A Pen And A Napkin

Jason Kern, boys basketball HC at West Branch (IA) comes on the podcast this week for a great conversation! Coach Kern and I discuss a variety of topics, including growing up in a basketball family, his basketball influences, helping your players with the recruiting process, BLOB'S, half court defense and building a playbook. Terrific conversation!

A bad case of the flu pushed back the podcast to today, but Tony and I are back, just a little delayed!!Our decisions are usually difficult enough during our seasons, especially when it comes to playing time, but most of us would love to have some sort of statistical baseline to help us make those decisions. However, we're often limited by time and manpower at the high school level, so what can we do to meet this concept halfway? Tony and I talk about that this week, along with a deep dive in our TWIB segment on the WNBA Finals, the latest NBA trades, and the NBA Southeast preview.

Penn Wood (PA) GBB HC and well traveled camp coach Mo Boykins jumps on the podcast this week to discuss a variety of different topics, including S.U.C.C.E.S.S., microbiology (???), team defense, being a strong female role model, working camps all over the country, and much more. You're going to love Coach Mo's energy and enthusiasm!!

One of the toughest jobs that we have as coaches is getting our individual players to play very well as individuals while also keeping the goals of the team at the forefront. it is a formula that is very difficult to crack, because you need both, but in many ways, these are two things that are going in opposite directions. In this pod, Tony and discuss how to find this balance, while also throwing around some trivia and our TWIB predictions (pre-Dame trade) . . . Enjoy!

Really excited to have Dave Schlabaugh, the head men's basketball coach at Cornell College (IA) on the podcast this week. Coach Schlabaugh has had a great career at both the high school and college levels, and we discuss his career, including his involvement in Snow Valley. We also discuss culture, offensive basketball and much more, so enjoy this podcast!

As we start our seasons here in a few weeks, it's very important that we make sure that our expectations for both players and parents are very clear in all areas. This week, Tony and I discuss what we have done to make sure that both the coaching staff and everyone else involved in the program are as connected as we can be. Tony has trivia, and we begin our NBA preview in our "TWIB" segment.

Casey and I are back for (unfortunately) the last ever review of "Winning Time". We break down the categories, per usual, but then discuss the show and what might have lead to its failure, both in ways that it could have controlled and the things that were out of it's control. It was a fun ride while it lasted, so enjoy Casey and I's last run with "Winning Time".

Treading off the beaten path a little bit this week with a pod with ESPN's Paul Biancardi, who has spent the better part of the last two decades examining recruiting at the grass roots level. We go through Paul's coaching career, including with Jim O'Brien, Tom Thibodeau and Rick Majerus. Along with that, we chat about modern recruiting, what can be changed to make things better and much more. Enjoy our chat!

This week, Tony and I breakdown the second half of Coach Neighbors article on "What Makes Tough Coaches"? We chat about visibility, knowing their team, your coaching staff, principles and much more! Along with that we have trivia and then an extended discussion on what USA basketball should be looking to do in 2024. Great episode!!

Casey and I are back to review the latest episode of "Winning Time", where we cover the most ground in the shortest amount of time and hit some major events in the journey of the 1980's Lakers; being swept by. the 76ers in 1983, Norm Nixon getting traded, Kareem's house burning down and more. Casey and I go through the categories, and we also identify perhaps the origins of our least favorite character, Honey. Enjoy!

This week's podcast features Kevin Janata, the head boys basketball coach at Howells-Dodge (NE). Coach Janata has built a consistent winner at Howells-Dodge, and we discuss his half-court offensive and defensive philosophy, along with coming home to coach, helping players through personal lost and tragedy and much, much more. Great discussion!

Coaching is very hard, very difficult to do, and you have to have a certain degree of toughness to make it in your career. Coach Mike Neighbors from the University of Arkansas came out with a great article on areas and circumstances where coaches need to be tough, so over the next two weeks Tony and I are going to break down that list and discuss the topics listed in Coach Neighbors's article. We also have trivia and TWIB!

Casey Hall and I are back to discuss our favorite basketball show! This week, we finally see the transition from Paul Westhead to Pat Riley, and in turn, the transformation from "The System" to "Showtime". We break down all the categories, including a great discussion on the importance of having a presence as a head coach. Enjoy!

