EP 76 - Perry Watson, Hall of Fame Head Coach, Detroit Southwestern High School & Detroit Mercy

This is officially the conclusion of Season #1 of the “Tell Me Your Story, Coach” Podcast. I appreciate everyone listening. Hopefully, we helped some young coaches learn and grow. In Episode #1, I said the goal was to talk to 100 Coaches. We accomplished this goal! My parents always told me to finish what I had started. And I thought it was imperative that my 7-year-old son, JJ, saw this example firsthand. I am unsure how and when and, honestly if ever, Season 2 will happen. The past 18 months have been super fun but also very challenging. Creating a weekly podcast takes hours upon hours of work. I can’t thank my wife, Liz, for her support- Enough! This podcast has been, indeed, a labor of love. I was unsure, before this podcast, that I ever helped a coach grow. That is, if I ever gave back to the coaching industry. I am proud to say that I can now sleep at night, knowing that I gave back to the coaching industry. Finally, and most importantly, I want to thank all 100 coaches who took time out of their busy schedules and trusted me to tell their coaching stories. I will be eternally grateful. 

Coach Elyse Schlump,
Today we are talking to Coach Elyse Schlump. Coach Elyse is currently the Head Coach at Concordia University. This season marks Coach Elyse’s first season as the Head Coach. She was hired as the Head Coach on July 1st. And, if you follow the WHAC, Coach has her team right in the mix in a highly challenging NAIA Women’s Basketball Conference. Coach Schlump played for and graduated from Concordia. As a player, she was a key team member who made a first-ever NAIA D2 National Tournament Appearance in 2011. So, Concordia is indeed home to her! Coach Elyse returns to Concordia after four seasons as the Director of Basketball Operations at Marist College. And, before her position at Marist, Coach Schlump was the Associate Head Coach at Skidmore College for five seasons. In this conversation, you will hear Coach Elyse discuss the impact her Dad, Dave, made on her coaching career. It is a tremendous tribute. In addition, wait to hear coach talk about her balancing challenging her players and being their best Cheerleader too. It is an excellent perspective into what makes Coach so successful.

Follow Coach Elyse Schlump @CoachSchlump

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Coach Jon Tropf,
Today we are talking to Coach Jon Tropf. Coach Tropf is currently an assistant coach for Head Coach Neal Young At Ohio Northern University. Coach Jon arrived at Ohio Northern after spending the past eight seasons at Goshen, including the previous five as their head coach. At Goshen, Coach Jon’s  2017-18 team led the Crossroads League in scoring with 84.9 points per game, the most in program history. In addition, this is Coach Jon’s second tenure with Coach Neal. Coach Jon was an assistant coach with Coach Neal from 2015 to 2017 at Goshen. Before Goshen, Coach Jon was a Graduate Assistant Coach for Head Coach Greg Kampe at Oakland University. And, before Oakland, Coach Jon graduated from Eastern Michigan University. While at EMU, Coach Jon spent four years as a men's basketball manager, including three as the head manager. I had the opportunity to spend one season with Coach Jon at EMU. I have always been so proud to see Coach Jon’s career take off. To see Coach Jon be a head coach at Goshen was a tremendous moment of great pride. And, this conversation is again so special. Coach Jon is not only a high-level coach but a wonderful husband and father. It is my pleasure to share his coaching story.

Follow Coach Jon Tropf @JonTropf 

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Coach Will Delgado, 
Today we are talking to Coach Will Delgado. Coach Will is the Head Coach of the Men’s team at Washtenaw Community College, where he’s been the Head Coach since 2017. In his first year, Coach Will was the Women’s Head Coach. The following year, he transitioned to lead the Men’s program. In addition, Coach Will works as a Sales Manager for Marriott Hotels. There is a good chance that if you are traveling to the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area with your college basketball team, then there is a high chance that Coach Will has played a part in making your team feel as comfortable as possible. He is also an active member of the Latino Association of Basketball Coaches (LABC). As you soon will find out, this is a podcast about perseverance and following a passion. From Minnesota, California, Texas, Kentucky, New Mexico, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska and to Michigan, Coach Will has been passionate about three things in his life: his family, the game of basketball, and growing as a coach. Trust me, this is an inspiring story about a coach who has never stopped dreaming about being a coach. Massive Respect to Coach Will Delgado and his story. And, incredible respect to Coach Will for being a big time husband to his wife, Holly and his three incredible children: Santiago, Max, and AJ.  

Follow Coach Will Delgado @TheCoachDelgado
Follow The Latino Association of Basketball Coaches @LABCBasketball
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Coach Kevin Mondro,
Today we are talking to Coach Kevin Mondro, currently the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Cleary University. Everyone knows Coach Mondro as Coach Dro. As you soon will hear, Coach Dro has a special interviewer - his son, JJ Mondro. This is a pretty fun conversation. JJ might have a future in the broadcasting Industry!  Happy holidays from the Mondro family! Wishing you and you family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Keep growing as a Coach. And, thank you for listening to the Tell Me Your Story, Coach podcast. 

Follow Kevin Mondro @KevinMondro
Follow Cleary WBB Basketball @ClearyUWBB
Follow Tell Me Your Story Coach @CoachKevinDro

Coach Darren Sorenson,
Today we are talking to Coach Darren Sorenson. Coach Darren is currently the assistant director for the Army A Club at the United States Military Academy. In addition, Coach Darren is the Vice President at Superior Sports Management. Coach Darren plays a massive role in annually building one of the bigger college basketball MTE’s - the Jersey Mike’s Jamaica Classic. As you will learn, even though Coach Darren has not been on a college coaching sideline for the past seven seasons, this coach is indeed still coaching at a high level! After an incredible college coaching career, stops at Oakland University, the University of Arkansas, the University of South Florida, Jacksonville State University, Georgia State University, and UCLA, Coach Darren decided seven years ago that his family was his number one priority. And, his story is an inspiring one. And if you are a coach who is not currently in college, you are going to hear how Coach Darren is still making an impact in the industry and utilizing his coaching skills in his professional work. He is also going to give countless tips and advice to young coaches. He is an open book and his real life experiences are going to resonate with a young coach. And, wait until you hear Coach Darren talk about his coaching resume. Darren Sorenson is a tremendous coach, a great family man, a people person, and a high-quality person. It was my pleasure to tell his coaching story.

