Coaching Mud

This episode features Interim Head Coach Che Jones of Phoenix College. A lot has happened since Coach Che and I first connected. For instance, he WAS the assistant at Phoenix College, but there was a lot of movement in his athletic department that has included his new title as Interim Head Coach. 

Coach Che is a Las Vegas native, but has been with Phoenix College for 7 years on the women's and men's side. 

On this episode he shares his experience as a mediocre athlete turned professional athlete, working with a dominant men's program and a growing women's program at the college level, and more! Check it out. 

Coach Che Jones can be found on Instagram @im_still_Che

This episode features Coach Mindy Eckert of Manhattan Christian College. Coach Eckert began her coaching career while she was still playing in high school. While attending the University of Saint Mary she helped coach middle school and high school basketball teams. During the summer of 2015 she took an assistant position at John Wood Community College where she stayed for 3 years. After her tenure at John Wood she helped turn around the division 3 MacMurray College Women's Basketball team. Unfortunately, MacMurray College closed their doors in May 2020. While Mac's college was very sad and brought a lot of uncertainty for many, it lead Coach Mindy to her current position at Manhattan Christian College. 

In this episode Coach E shares her journey throughout her career, rebuilding a program and having to close the doors, her first year as a college head coach during Covid-19, and more! Check it out. 

Coach Mindy Eckert can be found on twitter @MindyEckert33

This episode features me. (Odd, I know). For those that don't know me, my name is Sammy Doucette & I coach at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California. This is my 2nd year at OCC.

Earlier in November I spoke with Coach Mike Hernandez for an episode on his podcast, The Basketball Teacher Podcast. It was a really fun and free flowing conversation highlighting, specifically, the year 2020. He published it on his show on December 20th for the last episode of 2020. I'm bringing it to my show to give my listeners another opportunity to hear a conversation about a year we all have had to do some SERIOUS adjusting and learning in.

I know it's weird for me to have an episode featuring myself, but I truly just want to share the content. Check it out!!!

Coach Mike Hernandez can be found on twitter @mhgiantsfan & @BballTeacherPod

Below is the link to his podcast:

https://anchor.fm/basketballteacherpodcast

This episode features Head Coach Mike Hernandez of Metro Tech High School. He's a coach, a teacher, and the host of his podcast 'The Basketball Teacher Podcast'. He has a unique story in that he actually never played organized basketball. He needed volunteer hours and his friend asked him to coach a 6th grade team with him in order to get the necessary hours. Instantly, Coach Mike fell in love with coaching hoops. Ever since then, he's been set on being a coach! 

On this episode we discuss his journey, how he balances coaching & teaching, important lessons he hopes his players learn from him that reach far beyond just the sport of basketball, what he's learned during Covid-19, the culture of his team, his podcast, and SO MUCH MORE! Check it out!

Coach Mike Hernandez can be found on twitter @mhgiantsfan & @BballTeacherPod

Below is the link to his podcast:

https://anchor.fm/basketballteacherpodcast 

PSA ** I was on an episode of his podcast. Coach Mike Hernandez has graciously sent me the audio to the episode. It will be featured on his podcast 12/20/20 AND on mine 12/26/2020.. check it out, along with many other episodes from his podcast as well!!!**

On this episode I spoke with Coach Kevin White of the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

Coach White has 18 years of coaching experience & knew this was what he wanted to do at the age of 11!

His experience includes the high school level, the travel circuit, junior college level, and the NCAA DIII level. In addition, he was a Five Star Basketball Camp counselor for six years and is the co-founder of the Camp Darryl Basketball Academy.

In this episode he tells us about the transition from coaching at the high school level to college, mistakes made earlier in his career, the evolution of his recruiting, the importance of networking and so much more. Check it out!