One of the greatest compliments that someone can get is that they are consistent, and the goal of every program is to be consistently good. Tony and I discuss the things that you should be doing to "Max Out" your program on a yearly basis, from player development to "The Process". We have trivia and also our TWIB notes!

Casey Hall and I are back and ready to talk about "Winning Time" once again, and boy did we love this episode!! We break it down from start to finish, including a debate on who was more responsible for the issues for the Lakers, Magic or Westhead? Along with that, we talk a little bit about Casey's traveling exploits and much more!

It's about that time of year when Dick Jungers, my childhood friend and classmate, comes on the pod for his annual appearance, but then Dick had a great idea; why not invite on a couple of classmates? So, that's what we did! Along with Coach Jungers, we have Jay Huff, the former wrestling coach at Burlington (IA) and Ben Haugen, the baseball coach for the 2023 state champion Esko (MN) program. We had a blast taping this, discussing our great influences growing up, our careers, our goals and aspirations and then we delve into some childhood memories of growing up together. This was alot of fun for us to do, so I hope you enjoy it!

It's Tony and I's anniversary, so we interrupted our dinner at Arby's to put together this pod for everyone. Since it's our anniversary, we thought we'd bite off the big one this week and discuss what can be done to fix youth basketball, both on the floor and off the floor. In addition, we also have trivia and our TWIB segment. Enjoy the anniversary special!!!!

It's time once again for "Winning Time"!! My co-host Casey Hall and I break down the 3rd episode of the 2nd season this week, where leadership voids are being filled while others are becoming more confusing. All that, plus the Larry Bird backstory and (unfortunately) more Honey . . . enjoy the episode!!

We're really excited to have Jason Dasinger, the boys HC at Etowah (GA) high school on the pod this week. Despite the host mispronouncing "Etowah" around 35-40 times throughout the pod, we have a great discussion on a multitude of topics. We discuss his growth as a coach, the mission of his program, understanding his own weaknesses, delegating and trusting his assistant coaches, feeder programs and much more! Enjoy a great conversation with Coach Dasinger!!

For any team to be successful, it is vitally important that everyone know what is expected of them and how they fit into the team structure. It's hard to be good if roles are not clearly defined, so Tony and I break down our ideas on how we build out our roles within our programs and what you can do to apply these techniques to your program. We also have our trivia segment, along with "TWIB" notes!

I am THRILLED to announce the 1st Annual "A Pen And A Napkin" Fall Coaches Retreat for the weekend of October 14-15 in Omaha! 26 hours of non-stop coaching information coming your way, including:A live practice at the College of St. MaryPresentersDiscussion GroupsLarge group discussions where ALL attendees will participateA coaches socialListen to the pod and get signed up today!!!

"Winning Time" is back this week with its 12th episode, "The Magic Is Back" as Magic comes back from his knee injury and the Lakers try to repeat. Casey Hall and I break down the entire episode and fill in the categories, including a rant by yours truly on late game huddles at the end of basketball games and how they're portrayed in media.

We haven't used this format for a while, but this week we're back with our "Quick Hitter" format! We're excited to have the following folks on this week discussing the following topics:John Carrier on his "Communication Log" and how he keeps track of his interactions with his playersJyusef Larry discusses his unique deep dive on analytics and how he uses it to build his lineupsLinndy Frieden on his "Motivation Boards" and how it helps build his programDavid Lepisto on his offensive philosophy and how he builds it into his program at the youngest levels.

WE'RE 50!!!!!!! Hard to believe that Tony and I started this pod almost a year ago, but here we are; thank you so much for all of your support! This week, we are talking about leadership styles a.k.a. old school leadership vs. new school leadership. Included in this week's pod is a great exercise that I encourage all coaches to do. Of course, we'll have trivia and our "TWIB" segment, so enjoy!

SHOWTIME!!! Casey Hall and I are back to discuss Max's 2nd season of "Winning Time", based on the Jeff Pearlman book "Showtime". As the Lakers try to repeat from their 1980 championship, Casey and I discuss our favorite aspects of the episode, including favorite scenes, quotes, interesting characters, new characters and much more! We'll be here every Tuesday morning to discuss Sunday night's episode until the season is over!!

