The "Art" of Journaling

I love to journal. It’s always been something I do to put my thoughts on paper and clear my mind. It’s especially valuable during this unprecedented point in our history with the coronavirus. We have more time on our hands than usual to grow, and journaling is one way I do that.

For years, I would write a page or two about what I was learning and how it was impacting my life. It was a great exercise, but I wanted to be more focused on my thoughts and growth.

Three years ago, I noticed how a friend of mine was always drawing pictures to convey what he was learning. I found it intriguing as it was always focused on one or two specific thoughts which were very simple. Although, I’m not artistic by any means, I do love being creative, so I decided to give it a try. I have been using the tool of art ever since and it has impacted me more than I ever expected. I wanted to share with you a few thoughts and hopefully help you grow more through journaling! Don’t worry if you’ve never drawn before. Just give it a try and start small. I also found buying a journal with dots or graph paper is extremely helpful.

FIND THE FOCUS

As you’re reading or listening to content, find something that jumps out to you. It can be a verse, a lyric, a quote, or an image. Read enough to understand its context, and then stop. Write it down and begin to think about what it means. But don’t stop simply by putting words on paper.

FOCUS ON THE DETAILS

Once you’ve found the focus, you can focus on the details. This is where the creativity will help you immensely. Whatever your focus is, begin to draw that scene. As you think about each word of your focus, you will force yourself to recite it over and over in your mind. The more you can break it down and detail it in your drawing, the more you will grasp the lesson to be learned.

AN EXAMPLE POST

Below are a few from my experience, but here is an example of how I would approach my journal each day. Let’s use the example with the chess pieces. As I’m reading, “In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day” by Mark Batterson, I come across a quote saying,

“You have no idea what your next move should be, but God already has the next 200 moves planned out. Some of his moves won’t make sense. We just need to trust the Grand Master.”

— Mark Batterson

I would think on that quote and develop a word picture and begin to draw. In the book, he used an example of chess, so I find a picture of chess pieces and draw them. As I’m drawing, I’m constantly thinking about these quotes and what they mean to me in my current situation.

“God wants you to get where God wants you to go more than you want to get to where God wants you to go.”

— Mark Batterson

I think through ways I can take these lessons and apply them to my life. With every detail, I allow myself to focus deeper and deeper into the lesson. I always like to write the source down as well in case I ever want to go back and read it again.

One of my favorite times to write is when I’m outside listening to worship music and God speaks to me through a lyric. Music is so powerful and oftentimes I am able to use vivid word pictures to help make God’s word come alive. Give it a try yourself!

It’s nothing fancy or deep, but rather simple. Drawing your journal allows you to spend more time thinking about something, which allows your mind and heart to focus on the details. It will challenge your critical thinking and broaden your perspective on what the words are saying. Your brain will be sharpened and enjoy doing something unique and creative. I like to go back and look at past entries on certain dates or when a similar situation comes up in my life I know I’ve been through before. I would love to see your “art” journal, so please share any with me on social media!

All Things

At 3:00am on May 9th my phone alarm went off.  I woke in excitement as my 30-hour journey back to Malawi, Africa began— a place that I fell in love with the previous summer.  I travelled with a non-profit organization called Circle of Hope International, who has partnered with the Grace Alliance Church to build an amazing place known as the Grace Center.  The Grace Center consists of a boys and girls orphanage, church, school, feeding program, and soon to be medical clinic and maternal center.  It has grown tremendously over the years and continues to grow despite the many obstacles that stand in the way.  

Almost all research companies rank Malawi as a top-5 poorest country in the world and some even have it ranked as number one. Most kids only have a couple articles of clothing and do not own shoes. Most kids eat the same thing for every meal: beans and nsima. Nsima is maize flour mixed with water and it literally tastes like nothing.  Many of the kids who live in the orphanage have lost one or both of their parents; others were abandoned and some were rescued from abusive situations.  But you will not hear them complain.  In fact, these kids are the most joyful kids I have ever been around.

“Many of the kids who live in the orphanage have lost one or both of their parents; others were abandoned and some were rescued from abusive situations.  But you will not hear them complain.  In fact, these kids are the most joyful kids I have ever been around.”

— Tad Glibert

FALLING IN LOVE

It doesn’t make sense to fall in love with a place that I only spent 3 short weeks in.  To fall in love with people who don’t speak the same language as me and who live a life that is so different than mine.  But I did.  And so have so many other people.  I would say it’s rare to find someone who experiences The Grace Center and doesn’t want to go back.  My wife, Karly, is on the board of directors for Circle of Hope and this year was her fifth trip to Malawi. She spends countless hours collecting and organizing medical supplies to send each year. To say Malawi is her passion would be an understatement. Our Chicago condo is completed covered with pictures of the kids of the orphanage. I really didn’t understand why she loved it so much until I went myself.