Coach White can be found on twitter @COACHKQW

On this episode I chat with Coach Mario Caetano of Adams State University. Coach Mario got his start in coaching at his alma mater Northern New Mexico College, while he was still receiving his undergraduate degree. He moved up the ranks and ended up becoming the top assistant coach & assistant Athletic Director. After 5 years on staff, his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where he took some time away from college coaching. He was still involved with hoops on the AAU circuit, but worked at an elementary school & drove Uber and Lyft during his free time. Coach Mario ended up getting a call from the Northern New Mexico College Athletic Director, who offered him the Interim Head Coach position with only 8 games left in the season. That was another unique experience that Coach Mario dives into during our conversation. 

After bringing in 17 new recruits and removing the "interim" from his title, he was offered the top assistant position and recruiting coordinator title at Adams State University. He then made the decision to start a new journey at Adams State where he is currently in his first year. 

During this episode he dives into his journey in depth, explains what he has learned from 2020, advice for coaches, and so much more!

Check it out!! 

Coach Mario Caetano can be found on twitter @RioCaetano

On this episode I chat with Head Coach Danelle Bishop of Cal Poly Pomona Women's Basketball. Coach Bishop is entering her 11th season at the helm of CPP. She's led her team to six NCAA Tournament appearances, including three Sweet Sixteens (2011, 2014, 2015), two Elite Eight appearances (2011, 2014) and a Final Four (2014).  She has a win-loss record of 200-96 in 10 seasons at the helm of the CPP women's basketball program. 

Prior to leading the CPP program, she was the head coach at Cal Baptist University for 3 years. Before CBU, her first head coaching gig was at Azusa Pacific University for four years, where she was hired at 27 years old and from the get-go flourished as a coach. With 17 years of head coaching experience, Coach Bishop is 338-181, a .651 winning percentage.

In this episode I ask Coach Bishop about all of her coaching stops, what her approach to leading a college team at 27 years old, the infamous 1-3-1, coaching through Covid, and more!

Coach Bishop can be found on twitter @CPPCoachBishop

On this very special episode I chat with husband and wife; Head Coach of Mater Dei High School girl's basketball, Kevin Kiernan, and the Head Coach of Concordia University Irvine Women's Basketball team, Christine Collins-Kiernan. 

Coach Christine is entering her fourth season as Concordia University Irvine Women's Basketball's Head Coach. She inherited an unfavorable program and has done a phenomenal job at rebuilding it. She has a record of 43-40 at the helm, leading the team to a 3rd place finish in the very competitive PacWest conference and consecutive PacWest Tournament appearances. Prior to coaching at CUI, she was a division 1 assistant at Cal State University of Northridge where their staff put together the best Division 1 turnaround in the nation in 2012. She also served as an assistant coach under husband, Coach Kevin Kiernan, for several years at Mater Dei & Troy High School.

As mentioned, joining Christine on this episode is Coach Kevin Kiernan of Mater Dei High School. Coach Kevin is entering his 15th season at Mater Dei. He is no stranger to consecutive Trinity League Championships, CIF Championships, State Championships, National Championships, Coach of the Year Honors, moving players on to the 4 year level, or just flat out dominating. He is nearing 1000 career wins as a High School head coach, and will no doubt go down as one of the best to ever coach this game! 

We talk about their journeys through coaching, how their styles or philosophies have changed over time, their programs NOW, and so much more! Check it out!!

Coach Kevin Kiernan can be found on twitter @KevinkKiernan 

Coach Christine Collins-Kiernan can be found on twitter @ChrystiCollins 

This episode features Head Coach Liz Kay of Wahconah High School in Massachusetts. Her first varsity gig was at a small prep school, Stoneleigh-Burnham School, in Greenfield, MA. After 3 years, she moved over to the public realm. 

Coach Liz's career includes 2 State Championship appearances while at Coventry High School in Connecticut, and one league title, 2 Regional Championship appearances, and 2 Coach of the Year honors in Western, MA all while at Wahconah High School. 

She's also worked countless summer camps, including Snow Valley Basketball, and been a mentor for USA Basketball's 'Women in the Game'. 

On this episode she shares some of her background, mistakes she made, who she was as a newer coach versus the coach she is now, coaching during Covid-19, and so much more! Check it out! 