This week's guest is Rusty Elmore, the Men's Head Coach at Garden City Community College (KS) of the famed JayHawk Conference. Coach Elmore discusses his unique journey as a coach who started in business to his influences, the difficulties of taking over a successful program, the "Peel" defense, building a staff and much more!

Really excited to have Rex Walters, the former 1st round NBA draft pick and member of the 1993 Kansas Final Four team, on the podcast this week! Rex is now an assistant coach with the Charlotte Hornets, and we unpack his coaching career, from playing for and coaching with some of the legends of the game, to his stint at the University of San Francisco to his current job. Along with that, we discuss team defense, building a team first culture and more! Great discussion this week!

If you do this job long enough, you're going to have a player or two along your journey that, for whatever reason, you have trouble fitting into your team dynamic. This week, Tony and I break down some of the things that you should be looking for when it comes to red flags for this type of player, along with some solutions and how to address the issue to make it better for everyone. Along with that, we have trivia and our "TWIB" segments!

We had time to sneak in one more roundtable at Snow Valley this week, so I'm really happy to have Liz Kay from "The Commonwealth of Massachusetts", Ryan McAdams from Arkansas-Fort Smith and Tim Leuschen from Millard South (NE) discuss analytics, changes to practice schedules and things to consider when putting together your game schedule. Great discussion with four REALLY tired coaches!

It's always great to be at Snow Valley, and it's always great to have the opportunity to have a roundtable, so let's do both! Jeff Steines (Ames, IA), Austin Godfrey (St. Louis, MO) and the always awesome Tony Vis come together to talk giving the game back to the players, building trust in a short amount of time, being at Snow Valley and more. Enjoy!

We all want our players to get better in the summer, but how do you measure whether or not your summer was a success after it's all done? Tony and I break down a bunch of different ways to evaluate both individual and team success in the summer, along with trivia (which I nailed!), "TWIB" and some scheduling updates . . . enjoy!

This week we have one of Nebraska's best small school coaches in Traci Berg, the GBB HC at O"Neill St. Mary's. We discuss coaching at a small school with limited numbers, how to run practices with less than 10 players, offensive and defensive transition philosophy and much more. We also touch on Traci's husband's cancer diagnosis and how that has changed some of her perspectives on coaching. A great chat with one of Nebraska's best!

Former Xavier and current Miami (OH) Men's HC Travis Steele comes on the podcast this week to discuss a variety of different topics. Some of the things that Coach Steele discusses includes his progression as a Division I coach, things he learned being a young HC at the Division I level, rebuilding the Miami program, defensive transition and player development. Great discussion with one of the best young HC's in Division I!!

As we get into the thick of AAU season, we have our players, especially our seniors, really starting to think ahead for their college of choice and where they want to play. As a high school coach, there are three major things to consider; 1) What is your role as their coach? 2) What do you need to communicate to an interested college coach? and 3) What can you do to help your players get recruited? This week, Tony and I break down these three things, along with trivia and our "TWIB" segment!

Back home visiting my dad and step-mom, so I thought we'd have a road show podcast while I was back home! Really excited to have on Heather Graffing from Central Lyon, Ryan Brasser from West Lyon and Kiley Yates from South O'Brien to discuss a wide range of topics, including off-season improvement, off-season adjustments, building community support and much more!

As coaches, we often receive mixed signals from our parents about what their priorities are when it comes to what they want for their child's experience. According to Greg Berge (@gb1121), things like "Being a Positive Role Model" and "Show You Care" tops the list, while "Winning" and "Playing Time" are at the bottom. Tony and I break this down, along with trivia and "This Week In Basketball".

As we have more data available to our coaching tool box, sometimes we forget that we also have to trust our instincts and our own core beliefs. This week, Tony and I discuss how to navigate this new coaching world and what to trust, why we should trust it and how to implement it into our programs. Along with that, we have trivia and our "This Week in Basketball" segment!

The story of the 1982-83 North Carolina State men's basketball team is one of the greatest Cinderella stories ever told. In "The Film Room" this week, Tony Chapman and I break down this classic "30 for 30", from memorable moments to great quotes to the ultimate legacy of this team. Great discussion on a great basketball documentary!

