevin Easley , like many coaches in this profession, has been through the ups and downs on his...