Coach Liz can be found on twitter @coachlk22

This episode includes Head Coach Lindsay Woolley of the University of Montana Western. Coach Lindsay has been the head coach at the UMW since 2012. He’s led his team to placing top 3 in the Frontier Conference the last three years, winning it in the 2018-2019 season, an NAIA National Championship in the same season, and appearing in the NAIA national tournament 4 times. He has an overall head coaching record of 155-99 at Montana Western and his team achieved the highest national ranking in school history at #3 in the nation.

Coach Lindsay has been named the Frontier Conference COY 3x straight, and was named the WBCA NAIA National COY in the 2018-2019 season.

On this episode he talks about lessons learned early in his career, challenges his team overcame to win a national championship, the approach to a season amidst Covid-19, and so much more. Check it out!

Coach Lindsay can be found on twitter @coachwoolleyUMW

This episode features 22 years old Connor Williams. He got his start in coaching at his alma mater, the University of West Florida, where he was a manager for the women’s basketball team. While at UWF, he was a part of a team that made it to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. 

He then became a volunteer assistant at Crestview High School from 2016-2018, and the Head JV and Freshmen coach from 2018-2020. While at Crestview, Coach Connor helped take over a losing varsity program. In his first two seasons, they had a combined record of 14-30. The following two seasons they went 39-13. At the same time, his JV and Freshmen teams went 31-7 over the last two seasons.

Coach Connor is currently the new Head Coach at Central High School, and one of the youngest head coaches, if not the youngest, in the state of Florida.

During his playing years in high school, he was a part of a State Championship, a State Runner-up run, 3 total Final Fours, 3 Regional Championships, and 6 District Championships.

On this episode he talks about his experience in all positions held, what he has learned specifically in 2020, and so much more. Check it out!!

Coach Connor can be found on twitter @coach_cwilliams

On this episode we have Head Softball Coach Crystal Rosenthal from Concordia University in Irvine, CA. She was hired in 2009 to take over a good softball program where she turned it into a great program. Some of her successes include 4 consecutive GSAC Regular Season Championships, 1 NAIA National Championship, and Opening Round Championship, was voted NAIA Coach of the Year, and also won 4 GSAC Coach of the Year honors. She holds the most wins out of any other coach in CUI history. Since becoming an NCAA div 2 program, they have dominated the PacWest conference as well & prior to their season getting cut short due to covid-19, the Eagles were nationally ranked at #8.

Coach Crystal was inducted into the Concordia Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008 for her performance as a softball player at the University. From September 2012 to March 2020 she serves as a senior women's administrator for CUI Athletics and in 2019 took over the role of deputy Title IX coordinator for the 2019-2020 school year. Most recently she was named the CUI Athletic Director. In this episode she shares what she learned in her early years at the helm, the keys to building a great program, the importance of being your true authentic self, and so much more! I don’t care what sport you coach, this is a great one for anybody!

Coach Crystal can be found on twitter @CrystalRosenth1

**My airpods were somehow used as the mic, instead of my actual mic... so sound quality isn't as good as usual but the content is prime!!!**

This episode features Coach Chris McSwain. He's entering his 8th season as the Head Coach of the Valley Christian High School Girl's Basketball Program. During his time at Valley Christian he has led his team to 2 section titles, appeared in 5 Open Division CIF-CCS playoffs, 7 straight CIF-NorCal appearances with one NorCal Runner-up placement, and he's the quickest to 100 wins and holds the most wins in school history. 

In addition to his position at Valley Christian, he is also the Director of Basketball for the K-12 Valley Christian School System, co-owner of Splash Lab, he teaches Exercise Science and Health & Human Performance, and he runs Top Flight Sports Academy. He created Top Flight Sports Academy in 2010 and it has evolved to the largest boys & girls club travel basketball program in Northern California with 40 teams in 2019. 

In this episode Coach Chris shares his journey through coaching, how his team has adjusted during Covid-19, important lessons he hopes to leave with his players, and so much more. Check it out!