Because of unfortunate circumstances, my wife had landed in Malawi about a week before I did.  Pastor Phiri, the man who was in charge of the daily activities of the Grace Center, suddenly passed away.  Because he did so much for the compound, the future of the Grace Center was very uncertain.  My wife, along with a small team, had to get to Malawi as soon as possible.  They arrived during a memorial service and were greeted by members of the community, weeping about the loss of Pastor Phiri. The kids of the orphanage were heart-broken once again. They had already lost their real parents, now they had lost their father figure who provided them with a home, food, security, and schooling. Over the next several days, the children were reassured many times that they would still be cared for despite experiencing another devastating loss.

On May 10th, I arrived in Malawi. I was definitely excited to see the kids that I had formed great relationships with last summer. Our team had a productive first couple of days. We painted and prepped the clinic before the rest of the medical team arrived and I played a lot of soccer with the kids in my free time. Last summer, I did a fundraiser to get the school's soccer team new uniforms and cleats (thanks to all who donated)!  This may not a big deal to you and me, but most of these kids have never owned soccer cleats and usually have to play barefoot. On my second day, they held a special school assembly to present the uniforms to the kids. It was a great day to experience with them!

NEVER FORGET

May 12th is a day that I will never forget.  Just before midnight, Karly and I woke up in our tent to a horrible noise. We had no idea if it was person or an animal. I thought to myself, “this is Africa, you hear noises at night all the time.”  But there was something different about this noise. We then heard the metal front gate violently clang back and forth and soon after we heard glass break from the pastor’s house. It confirmed our suspicion that something was terribly wrong. Loud pounding from the house followed. People yelling. We could see lights and shadows outside our tent. We heard quick footsteps run down by our tent followed by the sound of someone being beaten. They finally stopped and went back inside the house. The man was Len, the husband of the director of Circle of Hope.  Eventually he limped by our tents saying “we are getting robbed, hide yourselves.” Karly and I sorted through our belongings in the dark, trying to find anything that we could use as weapons.  We decided that a small pair of scissors and Karly’s stethoscope was the best that we could do. In that moment, the thought of dying became real. My wife was next to me and my mother-in-law and sister-in-law were in the tent next to us.  Karly and I turned to each other and said, “I love you.” I remember I closed my eyes and prayed over and over for God to protect us. I could still hear noises coming from inside the house. I felt helpless. I didn’t know what to do. Do I stay in my tent? Do I take off running in the pitch black and try to get help a mile a way? After the noises stopped, we continued to stay quiet in our tent.  It felt like forever but the whole robbery and waiting time ended up being about 45 minutes.  Following the silence and some whispered phone calls to other team members, we ran to the house. 

“Karly and I sorted through our belongings in the dark, trying to find anything that we could use as weapons.  We decided that a small pair of scissors and Karly’s stethoscope was the best that we could do.”

One by one we gathered in the living room.  For every person who entered, a brief wave of relief hit, but we were still missing some people and the tension was thick.  I’m sure it was only minutes before the three pastors supporting Len came to the door, but each second seemed to drag on.  As he entered through the door, the visible evidence of the beating he took knocked the wind out of us.  The medical people in the room tended to his wounds, while others barricaded the broken house door with the kitchen table. We were still missing one more person— Isaac, one of the Malawian men that was staying with us. Eventually there was another knock at the door. The room fell silent and I called out asking who it was. “Isaac” he replied.  The room filled with sobs of relief.  Isaac had run a mile down the hill in the dark to get help and returned with some villagers.  Over the next hours, more villagers gathered around the house and eventually the police came and took statements.  They left two armed police officers at the house for the rest of the night but no one went to sleep. 

We quite literally counted down the minutes until daylight.  That morning, our team met to decide what to do next.  There were 12 additional team members on their way to Malawi, including my dad.  They would land in a few hours. Do we go home? Do we stay? Where do we sleep at night? We were all a combination of dazed, traumatized, and in shock. We decided to stay at a hotel in Lilongwe, about an hour away. Although it was much more expensive, safety was our first priority.  As we left the Grace Center to go to Lilongwe, we met with our kids.  We told them that we were going to Lilongwe for the day but that we would return tomorrow.  The children gathered in a circle and prayed for us to send us off.  When we picked up our team, we broke the news to the team in the airport parking lot. We had to give them the option of turning around to go home. All but one person decided to stay. 

After putting all of our stories together, we discovered that 15-20 masked men had robbed us. They broke into every room of the house except the room that our director was staying in. That was the room that had our passports and money in it.  There were 6 tents surrounding the house, and 5 of them were occupied. The robbers sliced through the only empty tent with a machete—a tent that we had set up about 5 hours before the attack. If they had come to any of the other tents they would have found people, money, and valuables leading them to check all the other tents. Also, there is typically a light on the house that shines down toward where our tents are set up. However, a team member turned it off that night, and she doesn’t know why she did it. Although it was a traumatic experience, it could have been far worse. As we prayed to be hidden, we believe God blinded the men to our five occupied tents.  If the attack happened one night prior, we would have probably cancelled our team’s flights to Malawi and we would have all gone home. If the attack happened one night later, there would have been people in the tent that was slashed open. God’s timing was perfect. And He protected us that night. 

