On this episode, we go Beyond The Whistle with Matt Johnson, Director of Men’s Basketball Strength and Conditioning at Butler University. Matt and I discuss: The role of the strength and conditioning coach during the COVID-19 pandemic Using Instagram to connect with athletes during this time The focus on coaching player’s lifestyle - sleep and nutr…

We're going Beyond The Whistle with the first Coaches Roundtable. Our roundtablers are Kevin Sutton, Assistant Coach at Rhode Island and Randolph Childress, Associate Head Coach at Wake Forest. This was the most fun I have had as a podcaster. It's a conversation amongst friends about our high school coach, mentorship, fatherhood, leadership, COVID-…

On this episode, we go Beyond The Whistle with George Lynch. I go back with George all the way to high school, where we both played for legendary coach Stu Vetter and nationally ranked teams at Flint Hill School in Virginia. George was a member of the 1993 University of North Carolina NCAA national championship team. George played 12 years in the N…

On this episode, we go Beyond The Whistle with Dan Tudor of Tudor Collegiate Strategies. Dan and his firm develop research-based recruiting strategies for programs in all sports, at all levels of collegiate athletics. Dan joins me for a third appearance on the podcast to discuss: Challenges coaches first faced recruiting during the COVID-19 pandemi…

On this episode, we go Beyond The Whistle with Kyle Adams, Associate Head Women's Basketball Coach at the University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff. Kyle also has his own consulting firm, It's Bigger Than The Ball, where Kyle works with coaches, educators and organizations to provide transformative learning experiences for the next generation of leaders. …

I'm back! It's been over a year since I last recorded an episode. I was already planning to record today (January 26th, 2020) when the world was struck by the news of the tragic death of Kobe Bryant. My plan was to explain how life had gotten in the way the past year and reasons why I had not published an episode. But in thinking about Kobe, I coul…

Have you thought about having your own podcast? This episode of Beyond The Whistle is all about the power a podcast of your own can have as the foundation of your personal brand. With a podcast, you have your own coach’s show. Think about that. Regardless of where you are in your coaching career or the level of your program, you can create a platfo…

Personal brand. What does that mean to you? What's the value of having a personal brand? Have you struggled to create your personal brand? Ron McKeefery is an internationally recognized leader in strength and conditioning coaching. Currently the Vice President of Performance and Education for PLAE, a leader in sports and performance flooring, Ron s…

I'm honored to have as a return guest to Beyond The Whistle, my friend Kevin Sutton, Assistant Men's Basketball Coach at the University of Rhode Island. Kevin was my very first interview guest, appearing in episode two, "Persistence on the Coaching Career Path". In that episode, Kevin shared his career journey and how he has woven a path from coach…

It was a personal honor to have as my guest on this episode, Tom McMillen, President and CEO of Lead1 Association. As a kid growing up in Washington, DC, I had two dreams: 1) to play in the NBA and 2) to be President of the United States. I like to think I came a little close, having played basketball in college, worked for a U.S. Congressman and s…

One of my goals with the podcast is to bring coaches tools, resources and stories from other coaches that you can use in your own professional development. This episode of Beyond The Whistle accomplishes just that. In this impactful episode with Khadija Head, Associate Head Coach of women’s basketball at Kennesaw State, we discuss: The importance o…

I have a confession to make. I am the last person to subscribe to Netflix (at least it feels that way). I was getting ready for a family spring break trip. When traveling with our son, the question at night is always, "what are we going to do?". Not wanting to spend the exorbitant cost of pay-per-view movies at the hotel, I decided it was time to s…

In part one of Take Control of Your Recruiting Process with Dan Tudor, we discussed what prospects are looking for in communications from you and how you can take control of the recruiting process in a way that helps guide your prospects to a decision. In this episode, Part Two with Dan, we discuss the campus visit phase of recruiting. What does yo…

I first met Romone Penny at the barbershop we both go to here in Washington, DC. At the time, Romone was a senior on the American University basketball team. His team had just come off an appearance in the 2008 NCAA tournament and Romone was doing great work giving back to his community in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota. After graduating fr…

The 2017 National Letter of Intent November early signing period recently concluded. This year, college football will have its first early signing period, from December 20th to the 22nd. Have you ever asked why do we have National Letter of Intent signing dates in college sports? What's so magical about these dates? What if we didn't have signing p…

On September 26th, the college sports world was rocked by an F.B.I. investigation of college basketball, which lead to the arrests of 10 people, including four assistant coaches and two Adidas executives. The fallout has also included the firing of Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino by the University of Louisville. And this is just the beginning. On th…

How do you control your recruiting process? Do you even have a process? My guest on this episode is Dan Tudor of Tudor Collegiate Strategies. Dan has done an amazing job of taking professional selling processes, skills and tactics and has applied them to athlete recruiting. Dan shares what recruits and parents are looking for during the process, ho…

Rising Coaches Elite 2017 I recently had the opportunity to speak at the 8th Annual Rising Coaches Elite 2017 Conference. Rising Coaches Elite is an annual conference that provides professional development for basketball coaches, primarily just starting in their careers. Most of the attendees are graduate assistants, directors of basketball operati…

It's July, which means we are in the college basketball summer evaluation period. Coaches will travel throughout the country evaluating high school players at AAU tournaments, camps and summer leagues. As a college coach, just as you are looking for high school players that stand out as prospects for your program, the summer is also perhaps the bes…

During the most recent “coaching carousel” of college basketball, I had the opportunity to work with a few coaches on their resumes. There is one mistake I see on coaching resumes and if you're has this, you can fix it right now. The number one mistake I see on resumes - of all professions, not just coaching - is writing the resume as a job descrip…

On this episode of the podcast I chat with Manny Anekal, Founder and CEO of The Next Level, which covers the business of eSports and owner of eSports team Versus Sports. Manny is THE guy to discuss what’s happening in the world of eSports. If eSports is new to you, Manny gives a great, quick eSports 101. He and I also discuss the NBA’s investment i…

It’s not often that you find a professional who has served in most of the roles that make up their field of specialization. Brian Stanchak has been a Division I basketball coach, collegiate Director of Athletics and now a sports agent specializing in representing college basketball coaches - which makes him not only a rare person in the realm of co…

My guest today is my friend Ralph Reiff, Executive Director of St. Vincent Sports Performance. Ralph started his sports medicine career as athletic trainer for Butler University where he managed the athlete health care, weight room and equipment for all sports. He also developed the athletic trainer curriculum at Butler. During his tenure at Butler…

The coaching career path is often thought of as linear. You start out in one role, you move into another, and each serves as a stepping stone to the next, more advanced position. But University of Pittsburgh assistant basketball coach Kevin Sutton’s career path has not followed a linear path at all. I want to start the Beyond the Whistle podcast by…

I have a confession to make. I’m a recovering sports agent. And that’s the thing I believe is going to make this show worth listening to. My name is Odell McCants, the host of Beyond The Whistle - and I want to sincerely thank you for checking out this debut episode of this podcast. I know you have lots of options when it comes to how you spend you…