A Pen And A Napkin

Great coaches are made in late game situations, but it's not all about drawing up that amazing play at the end of games, but be prepared for all of the scenarios that could happen before then. In today's episode, we look at four key steps to get ready for those late game situations and what you should have in reserve with your team, as well as four keys to conducting a quality timeout late in games. In addition, we've got a great quote from Bill Walton, and we study Gene Keady, one of the more underrated coaches in college basketball history!

Making sure that everyone is on the same page is really important as you get ready for the upcoming season, and one of the ways to do that is by having quality preseason 1 on 1 meetings with your players. In today's podcast, we discuss suggestions for making these meetings a positive experience for the players, and what your goals should be in these sit-downs. In addition, we have our guy Marcus Aurelius discussing telling the truth and why it is so important, and we discuss the legendary Bo Ryan out of Wisconsin as an important coach to study.

It was a great privilege and honor to have on my son's former boss, Matt Holt, who is now the Director of Scouting at North Carolina State University, on the pod this week! Coach Holt talks about his basketball journey, from coming up as a student manager at Northeastern University, to working his way into the last decade at the Power 4 level, influences in his career, bouncing back from disappointment, scouting, player development, analytics and we even are able to fit some "Godfather" references in for good measure! A lot of fun with this podcast and the content will help you get better!

You need to know what direction you're going to take your team and how it's going to get there, so you need to plan out your implementation schedule; don't wing it! In today's podcast, not only do we talk about your calendar for implementation, but we also discuss tips for implementing X's and O's in practice, from timing to teaching techniques. We have a great quote from the great Roman Stoic Seneca, and we discuss why you should be studying the great Bill Self. Enjoy!

Some of the toughest situations that we are put into as coaches is deciding who we are going to keep and who we are going to cut, while also trying to balance out competitive teams while also rewarding our best players. In today's pod, we look at all of these angles and throw out seven bullet points to consider when making these tough decisions early this winter. In addition, we've got a tremendous quote from Matt Painter, and we have one of the legends of women's basketball, C. Vivian Stringer, to examine as one of our 100 great coaches. Enjoy!

It seems so simple, right? It's "free" after all, so why do so many games come down to missed free throws? In this podcast we discuss the importance of free throw shooting and why it should be part of your daily routine in practice, tips for better free throw shooting and ways that you can unconventionally add free throw shooting to your team's daily workouts. In addition, we've got a great quote from Emma Hayes, and we discuss one of the absolute legends of the game, Pat Riley!

One of the "boring" things that you need to do as a program is to keep fresh gear in the hands of your players and fans; they want to show off the program, and it's an easy way for you to sell the program! In this episode, we talk about ordering procedures, what not to do, how you take responsibilities off of your plate, and taking care of your staff and their famillies. In addition, we've got a great quote from James Clear and a discussion on one of the forgotten great coaches of the game, Ralph Miller!

Time is our most precious commidity, and in the game of basketball, nothing is more valuable for the coach to use to affect the game than their timeouts! In today's podcast, we're going to discuss how you should use your timeouts, how to organize timeouts and how to communicate in your timeouts. We also have a great quote from the legendary Larry Bird, and we study one of the most successful people in the history of the game of basketball, Kim Mulkey!

A great way to break down early season communication barriers and allow people to have the chance to really invest in your program is to open up your practices and teams for all to see. In this episode, we discuss having an "Open Practice" for your parents to come in and watch their children play and how you can make that a positive experience for everyone. We also discuss having a "Community Night" involving young people and your team and building support from your community members. In addition, we've got a great quote and a study of one of the toughest coaches in NBA history, Jerry Sloan.

It is really a full circle moment this week as we host Charlie Wallrapp, MBB AC at Northern Illinois University, who also just happens to be one of my former students at Skutt Catholic here in Omaha! We discuss a variety of topics, including Charlie's journey, turning around Malone University in a short amount of time, going back to being an assistant coach, offensive basketball and set plays and much more! This was a lot of fun to discuss life and hoops with one of the best up and coming assistant coaches in the country!