The robbery took more from us than just physical items. It robbed us of the full African-experience. Bucket-showers, going to the bathroom in a hole in the ground, sleeping in tents, walking up a long hill everyday, eating food that most of us would not normally pick—all the stuff that we typically joke and complain about became the things we missed so much. That night also robbed us of time with the kids—time to love them after they had been through so much.  It stole over an hour of socializing and chapel with our kids in the morning and over an hour of playtime in the afternoon. Everyday before we left to go back to the hotel, an 8-year old boy named Josephe would ask if I had to go back to Lilongwe today. When I told him yes, he would walk away with watery eyes. And every day my heart broke all over again.

“The robbery took more from us than just physical items. It robbed us of the full African-experience.”

Circle of Hope had to cancel the trips of all the summer teams that were coming after us. Some people were robbed of experiencing this amazing place for the first time. Others were robbed of returning to a place they fell in love with. Sponsorship was also impacted—many people that come for the first time develop a special relationship with a child and leave sponsoring them. As team members tell friends and family about their trip, that leads to more sponsorship. The kids are used to having Americans with them the whole summer, something they really enjoy. This year, three teams worth of time and love was taken from them.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

My trip to Africa this year was crazy. But it was still an amazing trip. From a medical perspective, we accomplished everything we set out to do. We did medical checkups for nearly 700 kids. We had a dentist and an optometrist come this year—both a first for the organization. The support we received from the Malawian community was incredible. Hundreds of villagers and chiefs demonstrated their support through standing outside the house, searching the fields to find and return some of our stolen objects, meeting together to improve community-based security, and building a fence around our future doctor’s home. A Member of the Parliament quickly started working to establish a police station at the Grace Center. He also told us that he would be able to help us out with any other future projects, such as registering the medical clinic and maternity center once they are ready. The four men that are a part of the new leadership team at the Grace Center have done an amazing job since the loss of Pastor Phiri. They are men that love God and want to make a difference in the lives of the children and members of the community. I am confident the the Grace Center is in good hands.

Romans 8:28 is the verse that God spoke to me over and over again during this trip: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” It doesn’t say all things are good.  It doesn’t say that God causes all things.  But it does say God can use all things for good.  ALL THINGS.  Not just some things but all things. This verse is a promise to us, followers of Jesus. It shows us how powerful and good He really is despite the attacks of Satan and men. Through all the trials on this trip— even more than I have discussed here— it is clear that God is working at the Grace Center.  He is making it a safer place for Malawians and Americans.  He is establishing favor with a government official who will help accelerate the work being done at the grace center.  He is stirring the community to invest in the center that invests in them.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

— Romans 8:28

The men that were physically injured are all healing. I ask for your prayers for all those who experienced that night. Please pray for the men who are leading during this time of difficulty and transition.  I also ask for prayers for the kids, who have had a very tough month.

Adjusting to life after Africa is challenging. It’s hard to explain to people. I never really understood it until I experienced it myself. I miss the kids. I miss the people. I miss the joy that they express on a daily basis. There is something beautiful about living a simple life and being rid of all the distractions that we have in America—distractions of things that don’t truly matter. I miss their mindset of doing two things: Loving God and loving others.

If anyone wants to know more about Circle of Hope or is interested in sponsoring a child, please reach out to me!

Visit the Circle of Hope International Facebook page by clicking here.

Tad Glibert is the Assistant Director of Operations for Northwestern Men's Basketball.  You can contact him directly at 2tadglibert@gmail.com.  

Contesting Shots Matters!

The distance at which your team contests shots on the perimeter will directly impact your wins and losses.  10 of the top 25 defensive FG% teams in the NCAA made the tournament this year.  One of those teams is Coach Eric Musselman's Nevada Wolf Pack, who first shared the importance of this analytic with me a few years ago.  It's no secret that a low defensive FG% is necessary to consistently win games, but how can you ensure that you do just that?  

In 2016-17, I began tracking the distance at which we closed out to shooters.  (You can read more from that study here: Contesting Shots Matters & Here's Why.)  Throughout that season, I became convinced there was a correlation between winning, losing, and how well we contested shots.  So in the 2017-18 season as I took a new position at Bethel College in Indiana, I tracked this stat every game to see how it would hold up in a tough league.  

The data below is over the span of our 33 games.  There are two parts to this study that I'd like to share with you: 

1. The distance at which you contest a shot affects defensive FG%
2. How often you contest a shot from each distance affects winning and losing.

