Hardwood Hustle

This week we’re joined by Head Coach Tracy Mason, formerly Tracy Sanders. She has a long list of accolades as a player and coach, most recently this past season, in her fifth season as a head coach at Southern Utah her team won the regular season WAC title, and the WAC Tournament Championship. In this episode we discuss turning around a program, building accountability and competitiveness, and helping your players perform at their best. Show Notes:• Coach Tracy Mason's journey into coaching• Building accountability through structure and team buy-in• Developing a competitive edge and changing a loser culture• Listen, Be on time, No drama• Developing leaders• Finding what motivates individual players• Basketball family culture• Empowering Your Staff• Managing Expectations - First 5 minutes• Off the court challenges• Best Advice for coaches• Rapid fire tips on Leadership, Culture , Player Dev., Systems & Strategies, and TeachingMore on Coach Mason:As a head coach, Tracy Mason (Sanders) has led her team

This week TJ and Sam discuss what’s overrated and underrated in coaching. They cover off spending time on strategies and tactics as well as the intangibles. With limited time, this episode will help you find your biggest return on investment next season. Show Notes:ConnectionRole IdentificationCoach  Clarity and VisionPlayer UnderstandingPlayer AcceptanceHow you Communicate itHard ConversationsSystems & StrategiesScouting Report & what you should do insteadBall ControlThe Value of ReboundingSpecial TeamsFree Throw ReboundingPractice PreparationGame AdjustmentsPlayer DevelopmentPregame SpeechesCommunication

Coaches are always looking for creative ways to get their message across to their athletes. This week, Sam and TJ talk to Dylan Kurt who’s written a book from an athlete's perspective on how athletes can bring more value to their teams. It's titled, Stats Don’t Tell the Whole Story. As an athlete, Dylan realized how easy it was to get caught up in tracked stats and miss his true value, impact. In this episode they discuss how an athlete can understand and increase their value and how coaches can emphasize what they're looking for from their athletes and build up their team culture.Join the PGC Coaching Team for their next 'Track' at PGCCoaching.com

This week, Sam and TJ talk about player problems. It’s something every leader faces, and very pronounced for coaches season after season leading young men and women. Whether it’s playing time, buying into individual roles, or following team rules, coaches need to know what to prepare for and how to get ahead of it. TJ and Sam discuss how to approach potential issues and stay ahead so your season stays on track.

This week, TJ and Sam discuss Pack Line Defense with Head Coach Jim Boone. Coach Boone has almost 40 seasons of head coaching experience with over 600 wins. During his career, Boone’s teams have won eight conference championships, five tournament titles and have made 12 postseason NCAA appearances. His expertise has been in rebuilding programs, creating a winning culture, and teaching and implementing the Pack Line Defense, in this episode he shares about all three.Join the PGC Coaching Team for their next 'Track' at PGCCoaching.com

This week, the Hardwood Hustle team reflects on past learnings and present applications - sharing how the podcast has evolved and the listening coaching community has grown through the years.

This week, we’re joined by Coach Cody Anderson, former Division I assistant coach and now head coach at Morgan County High School. In this episode, they discuss the differences of coaching at the high school and college levels and things coaches should consider when leading and building a program.Show Notes: • Coaching High School v. College• Meeting the goals of different players• Doing things first class• Casting a vision• Treating players differently• Goal related standards and accountability• Taking ownership of your role• Loving what you're doing• Talking about what matters• Evaluating balance year to year• Putting your time in the right placesAbout Coach Cody Anderson:Cody Anderson was named the Head Men's Basketball coach at Morgan County High School in July of 2022.  He and his wife, Gabby Anderson, reside in Madison with their two dogs, Baylor and Georgia.  They welcomed their first child, Nash Tyler Anderson,  in January of 2023.Prior to Morgan County, Anderson spent 9 of the last 11 years

This week, we're joined by Angie Sun, Director of the Northwest Select basketball club in Portland OR. She’s trained and coached youth through Power 5 level collegiate players for the last 16 years and on this episode we discuss many facets of the player development and club/travel ball world. Show Notes:• Skill Acquisition – Perception-Action Coupling– Learning how to solve the problem• Using guided defense, live scenarios, and games right away in practice• Coaching your coaches• Practicing ugly• Investing in the process• Evaluating your practices– Identifying objectives• Building accountability in practice• Using former player experiences• Coaches getting in the way• Developing Leaders and Followers• Empowering your players