Like we've discussed every time the term "transition" comes up, offensive transition is one half of your transition game that you're going to do anywhere from 55-70 times a game. In today's podcast, we examine different ways that you can beat teams in offensive transition, why it's better to play fast than slow (if possible) and keys to a great transition game. In addition, we have a really good quote from Jim Calhoun on playmakers, and we take a look at Brenda Frese, the terrific WBB HC at Maryland University.

Thinking ahead right now will help you with alot of stress later in the season, especially when you're thinking about implementing particular X's and O's and getting your playbook where you want it going into the postseason. In today's podcast, we discuss your overall calendar for the entire season, what you should be thinking about and how thinking backwards from the postseason will help your team develop as the season progresses! We also have a really good quote about thinking from Henry Ford, and we take a look at one of the great pioneers of the Title IX era, Sue Gunter. Enjoy today's pod!

A great tool to use for your shooters to get better is Dr. Dish, but it also has it's detractors and faults. In today's podcast, we discuss those pros and cons of using Dr. Dish and how you can integrate Dr. Dish into your practices. In addition, there will be a video on "The Opening Tip" with some of my favorite Dr. Dish drills! We also have a great quote from Warren Bennis and a study of Jim Boeheim, one of the most successful and loyal coaches of the last 50 years of the game!

One of the best ways that you can help yourself going into the season is going out and watching other coaches work their own practices! Today, we talk about what you should do when it comes to watching practices, from asking for permission to attend to what you should do during practice and what you should be looking for as coaches work. We also have a great quote from Socrates to tie into observing others work, and we also have a study of one of the most unique coaches in the history of the game, Larry Brown. Enjoy!

One of the best ways you can bring your team together is through a planned team excursion that often combines team bonding and basketball. In today's podcast, we look at why team excursions are important, what it takes to put one together and possible destinations or ideas that you can use to bring your team into a great environment outside the gym. In addition, we've got a great quote from Kelvin Sampson about team achievement (or lack thereof), along with a study of one of the most consistent coaches of the late 20th century, Eddie Sutton. Enjoy!

One of the most critical points of any game night is your postgame routine and how you both react to the events of the game, but also how you analyze and prepare for your next interaction with your team. In today's pod, we discuss what to do in your post game, ideas for sprucing it up, what not to do and how to communicate with your team the next day. In addition, we've got a great quote from James Clear, and a study of the guy who is most responsible for UConn becoming a blue blood in men's college basketball!

We're really excited to have Kevin Furtado, the host of "The Championship Vision" podcast and GBB HC at Calvary Day (GA) High School on the podcast! On this podcast, we discuss his influences, learning from his own podcast, creating a strong culture using the "Row The Boat" theme, attacking offense and much, much more! We had a little technical difficulty at the beginning, but enjoy!

Hey, we're halfway through this grand experiment of the "Win The Season" podcast, and today we take a look at what you should have implemented by your first game. Every team is going to be different, but we share some ideas about what you should have in and how to implement it. In addition, we've got a great quote from one of the GOAT'S of the NFL in Bill Walsh, and we study the greatness that was John Thompson at Georgetown. Enjoy!

One of the best ways to alleviate some of your future parental issues is by getting out ahead of it and communicating effectively with your parents before the season even starts. In today's podcast, we discuss what most coaches do in this day and age, a preseason parent meeting. We discuss the things to do and not to do, things you should discuss, and ways that you can effectively communicate the goals of the team to the individuals on the team. In addition, we tie in the American Revolution to your parent meeting (trust me, it works) and we study a great coach that never quite got over the top in Don Chaney.

As a team, you will perform transition (from offense to defense or defense to offense) more than any other concept in the game in a 5 on 5 situation, so you must have a great plan for what you're going to do! In today's podcast, we discuss a variety of thoughts about transition and how to teach it during practice. In addition, we've got thoughts about not getting frustrated by your team's failures from Robert Greene, and we've also got a great coach study today!