Coach Chris McSwain can be found on twitter @chris_mcswain

This episode features one of my closest friends, Bridgette Reyes. She's excelled in her assistant coaching roles, and transformed every program she has been a part of as a Head Coach. Which isn't too surprising considering that she was one of the best players ever at Vanguard University (NAIA d1). Coach Bridgette began her coaching career at her alma mater, VU, after playing professionally in Portugal. She also dabbled in coaching at the NCAA D1 & NCAA D2 levels. In between her stints at the NCAA D1 &D2 levels, she became the Head Coach for Bishop Montgomery High School where in her first 2 seasons she won a CIF Championship and was named Coach of The Year! 

Bridgette is now at the helm of Cal Tech University, and has been since 2017. During her time there she has coached the most successful women's basketball team that Cal Tech has ever had!

I am so excited for everyone to listen to her story! Check it out!

On this episode I spoke with Coach Erin Carey of Long Beach Wilson High Schools. She shares her journey of inheriting a losing program with a bad culture & what it took to turn it all around. She's now a CIF Champion in her 3rd year as the Head Coach, been named Coach of the Year by 6 publications for the 2019-2020 season, and currently has the player of the year Ashley Hawkins on her roster entering her senior season. The future is bright for LB Wilson. Check it out!

Coach Erin Carey can be found on twitter @WLadybruins

This episode features Coach Marc Hart of Patriot High School in Riverside, CA. He got his first Head Coaching gig at the age of 25. In this episode he shares how his philosophies and coaching styles have changed from then to now, the culture at Patriot High School, the Baskipedia Podcast that he is the hosts, System Basketball, and so much more! Check it out!

Coach Marc Hart can be found on twitter @CoachMarcHart

Coach Jeff Depelteau is the current Head Coach at Berkshire School, a co-ed boarding school in Massachusetts. Coach Jeff is in his 2nd year at Berkshire, but 1st year as the head coach. Coach Jeff has been named the New England Prep Coach of the Year, in 2013 and 2017. He's moved young men on the the D3, D2, D1 levels, and even the NBA. He has been a part of USA men’s basketball as well as Snow Valley Basketball Camps. In 2015 he was selected as a winner of Nike’s “America’s Got Basketball Coaching Talent” contest and spoke at the Nike Championship Basketball Coaches Clinic in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. His speech, “Growing as a Coach,” was produced and marketed by Championship Productions. There’s a lot of good insight from the conversation! Check it out!

Coach Jeff can be found on twitter @CoachJDHoops

Coach Campbell is entering his 27th season as a head girls’ basketball coach and his 16th as the head coach at Clovis West. He’s won 15 straight league titles & 8 straight section titles with Clovis West. Clovis West is the only public school  to be selected for the CIF Open Division the last 7 years straight, which is the top 16 schools out about 1500+ high schools. Coach Craig Campbell has been named Coach of the Year for multiple publications 23x in his 26 years as a head coach. Lot’s of great information in this episode. Let’s roll it back!

In 2017, Clovis West won the CIF Open Division State Championship and were selected as National Champion by USA Today, MaxPreps, and ESPNW.  They defeated 9 of the top 25 teams in the nation that year and also defeated 8 McDonald’s All Americans.

Coach Craig Campbell can be found on twitter @CoachCCW

Coach Michele Rebozzi is entering year 2 as the top assistant for Life Pacific University Women's Basketball. Life is a new program in the  not so new, and highly competitive Golden State Athletic Conference. To give you an idea just how tough the GSAC is, three schools from the GSAC go to the NAIA National Tournament every single year. Coach Michele tells us about her path to coaching at the college level, LPU's approach to building a program, and her career as a physical therapist with her very own injury prevention program. Check it out!

Coach Michele can be found on twitter @CoachBozzi40

Coach Brian Agler is the winningest coach in US women's professional basketball. He has two American Basketball League Championships, two WNBA Championships with two different franchises (only coach to do that), and he even has a National Championship from his playing days at Wittenberg University. He is now the Head Coach of the WNBA's Dallas Wings where he is tasked with building yet another championship team. In this episode he tells us about his journey coaching in the WNBA, the keys to winning championships, what it's like coaching superstars like Sue Bird, Lauren Jackson, and Candace Parker (to name a few), and so much more! I absolutely love this episode!