First, the distance at which you contest a shot affects defensive FG%.  There are three distances that I track: closely contested (0-2 feet), moderately contested (2-4 feet), not contested (4+ feet).  This is slightly different from Coach Musselman, as he tracks four distances.  Here are the overall statistics from this past season:

SEASON (Defensive FG%)

0-2 feet - 20.5% (67-327)

2-4 feet - 39.5% (161-408)

4+ feet - 51.8% (86-166)

Plain and simple, when our players closed out to the ball well, we had an incredible defensive FG%.  When our players did not close out well, we gave up a lot of points.  To conclude the first part of this study, I believe that it is obvious that the tighter a shot is contested, the lower the FG% becomes.  This is why closeouts are extremely important and you should work on them often throughout the year.  Have a plan and be really good at executing a simple closeout.

The second part of the study is the one that impacts winning and losing.  It is that how often you contest a shot from each distance will directly affect your win/loss record.  Here are the statistics from our wins and our losses this season:

WINS (Defensive FG%)

0-2 feet - 18.6% (45-241)

2-4 feet - 39.1% (105-268)

4+ feet - 53.7% (57-106)

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LOSSES (Defensive FG%)

0-2 feet - 25.5% (22-86)

2-4 feet - 40.0% (56-140)

4+ feet - 48.3% (29-60)

While the defensive FG% remained fairly consistent in both wins and losses, the biggest difference is how often we contest shots from each distance.  In our wins, every 4 out of 10 shots was contested within 0-2 feet, every 4.3 out of 10 shots was contested within 2-4 feet, and every 1.7 out of 10 shots was contested at 4+ feet (See charts above).  Our closely and moderately contested shots were much more balanced, thus our closeouts were more consistent in our wins.

In our losses, only every 2.9 out of 10 shots was contested within 0-2 feet, every 4.9 out of 10 shots was contested within 2-4 feet, and every 2.2 out of 10 shots was contested within 4+ feet (See charts above).  Our consistency and balance in our losses is much more out of sync than in our wins.  Because of this, we struggled to keep points off the board.  The graphs give a visual of the balance in consistency.

So while our defensive FG% remained consistent in wins and losses, the real difference was in our ability to closely contest shots more often.  The margin is not huge, however, it is a crucial detail in the deciding factor of games.  The difference between a win and a loss could be as little as 4-5 shots per game being contested just a foot tighter.

I hope the data in this study will help you realize the importance of closeouts and how the distance and rate in which we contest shots matters.  If you have any questions or comments, I would love for you to reach out so I can talk with you more.  I would also appreciate any feedback or other information to take into consideration for this.  

Surrender the Outcome

Tonight we lost in the first round of the NAIA National Tournament.  I typically don't write when I'm emotional, but I wanted to capture the feelings of this before they faded away.  

IT SUCKS.

I would be lying to you if I told you it didn't hurt.  The way we lost.  When we lost.  None of it was enjoyable.  Walking into the locker room afterwards was particularly tough.  The faces of the men in that room told a story.  The dazed look in their eyes of complete shock, wondering how we got to this point.  The tears flowing from our four seniors who just saw their college careers end.  The mood was raw.  It wasn't fun, but it was real.  We came into this tournament with a confident belief that we were prepared and we were ready to make a run.  Unfortunately, things didn't go our way.

BROTHERHOOD DEFINED

As the emotions set in, we realized our family was too strong to be broken apart by any loss.  The love teammates showed to each other showed me how much this brotherhood means.  Guys shared hugs, thanked the seniors, and picked each other up with encouragement and a positive outlook.  They knew they would bounce back and be better for it.

Before the game, I tweeted this as I knew I would need it as a reminder no matter if we won or lost:

Surrender the outcome.

— Andrew Wingreen (@CoachWingreen) March 7, 2018

For me as a coach, I take losing hard.  But I've been challenged by my #OneWord for 2018, "Surrender."  I thought it was awesome that we embraced that call this week leading up to the tournament.  Surrender the outcome.  God is good all the time and he is sovereign over us.  He already knew the outcome of that game and there's peace in knowing that God is in control.  While it still sucks and I hate that we lost, there are lessons to be learned and growth to be made in order for us to return to Sioux Falls in 2019 to make a deeper run.  As for now, I'm thankful for the opportunity God gave us to be here.  It's my personal goal to glorify Jesus through the game of basketball and that gives me contentment to surrender the outcome to his will.  

Surrender: One Word 2018

My One Word for 2017 was "faith."  God couldn't have put a better word in my heart when I chose that last year.  For 2018, I prayed that God would keep building on my faith and place a focus in my mind again.  For the past couple weeks, no word felt right as I tried to pick one word for this year.  But today, God gave me my word for 2018: Surrender.

SURRENDER

As I think of the ways that God tested my faith last year, I'm very aware that he may call me to surrender in uncomfortable ways.  To be honest, it scares me a little bit.  But whatever he has in store for me and my family in 2018, I want to surrender it all to Jesus.  

I felt that "surrender" was the right word tonight while I was listening to the song "Gracefully Broken" by Matt Redman.  You can listen below.

