On this podcast. You'll learn from professional players coaches and executives from all over the world and see the court and a brand new way and now joining you courtside your gen z host. John hart phyllis how you doing great. Thank you hope you're doing well awesome. Thank you so much for coming on the show. It's really an have you want. And it's it's a pleasure kinda just break into to all the things you've done in your career and kind of just what that looks like for for the next generation. They can kind of from that shirt happy. They're talking about whatever you want. Learn basketball right on yet. Awesome so thinking about kind of maybe taking it a little bit back to. Maybe where you start. I'm sure maybe somebody we'd ask that all the time. But i'm curious as to maybe where that passion for you maybe started from. I mean obviously baffles. Been your life to this point. What really was the was. The catalyst willie sparked your interest in it before You know honestly i. I wish there was a really cool clever answer. But the truth is a graduate. College wasn't sure if highlands Grad school in psychology or pursue a writing career. I was actually running football time. Offer job to annoy in chicago for a big football college football magazine that some rather graduated from my university of florida in nineteen eighty-seven. I best super hot blond. That was a sophomore in college. I just graduated high school and maybe trying to see if she might be interested in me. And that's it a little bit of time. I was offered a coaching job that summer. As well locally. I live in clearwater has offered a job in saint pete and i thought well hang around. Ab i get hurt. At what date me when. I started coaching. I definitely liked working with my players. Most my kids were from some pretty rough area. The project area. The and i love kids. The girl ended up starting a date. Me back tober. July six eighty seven by late october. We were dating. I realized you know. I i like hanging out with a lot and i'm actually pretty good. Coaching thing i played for is foco. Su who was not a fun to play for definitely taught me a lot. And so i was able to teach a lot of what i learned from him and then just jerk like he was he might be a jerk and then after a while. I realized i might be able to do this well. And she continued on a date me. So we're married thirty one years now and i've been coaching visiting. She'd never she never known me. Release anything but a coached side of my first year of coaching was the euro. Started getting my future wife. But i want to be good at it so i started studying a lot and i took. It turned out that. I do have an ability to study for a longer time and not get bored. I think my passions more about working with people inspiring young people helping them reach. Their dreams is pretty fun but challenges of sport is very tough. I think that part is more treatment. Just the game itself and it turns out. I i like the game does i can watch. I can't watch basketball too easily. I can watch their basketball. That's worked out for deputy dawson. I mean thank you so much for sharing that. Because it's it's interesting maybe you don't get out of time. But that's that's a story that made a lot of people can relate to. I mean i showed. Maybe having had that yet. But i i would hope that. Maybe that's kind of similar pattern me to hop lawn and in and turns it into something like that so that's pretty well let me just go further on just for anyone. That's listening this young. I listened to a baseball player. It he this was a few years ago. He was like forty. He was at a major things idea lebatardshow. I don't follow baseball and apparently a very famous baseball players. Making a ton of money and libertad made a comment too about being a baseball player like that. Dna said actually basketball player. But i just wasn't good basketball. I wasn't baseball and i could not have maybe. Nba for what year. Much less played professional for decade plus. I haven't baseball. And so i that's a lot of us. We have to find something got. Were good at that. We can be successful at that. We liked it. Doesn't necessarily have to be the most moving thing to us right. You might be someone who really loves to paint or two sculptor a right but if no wanted to pay you for those things to be your hobby right unified something that you've got some proficiency at that you liked working at all. This is a craft that has to be studied practice. Has some you enjoy doing it than you like. Most we could all get paid for eating ice cream. We all be a bunch of having ice cream but it doesn't pay the bill so you got something that you like to do that. You really good at you. Love most fisher of some great advice. In and i'm curious so you are. Were able to do what you like to do in terms of basketball and you're credited by many as being kind of a first basketball skills trainer some chris meeting up everything that you of maybe portraying until you started. What did he really looked like it. Kind of becoming that and making what was could have been a hobby Really your main thing so that was easier answer. So when i was a young coach. I was twenty two. I played a lot still played every day in college and graduated. I now hide your head. Coaching job at key to the gym and there was a really good player. Had from high school that was was playing locally and a lot of my eyes franson went on way college. Three or four came back litany area up every weekend for that and me way and i don't even know what happened her. I just remember like could be working my players out on the weekends and zones not playing pickup ads and gm and started training. My isolates learning how to teach the game. That bellamy really became a special permit with my own players. And then what happened. Is i left teaching coaching i. I didn't want to be college notes. I didn't know how marriage give it a handle that my wife just reached there'd be finding i- wednesdays right. Brands are struggling with their marriage. Whatever i started doing like tv commentary locally sizable games and local. Your golf games meeting a lot of people would say hey. Can you would be in the summertime. You said work sonacare And we can't think of outta my Girlfriend that y you know. June when season ended. And then i see you're on week. Hansen sunny priority gone working so can't store all over. America met a lot of people doing that. And so call me asking power to help your neighbors e a game calling the game for tv. And they were they would ask. I would work player. And i realize there's there's going on here so that's not really my first rain against oregon. You asked me your kids. And i realize i could charge them for. Nobody was doing in basketball. They were doing a doll. tennis golf. protests were not basketball trainer. So yeah i was nineteen ninety three ninety four month. I students my desk guys. I really high major players who were software that china is school and no one saw him as even low level college players charge twenty five bucks an hour. What again saw me four days a week. Basic kid who ended by carolina in florida to guards when went to florida with dating the best players in area nells now then things to call. And you're we're gonna come on seventy five kids. I was working with from the area and over time. It's uncertain basle caves now considered to be very solid specialists. And the only one.