I'm really excited to have on Ryan Moore, the Boys HC at Santa Clara (CA)! We discuss alot of different things in this episode including assisting at the Division I level, coaching two NFL players as high school athletes, pressure defense, transition offense and the competitiveness in southern California. Along with that, we also get some Kardashian discussions in . . . yep, you read that right! Great discussion this week with Coach Moore

One of the most important decisions that you will make as a coaching staff is your offensive philosophy. Teams have been successful with every offensive concept that the game has, but to create a consistent winner, you need to have a philosophy. This week, Tony and I break down the pros and cons of a set based philosophy vs. a continuity based offense vs. a motion offense philosophy. In addition to this, we have trivia, along with a new concept . . .

Dave Hubert from Ashland-Greenwood (NE) discusses many different things in this podcast. Included are how to get more young people into coaching, communication with parents, the differences between being at a bigger school compared to a smaller school, different roles between being an AC compared to a HC and more! Great chat with a "seasoned" Nebraska coach!

BONUS EPISODE!!! Sorry this is 24 hours late, but Tony and I wanted to share with you our observations about the NBA Finals and what we learned as we watched everything break down both positively and negatively and how this can help you build your program!

Tony and I celebrate the "Jackie Robinson" episode of "The Coaching Staff" discussing how to coach summer league and team camp games. You're not going to substitute or coach the game the same, but you will be looking for certain things, and Tony and I break down what our emphasis will be when we coach our teams this summer!

We're really excited to have on Dave Cresap, the legendary boys basketball coach at Perham (MN) who recently took over the men's program at Minnesota-Fergus Falls. We talk adjusting to a new level, networking, recruiting, building a great team camp, post game awards and much more. Terrific conversation with one of Minnesota's best!

As coaches, we are sometimes so concerned about taking care of everyone else that we forget to take care of ourselves. In this pod, Tony and I discuss all the different ways that coaches can and need to do to take care of yourself outside of the game so that you can give your program everything you have. Along with that, we discuss the NBA Finals and our predictions!

USA Basketball needed a reboot after the 2002 World Championships and the 2004 Olympic failures. "The Redeem Team", a 2022 Netflix documentary, does an outstanding job of breaking down the process of how Team USA re-found their mojo and became the world's best once again. There are SO many good things in this documentary to help you become a better coach! This one was also extra special because my daughter, Genevieve, joins us in "The Film Room" once again!!

During the summer, much of the recruiting emphasis the last couple of decades has been on player's AAU teams, but the NCAA has recently made changes to allow for a "Scholastic Viewing Period". There is one weekend (June 15-17) for GBB High School teams to be seen at various events around the country, so this week we host Nichole Dixon from Georgia, Steve Pesarski from Maryland and Andrew Curtis from Arizona to discuss their events, the changing landscape of recruiting for the high school coach, what we can do as high school coaches to help our players, and much more! Here is the website with all of the events listed nationwide for next weekend: https://www.nfhs.org/articles/approved-june-scholastic-basketball-events/

Rivalries are the best things about sports, but sometimes as a coach they can also work against you. In this podcast, Tony and I discuss coaching against not only a rival school but also a rival coach. We discuss how to handle both the positives and the negatives, how not to do things, keeping your cool and many more things. We also have trivia and discuss our predictions for the NBA finals!

This week we're excited to have on Jamie Smith, the GBB HC at Solon (IA). Coach Smith has had a long and winding basketball journey over the last 25 years, and he touches on alot of different topics on the podcast, including making his first state tournament appearance this past season, practice planning, communicating with your administration, organizing your program from the ground up and much more. Alot of great information shared by Coach Smith; enjoy!!

In celebration of the start of the NBA Finals, we have "World's Colliding" with a "Film Room" combining with the "Roundtable" format! Andy Gerlecz, Tom Krehbiel and Josh Luedtke join me in "The Film Room" to discuss the epic three part "30 For 30" highlighting the classic Boston vs. Los Angeles rivalry in the 1980s called "Best of Enemies". We go through the usual categories and discussions, then we wrap the night up with a two team draft. Alot of fun putting this one together!!