The lyrics say, "Here I am, God, arms wide open! Pouring out my life, gracefully broken...I surrender."  I know there are so many areas in my life that I have not surrendered to God.  I'm excited to see how God changes my heart over the next 365 days and draws me closer to Him!  I ask that you pray for me as I strive to surrender my thoughts, my actions, and my life to Jesus.  Here's to 2018...Happy New Year!

2017 - FAITH (Read More)

2016 - PERSISTENT (Read More)

2015 - SERVE

2014 - IMMEDIACY

Fueling Your Heart

Each day we are given opportunities to choose the influences we want in our lives.  The videos we watch, the music we listen to, the books we read, and the people we spend our time with.  Each decision we make fuels our hearts with a worldview that will ultimately impact the way we carry ourselves.  So, the question is, what is fueling your heart?

It’s easy to gravitate towards popular content the world is selling to us daily, but it’s important to understand what those stories are telling us.  Just because something is portrayed as “cool” or “relevant,” doesn’t mean we should be consuming it.  We need to be intentional about fueling our hearts with substance, promoting growth and excellence in all we do. 

Here’s a few examples of what I mean:

Spotify has over 140 million users that consume over 1.7 billion hours of music each month.  Currently, the song that is streamed the most and sits at #2 on the Billboard Top 100, is “Rockstar” by Post Malone (Feat. 21 Savage).  The first lyrics that millions of people are actively choosing to put into their hearts when they listen to this song are, 

“Ayy, I’ve been f****** hoes and poppin’ pillies. Man I feel just like a rockstar.”

— Post Malone

WHAT MUSIC IS FUELING YOUR HEART?

Last month, the top grossing movie at the box office was “It,” earning $290,775,232.  It has played in over 4,000 theaters countless times, entertaining millions of people across the globe.  I understand the thrill and excitement that comes along with horror movies, but at what cost?  The description that lures people to buy a ticket to this movie is, “A group of bullied kids band together when a shapeshifting demon, taking the appearance of a clown, begins hunting children.”  Really?

WHAT MOVIES OR VIDEOS ARE FUELING YOUR HEART TODAY?

In 2016, 68% of high school seniors said that they tried alcohol with their friends.  Their friends claimed they were going to harmless parties and having “fun” participating in drinking games.  Statistics also say that alcohol causes the most harm in people under the age of 21 and is responsible for over 4,300 deaths each year. 

WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE DO YOU SURROUND YOURSELF WITH?

The point of this article is not to tell you what not to do.  However, I think it’s important for us to ask ourselves the question, “what is fueling my heart?”  If we think about it, the shows we watch, the music we listen to, the content we read, and the people we spend our time with, influences our lives in a huge way.  If we want to be the best we can be, why wouldn’t we fuel our hearts with content that is positive and full of truth?  For me, it’s a battle every day.  I want to have fun and satisfy my need for entertainment, but I constantly need to examine what I’m fueling my heart with.  I encourage you to think about the influences you allow into your life every day and ask yourself if the fuel you’re putting into your heart is the fuel that will get you to your desired destination. 

Storytelling Through Social Media

A little over a year ago, I wrote a post for this blog entitled “Social Media: The Age of New Recruiting” (if you have a couple minutes, give it a quick read).

In that article, I talked about the importance of storytelling in recruiting both players and fans for your program. Whether it’s through photos, videos or written content, fans LOVE to know more about what’s going on with your team!

Any time I write an article, give a presentation, or talk one-on-one with people about storytelling through social, I always get positive responses. People are excited about the possibilities for their own programs because they themselves love consuming content from their favorite sports teams. However, when it comes to implementing those ideas, those same people are seemingly paralyzed with fear.

The perfect photo, the highest quality video, the best written blog post – the chance that what they produce might not be exactly “right” or as good as someone else keeps them from doing anything at all.

SO WHAT'S THE SOLUTION?

Get out your phone and just go. Don’t overthink, just try. In reality, chances are if it’s the kind of thing that interests you (a sports fan), then it will probably be interesting to those who follow your program (other sports fans).

You may be thinking still, “I don’t even know where to begin.” Here are a few suggestions of things that have worked on our team pages:

•          Game photos
•          Team pictures at special events
•          Congratulatory milestone photos and graphics
•          Videos of players competing (on the court, in the weight room)
•          Video documentaries of trips
•          Pictures and/or videos of community service events
•          Instagram and/or Snapchat “mini” stories of 4-5 photos/videos
•          Group photos

See, the goal isn’t perfection. The goal is to emotionally connect with your fan base. And the best way to do that is simply to story tell by regularly documenting your team’s journey. Don’t wait any longer. Start storytelling!

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Tony Miller is an assistant men's basketball coach and head of the sports management program at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina.  His blog, "Coach.Teach.Lead", contains more coaching and leadership resources.

