I'll start

What are some ways the coaches impact the culture of their team, school and community?

I had a coach in the community ask me a great question about what was my pre-game routine. So I wanted to ask you guys if you had any advice as well on an effective pre game routine to prepare you for the game? It could be physical, mental, spiritual, healthy habits... The question I got was focused more on how to get in the right state of mind & spiritually how did I prepare. So before I got in-depth on all those things let me share with you how I prepared my mind & spirit on game days. GAME DAY PREP (Spiritually): -My morning routine for an evening tip off involved breakfast & then a time I got away 30-60 mins in a quiet place to read the Bible & pray. This is important because I took this into the game, here's what I did. I would read 2-3 chapters in the Bible. I would pray & give that game over to the Lord. This always took the pressure off of me, I view basketball as a form of worship. I believe anytime we're using our talent or gifts God has given us it can be used in a way to honor God & worship. -Next I would pick 1 verse that I read in the Bible that really spoke to me. I'd write it down on a small slip of paper & memorize that throughout the day so I had it locked into my mind/spirit by game time. -I would put that paper into my sock before the game. It did something amazing for me because anytime I felt pressure, stress, worry, anxiousness, etc I would just reach down & touch my sock & it would remind me that God is with me & I'm worshipping him through anything that happens. It always brought me great peace, once I started doing this routine it took away much of my anxiety & stress I had leading up to games & playing in pressure situations. I truly believe that is why I hit multiple game winning shots in college/overseas because I felt no pressure & had given up every game I played to the Lord. I'm sure some may disagree with me but this was my pre game routine that worked for me. One of my primary goals with the game of basketball was to use it as a platform to point to Jesus.

What did you think was important as a younger athlete? —> Personally, I always wanted a fun environment. —> I wanted to make friends and build friendships. The social aspect of being on a team is huge for kids. —> It has always been important for me to be exposed to a challenging and competitive environment. —> I appreciated a fun and fresh environment to support my interests and curiosities of the sport. —> I wanted to learn stuff! It was extremely important that I liked my coaches. Kids don’t learn from someone they don’t like and respect as a coach/teacher. —> As a kid, I wanted to know and feel that my coach cared about me as a person.

I recently posted a couple reels on IG/Tiktok called "MY COLLEGE BASKETBALL ALL AMERICAN BLUEPRINT". It picked up a lot of steam so I thought I'd outline it here in a post & then create a whole course with the in depth details, drill & reps breakdown & step by step guide to exactly what I did for the 6 months leading into my jr season. My Soph college season I had a good one, I was the starting guard & avg 15ppg but did not get named to the All-Conference team (which disappointed me). So I was highly motivated to improve & our other All-American guard was graduating so my coach wanted me to play point guard full time & told me I had the keys to run this team. I felt that pressure & here is quick outline of what I did from April-Oct. 3 Phases, 2 months each: Phase 1 (April/May)- After the season ended around March 1 I took about a month break. During this phase I began a heavy lifting program to build up my foundational strength. Lots of Olympic lifts (Squats, deadlifts, bench, clings, etc). No that much cardio or speed/agility work yet. My goal was to build strength for 8 weeks going into the "Jump Attack" program I was starting at the end of May. For on court, it's Important to note here for most small colleges they bring in recruits at this time to play pickup games. I did not play any pickup basketball, I wanted to hone in on my specific skill set so I just got up tons of shoot reps & lots ball handling drills. I wanted to push my handle further than I ever had before knowing I would be the full time point guard next season. Phase 2 (June/July)- I had to get a full time job on campus as the garbage man! Tough gig but I'm a married broke college student so I adjusted to it. My work schedule was Mon-Fri 8am-4pm on campus & we lived in campus apartments next to our gym. So I had almost no travel time riding a bike around campus. I did 2 a day training before & after work. 6am-7:30am I did my hardest workouts because I knew my energy would be gone after 8hrs of picking up trash & cleaning toilets. I did my weight room & Jump attack program at 6am. After work I'd come home to eat, take a quick nap & get back up to the gym at night around 6:30p for my on court skills work for another 1.5hr. At night I focused a lot on stretching & mobility in my hips. I saw huge gains during this phase in my athleticism.