Idaho Basketball Coaching Podcast

We are fortunate to have Andy Jones on the podcast. Jones is the head coach at Timberline High School in Boise. The Timberline girls just beat rival Boise High to claim their first 5A basketball title since 2003. It’s the seventh state title for Jones, who is now just 2 titles behind the legendary Emery Roy for most titles.

We are fortunate to have Allison McNeill on the podcast. Coach McNeill is a legend when it comes to basketball coaching. After playing at the University of Oregon and short spurt overseas, McNeill coached at the college level in both Canada and the United States. She went on to coach the Canadian Women’s National Team for 16 years, which included a quarterfinals appearance in the London Olympic Games.

We are fortunate to have James Anderson on today’s podcast. Anderson is the head coach of the Lake City girls basketball team. Besides girls basketball, Anderson has also coached on the boys side and has a lot of experience with youth development. Anderson’s team just had an impressive run in the top bracket of the Tarkanian Classic this week. Lake City lost in the tournament championship game by 1 point. It was the Timberwolves first loss of the season.

We are fortunate to have Casey Wheel on this podcast. Wheel is a strength and conditioning coach at Pacific Ridge School in Carlsbad, California. I’ve had the fortune of watching Wheel talk about athletic development and have learned a lot from his presentations.He also has a great Twitter and TikTok accounts where he posts a lot of content related to athletic development.  In this episode, Wheel gives advice on how to develop athleticism — especially agility — in your program. He also shares tips on working with athletes transitioning from another sports season.

Coach Nate Hartman joins the podcast to talk about the beginning of the season and practice planning. Hartman is the head boys coach at Middleton High School. Prior to that, Coach Hartman was the varsity assistant at Idaho Falls. He helped lead the Tigers to a 4A State Title. Coach Hartman has learned the game from some of the best. He shares that basketball knowledge on his website coachnatehartman.com.

Coach Mike Winters joins the Small-Sided Coaching Development Series to discuss his new book about coaching high school basketball. Winters has more than 25 years of experience as a boys high school coach in Illinois. Winters just published a book called The Journey: Lessons from the Hardwood. Winters’ book is a blend of macro and micro aspects of coaching basketball. There are a lot of big picture lessons on leading a program, mixed with some specific details that will make you a better coach in regard to X’s and O’s. Coaches who are serious about their development should put this book on their reading list.

Trent Harrison joins the podcast to talk about the Middleton Girls Basketball Program.  In his first season as head coach, he guided the Vikings to the 4A SIC crown and an appearance in the 4A state tournament. Harrison was the assistant coach at Middleton the year before. Harrison has experience coaching boys basketball at Caldwell. He is also the JV football coach at Middleton.

Coach Ágúst Björgvinsson joins the Small-Sided Coaching Development Series to discuss basketball in Iceland. Björgvinsson is a long-time coach in Iceland who is based in Reykjavik. He is currently coaching with Iceland's U-16 mens national team and works for Valur, one of Iceland’s top clubs. Björgvinsson has coached both men’s and women’s senior teams in his career. He has also coached at several camps in the United States. This interview was conducted at Valur’s athletic complex in Reykjavik.

Garrett Hickey joins the Small-Sided Coaching Development Series to discuss player development. Hickey is the associate head coach for Fairfield Prep in Fairfield, Connecticut. He’s also the founder of #ShareTheGame🏀, a hashtag and blog that is a great resource for basketball coaches at all levels. In this episode, Hickey shares his thoughts and ideas for developing a defensive culture in your program.

Justin Wetzel joins the Small-Sided Coaching Development Series to discuss player development. Wetzel is originally from Cut Bank, Montana, and has coached at the high school, college & professional levels. Currently, Wetzel is an assistant coach for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the G-League. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach for the Wisconsin Herd. Wetzel also coached high school and college basketball in Montana and North Dakota, including a head coaching stint at Dickinson State. In this podcast, Wetzel shares some of the lessons he has learned in nearly two decades of coaching. He also defines player development and shares how he works with players to create player development plans.