What's Worked For Me (So Far)

CREATING BASKETBALL OPPORTUNITIES

I’ve been very fortunate as a young basketball coach to have landed a number of amazing basketball opportunities. A few of these include Duke basketball camp, UCLA camp, Georgia State Basketball Camp, Snow Valley Iowa Basketball School, working for PGC/Glazier Clinics, USA Basketball Clinics, Social Media interning for Kevin Eastman (former NBA assistant coach), and a trip to the final four. I’ve also been very fortunate to have coaches like Don Showalter and Kevin Eastman to trust me to do a good job when they bring me on board.

A number of coaches have asked me the question, “How did you land that?” Or, “How did you get connected with them?” Many ask for the purpose of trying to land similar opportunities. This article is a response to those questions.

My primary aim in this article is to give coaches who want some basketball opportunities a few ideas on what may help them by describing what’s worked so far for me. I’ll also talk about the financial aspect of my journey and share a few ideas worth considering about money, because like many young coaches, I also do not have access to a money tree.

But first… The reason I put (So Far) in the title is to be clear that I am not proclaiming myself to be a deep well of pure professional wisdom. I have a career win total that equals the amount of children some coaches reading this have. Ok, I’m slightly kidding. Unless you have 12 children… then you officially have me beat. But I’m closing in fast. Ha!

Hopefully you caught the fun at the end of that paragraph. Seriously, this is my journey so far and hopefully some reading coaches will benefit and get some ideas on how they can create opportunities for their coaching career.

Clete Adelman, Mason Waters, Bill Van Gundy

DUKE BASKETBALL CAMP

I first got involved with Duke Basketball Camp as a camper about a decade ago. And I was a phenomenal camper (which I must say is a slight distinction from being a phenomenal player). I connected with many camp coaches and even impressed the camp director so much that he remembered me… nearly 10 years later.

I emailed the camp staff in late 2014 about working camp the next summer, in 2015. I got denied.

The next year I sent another email application. I was told I was being considered. Then the deal breaker game.

A friend and I went to the University of Georgia to watch the Bulldogs take on High Point in an early season contest. As my buddy and I questionably snuck our way closer to the court, I noticed a familiar ESPN announcer. It was Duke’s Camp Director who also happens to work for ESPN.

After the game, I approached the announcer’s booth to say hello, and that I had applied this summer for camp. Security was telling me and my friend to exit the building. I persisted and said, “I know the announcer, I’m just saying hello.” They let me hang around a few more seconds.

After the ESPN team wrapped up their coverage, I quickly said hello to the camp director and mentioned I had applied again to coach at camp.

“Wow! I remember you as a camper” he replied. “I’m glad you came up and said hello because now I know that you’re not just some Joe blow off the street. We’ll get you on.”

I don’t know how many people that you want to work for also commentate for ESPN, but if he does, find what game he’s calling next, go to that school, and stay after. Ok, I’m kidding about that, but this is how I got connected at Duke camp.  

UCLA BASKETBALL CAMP

Now that I’m writing this out, I’m finally realizing how one door opens another, and that door opens another, and that door opens another, and on and on. UCLA was one of my most recent basketball opportunities and it makes sense to me to do this thing backwards.

I met Jim Harrick, former UCLA Head Coach, at a 2016 PGC/Glazier clinic in Dallas.

Quick side note: I’ve had people assume I come from a wealthy family and they just pay for me to travel all over the place and do these basketball things. The truth is that I do have very supportive and encouraging parents, but I am by no means rich. My mother does a phenomenal job supporting me financially but it’s not like I can do anything I want or go anywhere I want. My parents have been divorced for most of my life. My dad, unemployed since 2008, now lives in a camper in north Georgia and my mother is a school teacher. I’m a full-time college student. We’re not poor, but certainly not rich. I’ll get into some of my financial beliefs and how that’s played into these opportunities later.

So I meet Jim Harrick in Dallas at PGC/Glazier clinic in fall of 2016. A friend of mine, Faiz Ahmed, and I were talking in July 2016 about the benefits of volunteering at basketball clinics; you get in for free (save money!), and might get unique access to speakers and staff of the clinic. This rings true.

After that conversation I researched basketball clinics in Atlanta. I knew of PGC so I reached out to them about their Atlanta clinic. I’m from Atlanta, so I figured I could volunteer at the clinic, get free admission, and just take the 45-minute drive back and forth from my house each day. They exceeded my expectations: They paid for my hotel allowing me to stay in Atlanta during the entire clinic. That allowed me to begin a relationship (not like we’re best friends but we know each other) with an individual who I think is one of the best coaches in basketball period, Mike Neighbors of Washington and now Arkansas. He, myself, and some other coaches stayed at the same hotel and went out in the night and talked hoops for a few hours.

During the Atlanta clinic, I asked PGC/Glazier staff if they needed help at their Dallas, Texas clinic, which would be the next week… Like in 6 days. Fortunately they said yes., they needed help.

Just like the Atlanta clinic, PGC/Glazier covered my hotel and entry to the clinic so all I had to do was pay for the flight and find cheap food (While in Dallas I walked about two miles to a McDonalds  during breaks because that was by far cheaper than the hotel food and Uber costs money, walking is free).