Follow Darren Sorenson @CoachDSorenson

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Rashad Phillips,
Today we are talking to Rashad Phillips. Rashad Phillips is the author of the book: The Evolution is Being Televised. Rashad breaks down how the evolution of basketball has called for updated terminology for player positions. He gives you fascinating personal stories of NBA and college players, explaining where they belong in his new positions metric. And Rashad’s new positions metric provides an innovative tool to aid coaches, scouts, evaluators from all levels in identifying players for drafting, recruiting, and roster placement. I had the opportunity to have a front-row seat to Rashad Phillips's incredible college career at the University of Detroit. Rashad scored 2,319 points over his amazing career playing for Coach Perry Watson. With the Titans, Rashad is a two-time Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Year (2000 & 2001). He received the 2001 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as the leading player in the nation, standing six-feet-tall and under. Rashad was also a 2001 Honorable Mention All-American. Rashad was part of terrific teams that defeated St. John’s and UCLA in the NCAA Tournament. Rashad was teammates with current New Orleans Pelican Coach Wille Green. After college, Rashad played seven years professionally - with stops in Australia, France, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. 

 Follow Rashad Phillips @RP3natural 

 To Purchase The Evolution is Being Televised: https://www.sportstalk2319.com 

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Coach Chad O’Donnell, 
Today we are talking to Coach Chad O’Donnell. Coach Chad is the Founder and Director of Capital Elite Agency. I met Coach Chad when he was the Associate Head Coach for Coach Will Brown at Albany. At Albany, he helped the program win five America East Championships and thus, five NCAA Tournament appearances. And, I was instantly impressed -talk about a young coach who could flat out recruit! Coach Chad spent over 20 years as assistant basketball college coach at Bryant University, Holy Cross College, the College of Charleston, University of New Hampshire, Robert Morris University, and the University at Albany. As you soon will hear, Coach Chad attended Springfield College in Massachusetts and broke into coaching as an undergraduate. He was hired in his senior year of college as an assistant at Worcester State College. After transitioning out of college coaching, Coach Chad created his own agency to assist coaches. His goal six years ago was to help promote, advise, and prepare coaches to advance in their careers.  Capital Elite currently has over 80 clients at all different levels of college basketball. if you are looking for high-level thoughts on creating your own resume and preparing for your next interview, this is a MUST Listen. 

Follow Coach Chad O’Donnell  @chadeodonnell @CapEliteAgency
Contact Coach Chad O’Donnell –  chad@capitaleliteagency.com

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Coach Steven Hawkins,
Today we are talking to Coach Steve Hawkins. Coach Steve Hawkins is currently the Head Coach of Quincy University. This is his second tenure as the Head Coach of this incredible Division II basketball program. Many people know Coach Steve Hawkins simply as Coach Hawk. Coach Hawk is returning to Quincy after an amazing run as the Head Basketball Coach at Western Michigan University from 2003 to 2020. During Hawkins's tenure at WMU, Coach Hawk led his teams to 291 wins. He took the Broncos to seven 20-win seasons and made two appearances in the NCAA Division I tournament. Born and raised in California, Coach Hawk graduated from the University of South Alabama. In his first tenure at Quincy from 1990 to 2000, Coach Hawk led this team to 137 wins and three NCAA Division II tournament appearances. As you soon will hear, Coach Hawk is simply a tremendous leader. His thoughts on creating real relationships with his players and staff are a must-listen. Finally, at the end of the podcast, Coach Hawk will passionately discuss his thoughts on balance and loyalty. If you are a young coach, get your notebook ready! 

Follow Coach Steve Hawkins @Coach_Hawk_WMU

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Coach Kevin Hickey,
Today we are talking to Coach Kevin Hickey. Coach Hickey is currently an assistant coach for Coach Scott Sorenson at Northland College. Coach Sorenson has been the leader of this D3 college in Wisconsin for the past 11 seasons. I met Coach Kevin during my last year working for Coach Rob Murphy at Eastern Michigan. I was blown away with his story. As we all know, life happens. And, Kevin is a great example of this. He started his college education at Bowling Green University. At BG, Coach Kevin was both a student assistant coach and video coordinator for Coach Louis Orr. Life happened and Coach Kevin left college to tend to his mother, who was having some health issues. In the meantime, Coach Kevin would then go to work for Coach Jimmy Reddy at Canton High School. Coach Kevin would assist Coach Reddy and coach the freshman and JV teams at Canton. Making the decision to return to college, Kevin enrolled at Eastern Michigan. He finished his degree as a student assistant coach with the EMU Men’s program. After graduating from EMU, Coach Kevin was hired by Coach Ricky Yahn at Concordia University. After gaining incredible experience working for Coach Ricky, he was hired by Coach Scott this past summer. Coach Kevin is in year one with the Northland College men’s basketball program. If you are a coach, who has been told numerous times that you can’t be a college coach - for numerous reasons - then, this is a conversation for you. Coach Kevin’s story will INSPIRE you to continue to chase your dreams.

Follow Coach Kevin Hickey @coach_khickey

Follow Tell Me Your Story Coach @CoachKevinDro