This week, TJ and Sam share some coaching wisdom from legendary coach and Hall of Famer, George Raveling discussing various quotes of his on leadership, growth, perspective, and more.Learn more from Coach George Raveling at http://coachgeorgeraveling.com/Learn more about PGC Coaching and "Tracks" at https://coach.pgcbasketball.com/

Bob Starkey joins once again this week to discuss opponent scouting. Spurred on by a recent twitter storm from Coach Starkey, we discuss how to approach scouts, use film, and communicate clearly to ensure your scouts are giving your team an advantage next season. Show Notes:• Watch the whole game• Concepts over patterns• Cutting the head off the snake• How to use video• Scouting to impress• Personnel   - Prioritize   - Slow feet don't eat   - Getting your message across• Start scouting defense work in preseason• Timeline of prep example• Make them a bad passing team• Making adjustments• Emphasizing Terminology• Book Mentioned: Football Scouting Methods by Steve Belichick• Up 3 - Foul or Don't Foul?• Identifying Substitution Patterns and Opportunities• Reviewing how team's scouted your team• Knowing your own team• Getting another coach's scout on your team• It takes what it takes

This week, Bob Starkey, Associate Head Coach for LSU Women's Basketball joins us again for the first of two episodes. In this episode Coach Starkey shares what he's learned from Head Coach, Kim Mulkey , what they focused on strategically, and what they did every day in practice en route to their national championship.PGCCoaching.com.

This week, TJ and Sam are joined once again by PGC Director and now professional pickleballer, Kyle Koszuta to talk player development. With examples and applications in basketball and pickleball, they discuss strategies coaches can take back to their teams. 

This week, TJ and Sam tackle whether there's room for trash talk in the game of basketball. The distinguish the difference between it being used to promote the team or the individual and discuss how coaches can help players navigate today’s culture and competitive environment while keeping everyone focused on the team.

It’s easy to see the challenges, issues, and uphill battles for coaches trying to build a great team environment. This week, TJ and Sam share what leaders need to consider when building a transformational culture. They hit on topics such as creating buy-in, winning over everything,  outside influences, and living it out daily.

This week, we discuss what it means to have no excuses as a coach and focus on nothing else this off-season except getting better by finding creative solutions to your problems and overcoming any obstacle you may encounter in coaching.

This week, TJ and Sam discuss recent March Madness events and coaching strategies. In this episode they cover off rebounding, 3 pt shooting, game pressure, style of play, and what wins come tournament time.Show Notes:ReboundingIs boxing out overratedNot all rebounders are created equalPersonnelMake it an all the time thingGame Pressure & 3 pt ShootingWhat lowers a team's percentageGetting ahead of itAttacking the momentStyle of Play & What WinsTournament v. Regular SeasonBeing a Tournament Team

This week, we discuss what’s next when your season has just ended including where to start your post season evaluations and how to have the right conversations to move your program forward.

This week, we’re joined by Craig Nickel, PGC Director of Basketball Development. As a coach and now leading PGC Director team, Craig shares insights into how coaches and players can grow this off-season in developing player decision-making, leadership, and more. 

This week, we have a conversation with Mark Jarram, former college and professional basketball coach, and now Head of Coaching and Performance Development at Loughborough University. In this episode we discuss 4 areas of opportunity to help coaches reach their potential.Developing a Growth Mindset Curiosity, Open-Mindedness and Hunger for GrowthBeing Brave - Finding Things that FitSo What? - Now What? Doing something about it- Exposing yourself to new perspectives, environments, and ways of doing thingsAvoiding the Comparison ConflictPressures of WinningMeasuring Against PotentialLetting Things Pass Through YouCreating an Environment Where People Can Do Their Best WorkGratitudeSeeking and Sharing Clarity - Creating AlignmentPower of PurposeAnswering: How Do You Know?Building Self-AwarenessHow We Build ItAsking the Right QuestionsGetting Feedback  About Mark Jarram:Mark Jarram qualified in Sports Coaching Science at University of Worcester.  Then began his coaching career,  spending three years in the United S

Coaching changes happen every season. This week, TJ and Sam discuss how you should go about evaluating where you’re at and whether or not a coaching move is right for you. Some topics in this episode include:Self evaluationIs the grass greener? – Dealing with problems in your programShould you keep coachingMaking your job betterProtecting Your Joy and Shutting out the noiseReasons to look for another jobKnowing who you areThe Interview process