If you don’t know about PGC/Glazier, you need to because they are really good. Their clinics have multiple sessions Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and will have multiple speakers presenting at once (all in different rooms of course).  Going into Dallas and looking over their speaker lineup, I knew had to be Jim Harrick’s room host. Not only did he win a national championship, he also coached in my home state of Georgia at the University of Georgia and I also figured he might have some influence in getting me into working UCLA’s camp, a position I applied for last summer and did not get.

Another side note: Persistence is key! The first time I applied at Duke and UCLA I was denied. And I am in no way unique here. Countless coaches have persisted when they weren’t given the jobs they wanted.

I told PGC/Glazier that my one request was to be Jim Harrick’s room host. In other words, room hosts are the speaker’s host. We get them water, papers, pens, anything they need. Being a coaches room host also allows for small talk between the sessions. Amazingly, the clinic staff allowed me to host Coach Harrick. By the way, he is a character and great clinician!

At PGC/Glazier I learned that In 1996, Jim Harrick hired the guy who is today’s UCLA camp director. That’s some leverage! Jim reached out to the camp director on my behalf and got me in!

SNOW VALLEY BASKETBALL SCHOOL

Now let’s go backwards in this story. If you noticed I mentioned a conversation I had with Faiz Ahmed, who, by the way, is going to be a phenomenal NBA coach one day. But I hope he and I are on the same college staff one day.

The conversation we had was at Snow Valley Basketball School in Iowa. How did I get that opportunity?

This story is shorter and much more simple. I went to Coaching U Live in Orlando for two summers and met Don Showalter there, the head coach for the USA junior national teams and also the camp director at Snow Valley Basketball School. I also attended PGC/Glazier Atlanta in 2015 (as a guest, not support staff) and got lunch with Coach Showalter there. By seeing me at those two clinics, I guess he noticed I was a fairly dedicated young coach and he invited me to coach at Snow Valley! And of course I said yes.

A FEW OTHER THINGS THAT HAVE HELPED ME

A BUDGET FOR SUCCESS

Kevin Eastman, one of the best givers to coaches, talked about this recently at his Elite Training Camp last week but I promise I was doing it before I also heard it from him. Beginning my first year of college, I always budget my money, and one of the budgets I have is a basketball budget: it allows me to pay for coaching DVDs, clinics, gas when I go visit a practice, etc.

Each paycheck I get (which is never that much) goes like this, and I learned this from mentors at my church: Give some, save some, live on the rest.

Give 10% to the church or some of my favorite charities. Save/invest about 60%. Live on the rest.

For me, retirement saving has not begun nor have I started saving for my future kids college. Shoot, I’m still in college! Yet, investment for me in my financial plan mostly means invest in myself, my career, and my development. That includes paying for basketball clinics, DVDs, etc.

This past summer this meant taking the money I made from a previous camp to pay for the expenses of the next. For example, I coached a showcase event early this summer. I didn’t spend that money on shoes, my car, or my girlfriend, I saved it and invested it into paying for travel expenses to the next camp.

Not only that, I also started a lawn care company (I use the word company very lightly haha) with my best friend. Almost every single dollar I’ve made from there either went straight to my savings to pay off my final year of college debt-free, or it went straight into my basketball ventures.

Financial Side Note: Older coaches reading this will know this, but some young coaches might not have thought about this. This is one of the most important lessons I’ve learned: Financial freedom allows you to do the things you want to do. Debt limits opportunities. No debt opens opportunities. One of the best decisions I’ve made was going to a very affordable in-state university. My college experience has not been the stereotypical American college experience, meaning it hasn’t been a lot of what they call “college fun”, but its been a good education and most importantly, affordable. And I’m so thankful it has been.

If you have financial excuses for why you can’t go to a clinic or a basketball event but all you do is buy ten pairs of sneakers a month or buy 4 concert tickets a month, then you are the only person holding you back. Saying “no” to luxury allows an individual to say “yes” to opportunity. And with enough opportunity, luxury just might have its way of showing up on the backside.

I haven’t seen this among many young coaches, but I have a number of friends who are complaining about not getting a certain job, or not being able to get a shot at anything when all they do is spend their money on their car or boat or girlfriend. Money is absolutely vital in professional advancement because it affords an individual to invest in themselves. Without it, people very much limit their professional opportunities because they can’t buy any products or services to develop!

EBAY

My primary financial goals throughout college have been 1) Graduate debt-free and 2) Invest in my basketball career. One huge help in that has been eBay, Amazon, and Facebook Marketplace, and flipping items from thrift stores. What I’ll do now is show you a few items that I have flipped and profited from for the purpose of investing in my basketball career. Hopefully this gets you thinking of ways to make some extra money to invest in your development.