Coach Brian Agler can be found on twitter @brian_agler

Oliver Nam is the first personal trainer to be a guest on Coaching Mud. He's worked with athletes from all levels, and business professionals from all walks of life. He's got a unique approach to training, which has led him to have a successful career. He recently opened up his own fitness studio, Thrive Training, in Irvine, California. Oliver is all about building connections with good people and team work. For his clients, he has a team of trainers, a physical therapist, registered dietician, & a yoga and manual stretch coach, on site. He aspires to provide the absolute best for his clients. I am excited for everyone to listen to this episode and hear his perspective on training and some proper strategies in doing so.

You can check out Thrive Training @ https://thrivetrainingirvine.com/

On this episode I chat with Coach Max Ethridge of the University of Nothrwestern Ohio Women's Basketball. Ohio Northwestern is an NAIA program. Coach Max has a very interesting story in that he was a football & track athlete in high school and made his way to coaching basketball shortly after. His journey is only just beginning and has so much more in store. In addition to coaching at Univ. of NW Ohio, Coach Max has been involved with Point Guard College and he is the co-creator of one of my personal favorite coaches Zoom hang outs, 'Beer & Basketball'.

You can find Max on twitter @max_ethridge

This episode features current University of Northern Colorado Assistant Coach Jana Pearson. Coach Jana was at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California prior to joining the staff at UNC. Before Vanguard University she was the assistant at Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tennessee. Both Freed and Vanguard are two of the top women's basketball programs in the country for the NAIA. Coach Jana tells us about her experience as a walk on at Harding University and how it led her to becoming a 5'8, NCAA division 1, post coach. She shares some insight on mistakes made, recruiting now vs recruiting then, and so much more. This episode is one of my favorites as Jana coached me at Vanguard University and my respect and admiration for her has grown tremendously since that time. Check it out!

Coach Jana can be found on twitter @CoachJana33

Coach Joe Rutigliano is not a coach who had his foot halfway in the door to coaching due to his college playing career. In fact, he didn't play college hoops at all. He absolutely loves basketball and when he became the manager for Canisius Women's Lacrosse team, he voiced, even then, that his goal was to make a career coaching basketball, not necessarily lacrosse. From being a lacrosse manager all the way to becoming an assistant women's basketball coach at Cornell University, we talk about his journey, what factors make getting a career in coaching so difficult & ways to break into the profession, coaching IVY league, and so much more! Check it out. 

Coach Joe Rutigliano can be found on twitter @Coach_Rutz

On this episode I spoke with Coach Lauren Coleman. She is the current Head Coach at Arnold O. Beckman High School in Irvine, California. We discussed her journey through coaching, which started very quickly after playing and graduating from Florida State University. Coach Lauren takes us through her achilles injury that happened before her sophomore season at FSU, and how she bounced back. She tells us about things she has learned as a young head coach, and what it was like helping start a program at Cal Marimar.  She even dives deep into the Black Lives Matter movement, and shares her perspective which between her and I, is the only one that matters. I'm excited to share this conversation. I believe it is one that many should tune into!

Coach Ernie graduated in 2009 and did not skip a beat. He started coaching immediately after, at the age of 18. He holds the record for the youngest coach in New Mexico State history. Currently he is a teacher & the Head Coach at Washington High School in Glendale, Arizona for the boys varsity basketball team. In this episode we discuss the struggles of coaching boys high school basketball, his involvement in USA & Snow Valley Basketball, and even the approach to addressing the Black Lives Matter movement with our teams. 

Coach Ernie can be found on twitter @CoachErnie_34

In this episode I chat with Coach Dennis Hutter. He's the Head Coach of the NAIA school, Mayville State University located in Mayville, North Dakota. He has been at the helm of their women's basketball program for the last 15 seasons. He's led the Comets to three conference championships, including “back to back” championships the past two years. In addition, they've qualified for the NAIA National Tournament three times, and even advanced to the "Sweet Sixteen" in 2014. Coach Hutter has been named the NSAA Coach of the Year twice, in 2014 and 2019. He's going to talk to us about his journey at MSU, what he's learned in the process, and how he has changed as a coach.

