Scott Thom has been the Head Coach for men’s basketball and the Director of Strength and Conditioning at the College of Marin since 2016. Thom began his collegiate coaching career in 2010 as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of California–Berkeley, working with men’s basketball and track. A short time later, Thom was promoted to Head Strength and Conditioning Coach/Director of Player Development for the Bears Men’s Basketball program. He then became the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach/Director of Player Development for Washington State University’s Men’s Basketball program.
Coach Thom began his coaching career at Vintage High School in his hometown of Napa, California, in 2003. He taught physical education and weightlifting in addition to various coaching duties. Coach Thom is a graduate of Chico State (physical education) and obtained a master’s degree in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University Irvine.
Coach Thom talks about his experience in developing a winning culture through buy-in, relationship building, and motivation. He shares with the listener the process of working with the athlete on a cultural level to create the environment needed to foster desired outcomes. Thom presents his unique perspective on becoming a basketball coach who then became a strength coach. He delves into his unusual journey from a high school coach with little to no formal strength and conditioning experience to where he is today.
In this podcast, Coach Scott Thom discusses with Joel:
- His process of building a successful basketball strength program.
- His philosophy on the responsibility of coaches to build bonds, respect, and communication with his athletes.
- Bringing value that athletes can understand by making the weight room a place they want to be.
- How to avoid the timeless coaching error of mistaking activity for achievement.
- How he organizes his sessions to mirror sport practice.
- Creating mental toughness through self-confidence.
- Strategies to work with a difficult athlete.
- Coaching the “bounce back” situation after a loss.
Coach Thom has a sports performance website: https://scottthom.com/. He has written two books on sports performance, and both are available on his website.
Podcast total run time is 39:04.
Keywords: basketball, buy-in, energy, mental toughness
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