REI Backpacks – I am as interested in camping, fishing, and outdoors activities about as much as Kim Kardashian is. Well, she at least to appears to not spend much time in the wilderness. But I have found a good item to make money off of. That is hiking packs from REI.

A friend of mine invited me to REI, an outdoor gear store, about two years ago to their scratch and dent sale; their clearance sale. I went just for fun. However, while there, I began to think that a lot of those items could definitely be flipped online. So I did my research. Long story short, I have gone to three REI Scratch and Dent sales and profited a few hundred bucks off of it.

These sales attract a large crowd, so to get a good spot in line at these sales, I typically get up at 4 something to be sure I’m the first one in the door. The packs sell really well on eBay so I go straight for them when I get in the door. I’ll grab a few of them off the rack and make sure they’re not torn up too bad. Then I’ll buy them and have them listed on eBay the same day. Some I buy for $70 and sell on eBay for $140. Sell three of those plus a few other miscellaneous items and it’s a $250+ profit in one morning. Definitely beats minimum wage!

Another popular item I’ve flipped are ab lounges. The best flip I’ve done with these was pretty awesome. I found a $3 ab lounge at a Goodwill and had it listed on Facebook yard sale sites the same day. It sold for $85. That’s $82 just by swinging by a goodwill on my way home, listing it online, and meeting the person for pickup. Once again, that surely meets minimum wage.

The last item I’ll mention was a MacBook. I’m a member of several yard sale sites on Facebook. I noticed a macbook on one of the pages going for $50 and just felt in my gut, this is a steal. Without even doing any research, I messaged the seller and bought it the next day. I listed it on eBay and a week or two later it sold for $11,550. Hahaha no I’m kidding. It sold for $150. But still, $100 profit isn’t bad.

Now why am I mentioning this? I mention these items because explaining in detail some things I’ve flipped may give coaches some better insight into how to make some side money to invest in their careers. For me, a specific description of a few different items is better that just hearing “Go flip stuff.”

THAT'S ALL FOR NOW

Sincerely, I hope this adds value to somebody. God has blessed me with these opportunities. And more importantly than these opportunities are the people I’ve met and now call friends. He has also blessed me with people in my life who have taught me the lessons mentioned above. I didn’t come up with any of this stuff or tactics, I just listened to wise people who I want to be like. Sometimes life is pretty simple, we just find a way of making it hard sometimes.

If you are a coach looking for more opportunity or have any questions about anything written here, I’d sincerely love to hear from you. I’m not a huge influencer in the basketball world, but I’d be happy to see if I could connect you with people I know. Or I’d love to talk with you about making side money because I know an extra couple hundreds of bucks could go a long way for some coaches.

Feel free to tweet me at @masonwaters_, email me at mason1waters@gmail.com or call/text at 678) 656-6957. I’d love to hear from you.

Thank you for reading!

MASON WATERS

Jay Bilas Skills Camp

Owning The Unknown

LIFE IS A PROCESS

The statement, “Life is a process”, is something we hear all the time. Every day we get to wake up is a piece of the process we call life. As I talk with the youths of this generation and also many adults, I hear the same repetitive words come from many mouths. Those words are, 

“I fear the unknown and don’t have much patience in my life.”

I hear these words consistently and I want to enlighten anyone reading this that has those words stuck in their head every day. We currently live in a world that is becoming so accustomed to instant gratification that it is trickling down into how people approach and deal with their futures.

First, if you are scared of dealing with the unknown, right now you must come to grips with the reality that you have NO CHOICE but to deal with the unknowns of life. This is life we are talking about right now. Stop fearing life and the unknown of your future. Start living confidently and have confidence in who you are. Be confident in the fact that you have so much life to live rather than fearing the years you have ahead!

RIGHT NOW, start being grateful for everything you have and understand that you can handle anything that is thrown at you in life. RIGHT NOW, stop envying other people and things. Honestly, STOP acting like the unknown in life has any control over you. Start owning the unknown!

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Larry Taylor is the founder of Vertical Vision and a graduate assistant for the men's basketball program at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida.  His playing career consisted of stops at Liberty University, Bob Jones University, and Southeastern University.

Dominican Republic With Bethel Hoops

Take a look at our daily recaps from our trip to the Dominican Republic below!  Sorry that the WiFi didn't allow me to upload videos in HD.

10 years ago I had the privilege to go on a trip to the Dominican Republic with my college basketball team.  I went into it expecting to have a good time experiencing a new culture while serving the people there, but I came home knowing that my life had been impacted in a powerful way.  I had always hoped that I'd get the opportunity to go back someday.

Today, I am excited to travel to the DR with Bethel Hoops and serve alongside our guys.  We will be playing several basketball games as well as ministering to the people there.  Bethel has been going to the same city, Guanabano, every two years for a long time.  I'm thrilled to meet everyone down there that they have been building relationships with over the years.  It's cool to be a part of this group and I'm excited to see how God works in the hearts of our players and the people of the Dominican Republic through the game of basketball!