Coach Hutter can be found on twitter @HutterCoach

Today I spoke with 25 year old Head Coach, Karim McDonald. Coach Karim is in his second season as the head coach at Greenriver College. He started coaching at the age of 17. He's coached at the AAU, high school, and college levels. In this conversation he will share his journey through coaching and the challenges of being a young head coach. 

Coach Karim can be found on twitter @TheLegendKmac

This episode is extremely special to me, because it features my very good friend, and former college teammate, Nicole Ballestero. Nicole joined the Concordia University Irvine women's basketball program in the summer of 2017 following the completion of her master’s degree as a graduate assistant at the University of Idaho. She received her master's in movement and leisure science with an emphasis in leadership. Before Nicole went to the Potato State, she coached for one year at her alma mater, Vanguard University. Nicole competed for the Lions from 2012-2014 after transferring from the University of San Diego.  While at Vanguard, she was an All-American during both of her seasons of competition.  She was also named the GSAC and Women’s College Basketball Association NAIA Player of the Year in 2014.  Following her time at Vanguard, Ballestero played professionally in Denmark for the Aaboyhoj Greens during the 2014-2015 season. I'm so excited to have her share her experience going straight from a GA to a top assistant, the different cultures she's been a part of, and more!

Coach Nicole can be found on twitter @nkb_03

On this episode I spoke with, one the most competitive women I know, Head Coach Lisa Faulkner. She was an absolute stand out player for National Basketball Hall of Fame Coach, Brad Smith at the high school level and then for NAIA Hall of Fame, Coach Russ Davis at Vanguard University. Now she is a successful Head Coach herself. Her success began year one in the seat. This is a great episode that consists of her journey through being an assistant coach for some very tough division 1 programs including: Boston College, Northern Arizona, and the University of Denver. She explains everything she did to get through the 'mud' and how that carried over to her success as the Head Coach of her own program, and so much more! Check it out! 

Coach Lisa can be found on twitter @CoachFaulkner21

This episode features Coach Matt Lowry. Coach Matt graduated from USC in 2014 with a Major in Communications. He started his coaching career shortly after, as the Golden West Middle School Boys Basketball Assistant Coach. While coaching the boys middle school team, he became the Director of the AAU basketball team, Travis Lady Jets, in which he still leads today. In 2018 he accepted the position as the Head Junior Varsity Girl's Basketball Coach for his alma mater, Vanden High School. Coach Matt has spent a lot of time this summer on multiple coaching Zoom clinics. It's a pleasure to have him on to share his story and the challenges that may rise from coaching girl's jv basketball. 

You can find Coach Matt on twitter @MattALowry

Dr. Coach Danny Pueblos wears MANY hats. He is known as Dr. Coach because he earned his Doctorate in Sport Psychology and because he hosts his own Podcast called "The Dr. Coach Show". He is one of my Assistant Coaches at Orange Coast College where he focuses on the mental aspects of the game. He also is the Director of Mental Performance of 1 Vision Sports and Entertainment where he provides mental performance training to elite athletes and performers of all sports and levels. And finally, he is a Psychology and Sport Psychology Professor at various colleges and universities throughout Southern California. He is a huge asset to my staff, and I am super excited for him to share his journey and knowledge on this podcast. 

You can find Coach Danny on Instagram and Twitter @docpueblos

In this episode I chat with Assistant Coach Mike Janikowski of the Muskegon Community College Jayhawks. Coach Mike focuses mainly on post player development and recruiting with Jayhawks, but as all of you coaches may know, that's not all he does! Nonetheless, Coach Mike helped lead the Jayhawks to a record of 26-4 last season and a bid to the National Tournament. Unfortunately, like many other colleges seeking post season play last year, they were unable to compete due to Covid-19. This year he has 17 new incomers on his team. He's going to tell us about his journey through coaching.

You can find Coach Mike Janikowski on twitter @JanikowskiMike