Hardwood Hustle

We all know being a great communicator is essential to being a great leader and coach. Our players are always depending on us to give them the what, how, and why, in a clear and efficient manner. It's true, most also coaches assume they're good communicators. In this episode, Sam and TJ will help you take the guessing out of it and gauge where you're at with 5 tips to help you become a better communicator.To Learn more about PGC Coaching Clinics and Read & React Workshops go to PGCClinics.com

This week TJ, Sam, and Lisa dive into the state of coaching and what you can do to combat the challenges you're facing as a coach. We play an important role and have a tremendous opportunity to impact young people and influence our communities for the better. But we need to find ways to be the best version of ourselves and make sure we're on the right track personally and professionally. That's where the 3 P's come in.

This week we're joined by a special guest, Coach Bob Starkey. He's coached both men's and women's college basketball for almost 40 years and is returning this upcoming season to LSU as the associate head coach. In this episode he shares from his wealth of knowledge and experiences around coach development, specifically around teaching and motivating players and helping them reach their potential.

This week, TJ and Sam discuss how to go about improving basketball IQ on your team. For some of us, this is one of our biggest headache watching our players take bad shots, turn the ball over, and making poor decisions on both ends of the floor. In this episode we attack those frustrations with better methods for teaching the game so you can get the biggest return on investment.

This week, we're once again joined by our friend and DIII men's coach of the year, Head Coach Josh Merkel from Randolph-Macon. In the last 3 seasons they've sustained their winning ways compiling a 100-7 record. We interviewed him last spring to talk about building his program, and this year we get the inside scoop on their national championship run and how they mapped out their season from start to finish. Lots to learn in this episode about how to lead your program at a high level.

This week, Sam and Lisa discuss how a coach leads their players when it comes to development, role identification and building relationships. Mapping out the development process for your team and your players is a big step forward for coaches. In this episode we share how you can start developing plans, creating opportunities, and evaluating progress.

This week we're joined by John Leonzo to break down the Dribble Drive Motion Offense. John Leonzo is an assistant coach at Wright State and is known in the basketball world for sharing his learnings and giving back to the game. After listening you'll not only understand the Dribble Drive offense better you'll also walk away with best practices for any offensive system you run.

This week we're excited to have Greg Sheley join Sam and myself for a conversation about success at the junior college level, the one thing he wishes he would could go back and tell his younger self about hiring a staff, and how to prepare for the big games. In his 30 year career, his teams have won 5 NWACC championships and he's accumulated over 700 wins. We can't wait to have you learn from his experiences in this episode.

We're joined by Coach Matt Sayman to talk about his unique story as a player with Baylor Basketball, how he's learned perspective as a high school coach at Grapevine Christian and developed his offensive run and gun philosophy. Check out the latest release of Matt's book, The Leftovers.

This week TJ and Sam cover what coaches are doing to be successful come tournament time and what they're seeing right now from top teams specifically around in-game coaching and strategies.

This week TJ and Sam tackle 3 interesting topics in coaching right now. Starting off with the handshake lines. How should coaches approach this aspect of the game with their teams? Is it time to do without or double down?  Next they discuss how coaches develop better teams and teammates. With the emphasis on individualism, we need the ability to get outside of ourselves more than ever. And lastly, love him or hate him, hear what TJ and Sam think about Coach K's career and impact on the game.

In this episode we're joined by Patrick Touhey, president at Elite Performance Too – E, and author of Create Forever Teammates. Patrick mentors both coaches and players to help them reach their potential, combat unnecessary adult interventions, and bring back the enjoyment in sports experiences that too often is missing. In this episode and in his book, Patrick gives coaches ideas and strategies to create a positive sports environment and change the tide in our sports culture.Check out the book and the website: https://eliteperformancetoo-e.com

Knowing that the use of the shot clock isn't universal in basketball, TJ and Sam share why it’s beneficial and how coaches can think about their tactics in this area. They touch on defaulting to a late ball screen, changing defenses, and how to use the clock to their advantage.

Today we're joined by Lee Taft who shares with us what he's learned in his 30 years of developing athletes.  He's spent much of this time teaching his multi-directional speed methods to elite athletes and top performance coaches all over the world. As basketball coaches, when it comes to defensive stance, lateral movements, speed, and agility, how do we know if what we're teaching is helping or hurting?  Known as the 'Speed Guy' Lee  shares his expertise on the podcast to help coaches make sure they're on the right track when it comes to coaching their players in this crucial area.Check out Lee's website: LeeTaft.com

Today we're joined by one of PGC's own and current high school coach, George Ellis. George shares what he learned from coaching with a Living Legend, Coach Larry McKenzie at Minneapolis North High School, winning a state championship in 2016 and how he's able to apply the best learnings to his own coaching. We cover a coach's growth mindset, setting player standards, and getting players to commit to their goals.George is also a director with PGC Basketball leading initiatives to partner with like-minded organizations and help provide access for under resourced athletes and communities to positive basketball experiences such as PGC camps and more.

This week we mix an Xs and Os discussion of what coaches choose to run offensively with how we can maximize player buy-in and enroll them in what we're doing. Of course there's not a one size fits all approach, but there are some key considerations and questions coaches should be asking themselves all season long.

There are times in coaching where you feel like you've done everything you can, and you just can't get a win. If you haven't been there yet, you probably just haven't coached long enough. In this episode, TJ, Sam and former hardwood Hustle Host, Adam Bradley from Lead'em Up, talk about how coaches can approach this challenge and breathe life into their programs.

It's a little cliché, but it's also a real challenge for coaches to keep perspective during the season and to not only trust the process, but to also enjoy it. Dive into this episode to hear how you can stay the course and reap the benefits of that commitment.

This week the team discusses Dean Pees, Defensive Coordinator for the Atlanta Falcon's sound bite about paying your dues in coaching. It's a reminder that we're in the people business and we might not all climb the ladder the same way. Hear in this episode how you can double check yourself along your coaching career and ensure you're climbing the right ladder for you.

It's typically easier for us as coaches to identify the big ticket items we want our teams to improve in, but we also know it's the little things invested in over time that will become the ultimate difference makers. With experience, coaches can improve their diagnosing and prescribing skills and take big steps forward in their coaching. This week TJ and Sam discuss how you can can best identify the small daily wins that will lead to biggest payoffs for your team.