Basketball tryouts are often the most stressful practices of the season, but they don't have to be. In this episode of The Hours, Tyler and Mark break down practical frameworks for evaluating talent, managing the bubble players, and making tough roster cuts with confidence. Discover why running traditional drills can deceive your evaluation, how small-sided games reveal your true competitors, and why coaches need to trust their gut over outside pressure when finalizing their roster. Main Takeaways: Tryouts are for competing, not for teaching Make the competition known. "I want to see who the best defender is." Go with your gut. You're the coach, put together the team that you want. "Don't make a decision for someone else's peace of mind."

With practices right around the corner (or already started), Tyler and Mark have timed this episode out perfectly. They dive into 12 things that will help you become a master coach. And these are the exact things that we are doing here inside. You want to be a better coach, you're invested in yourself by being involved in these conversations, and that is a giant step in the process. 🎤 A quote from Mark really stuck out to me when talking about coaching processes and details: "When you develop your own (processes) and you're able to take what Tyler does really well, and this other coach does really well, and this coach does really well, and make it your process that you believe in [...] will make you a better coach because you're going to be a more intentional coach instead of just showing up and going with the wind." 🔑 That level of awareness, intent, and ownership is the work that you are doing here with SAVI. The work is sharing ideas, digesting the information, having dialogues, and giving deep thought to how to help your team perform. You are actively on the journey to becoming a master coach and surrounded by others on the exact same mission. 👉 If this spoke to you, check out our SAVI Basketball membership to get access to all the courses and be surrounded by like-minded coaches and conversations inside the community . You can also book a call to speak with us directly and see if our membership would be the right fit for you and your team. Let's keep learning, sharing, and shaping our players.

More coaching does not equal better coaching. In this episode of The Hours, Tyler and Mark break down the 5 biggest mistakes beginner basketball coaches make—and the exact shifts required to build better players, establish real accountability, and run high-standard practices. Whether you're struggling with game transfer, practice structure, or getting players to take ownership, these five adjustments will transform how you lead your team this season. A personal anecdote. A coaching mistake that I had to deal with multiple times in my professional career was over-scouting. Marathon film sessions with every set from the other team and every detail about every player. Later, it became clear that the coach was only doing this to tell management that our poor performance wasn't his fault because he "showed" us everything. Too much information led to overthinking and a lot of finger pointing. Be clear, make it simple, and get your team the reps they need.

It's official. This is my new favorite episode of The Hours. Tyler talks with Dr. Spencer Wood to discuss the mental side of the game and the science behind high performance. Spencer has worked with elite competitors across the NCAA, NBA, and MLB—from Final Four runs to major championships—and reveals actionable tools you can implement in your training right away. Some highlights include: - The 4 C's of mental toughness - Quality Confidence - "Take Twos" to fuel self-driven accountability (a great excercise to start with your team today!) My favorite quote from this episode was: "True commitment allows us to push out ego aside, and we give ourselves a chance to be great." ⬇️ What was your favorite lesson from this episode?

Tune in this week to hear Tyler blind-rank offensive advantages and here Mark blind-rank leadership tools. The guys have a great discussion about what is actually important when defining this inside of your program. This episode falls right in line with the Preseason Challenge we are doing in SAVI Basketball. The goal of the challenge is todefine what is important for your team and your program. The timing of the episode is great inspiration to finish the challenge. Remember, as with most things, the goal isn't to start, it's to finish it. And our big picture goal is that you start the season with your biggest decisions already made. The challenge becomes way easier once you start, but starting is the hard part. Like Mark mentions in the episode, "the heaviest weight in the gym is the front door." This fits right in with the idea of holding ourselves accountable and finishing things so we can be able to hold our team accountable when we ask them to do difficult things. Give the episode a listen, subscribe, and let's gear up for the 26-27 season!