This week TJ and Sam hit on an important topic for coaches which is how you confront your players and be honest with where they’re at while also creating a team culture that genuinely cares about each other. 

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Coach Micah Mills is back on the show to discuss troubleshooting your offense and player development in order to find solutions to your offensive frustrations midseason.

Show Notes:

• 3 ways to look at offensive problem solving
• "Identify the problem so we can prescribe the right medicine"
• Being a "Defensive coach"
• Balance in using Sets 
• Determining your offensive identity 
• Start with understanding how you will generate shots
• Role identification
• Giving players "freedom" on offense is overrated
• Clarity on what we are hunting 
• Getting the ball to the paint is half the battle 
• Skill Development and 18 ways to finish 
• "Why are you working on that?"
• Money actions
• What do we do best? How do we do it more?
• Timeout plays
• Be an expert on your team

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This week TJ and Sam discuss managing your roster in terms of number of players along with playing time decisions in order to limit the headaches and maximize the potential of your team.

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This week we’re talking about aspects of your program that make for a winning culture such as setting high standards, building accountability, and growing through conflict and adversity.

Show Notes:

• Intro episode
• Levels to coaching and winning
• Reality of Accountability and holding the line on standards
• Being unattached emotionally to standards 
• Standards vs Rules
• Setting the Bar
• Having a powerful WHY
• Relationships and Rebellion
• Coach mode at home
• Transformational v Transactional 
• Approach to Adversity

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Joined by special guest, Jason Peery, this week we dive into how he built a successful high school program as he shares his best practices when it comes to creating drills, teaching the game, and developing players. 

Show Notes:

• Coach Jason Peery's background
• Blood Drills
• Your motive in care is really important 
• Creating Connection 
• Clear expectations 
• Positive, negative or neutral coaching
• Coachability
• Teaching the little things 
• What basketball can learn from pickleball 
• Naming your drills 
• Mental toughness vs emotional toughness 

More about Jason Peery:

• Currently assistant varsity coach at American Heritage High School in Utah under head coach Paora Winitana. Both of us have sons on the team.
• Former Head Coach at Pinewood High School (CA)
• Consulted Stanford Men's (Johnny Dawkins) and Women's Basketball (Hall-of-Face coach Tara Vanderveer) teams in 2013-2014, installing Triangle Offense in both programs, which went to Sweet 16 and Final Four respectively that year. Article in NY Times, "Riding the Triangle to the Pinnacle"
• Coach of top Pro pickleball players, including Tyler Loong, Meghan Dizon, Etta Wright, and Alix Truong. 
• Founded the UHSPA (Utah High School Pickleball Association) with his wife Lisa, to the bring the sport of Pickleball to high schools in Utah.
• Runs various businesses and investments, including commercial real estate an angel investing group, also works with youth and young adults, including mental health initiatives.
• Founded Sportstalk.com (1999) (Acquired by ESPN, turned into ESPN Insider, now ESPN+)
• Once Bishop in LDS Church, very interested in promoting gospel throughout the world. Served 2-year mission in Brazil.

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This week TJ and Sam discuss how to start the season off right by knowing what you need out of your first practices, how to evaluate your first games, and setting up your team for success not just at the start, but throughout the season.

Show Notes:
• General Thoughts on how to prepare your team for the first game of the season
• First week of practice
• Identifying the goal
• How can you stack things
• Balance Offense and Defense
• Creating standards of practice
• Attitude and effort
• Capturing the vision of who you want to be as a team
• Cover your butt coaching
• Player Development
• Handling adversity
• Leadership
• Holes in the ceiling
• Working in 3s
• Getting the foundation right
• Learning and improving season to season

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This week we discuss the offensive and defensive implications of the 3pt line, how it affects your players and it's changed all levels of the game.

Show Notes:

• How the 3 is changing the game.
• Defensive implications
• The equalizer
• The Steph Curry effect
• Where coaching matters
• The next trend
• A coaching mistake
• Guess TJ’s favorite NBA player right now
• Value of players beyond the 3
• The hardest teams to play against 
• The risk of being 3 point heavy 
• Coaching shot quality 

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This week Graham Maxwell joins the show to discuss how coaches can win in their relationships with opponents, players, and staff and why it can be the difference maker for you this season.

Show Notes:
• Opponent relationships
• Healthy competition
• Finding middle ground
• Setting the example
• Tony Bennett example
• Staff relationships
• Who over What
• Coaching hard
• Jockeying for positions
• Being a generous listener
• Acknowledging and celebrating
• Catch them doing something good
• What hurts relationships with players
• Playing time
• Sharing the burden

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In light of Coach Tony Bennett’s recent retirement announcement, we thought we’d honor his legacy and what he’s given to the game by reposting his 2021 interview with us where he laid out his foundation as a coach and how his team bounced back to win a National Championship.

Show Notes:
• 5 Pillars / Core Values
• Getting player buy-in
• How you face adversity
• Knowing your Why
• Vulnerability & Leading by example
• Developing leaders
• Style of play & paying the price
• Becoming a great teacher
• What truly matters

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In the world of coaching and leadership we often hear phrases and mantras that serve our coaching in a positive way. And there's also statements and quotes that initial appeal to us and may even carry some truth, but if we put too much stock in them, they could also steer us in the wrong direction. Before we know it, we may end up be off course. This week TJ and Sam discuss different 'coachisms' in the form of 3 truths and 3 lies and debate what's reasonable, what's practical, and what ultimately makes sense to apply to your coaching and share with your team.

Show Notes:
• Intro to Topic
• Relationships are paramount to coaching and leadership
• Competing is the ultimate equalizer
• How you do what you do is the separator
• Winning cures everything
• Leaders are born, not made
• Talent trumps team

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This week TJ and Sam discuss the importance of practice design and share common mistakes you’ll want to avoid in your practice planning this season.

Show Notes:
• 1. Lack of preparation
• Communication and delegation + more tips
• Picking the right things to practice
• Enrolling your players
• Knowing your strengths and practices
• What to pay attention to
• 2. Distributing roles in practice
• "If you try and watch everything, you'll see nothing."
• 3. Identifying influential practice factors
• Doing your best stuff most of the time
• 4. Designing more than the 'What'
• Flow of practice
• 5. Marrying the practice plan

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