The Hoop Heads podcast is brought to you by Head Start Basketball Going Back to Coach so Walter, in order to be different you have to do things differently.
Jordan KleinI would also share from my finance days.
Jordan KleinDave Ramsey says, if you live like no one else later, you can eventually live like no one else.
Jason SunkelJordan Klein is in his first season as a women's basketball assistant coach at the University of Arkansas, Fort Smith.
Jason SunkelKlein previously served as a men's basketball assistant coach at Cornell College in Iowa under head coach Dave Slobaugh.
Jason SunkelKlein began his coaching career at the high school level while still working as a CFO in the business world.
Jason SunkelJordan has also worked as a camp clinician at Snow Valley Basketball School and USA Basketball Gold Camps.
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Jason SunkelHead, Girls Basketball Coach at Wakona High School in Dalton, Massachusetts and you're listening to the Hoop Heads Podcast.
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Jason SunkelGrab your notebook before you listen to this episode with Jordan Klein, Women's Basketball Assistant Coach at the University of Arkansas, Fort Smith.
Jason SunkelHello and welcome to the Whop Heads Podcast.
Jason SunkelThat's Mike Klinsling here with my co host Jason Sunkel tonight and we are pleased to be joined by Jordan Klein, Women's Basketball Assistant Coach at the University of Arkansas, Fort Smith.
Jason SunkelJordan, welcome to the Hoop Heads Pod.
Jordan KleinHello Mike, thank you for having me.
Jason SunkelThrilled to have you looking forward to diving into all of the interesting things and twists and turns that you have had in your career in coaching and otherwise.
Jason SunkelLet's start by going back in time though to when you were a kid.
Jason SunkelTell me about some of your first experiences with the game of basketball.
Jason SunkelWhat you remember, what made you fall in love with it.
Jordan KleinI fell in love with basketball really when I was in fifth grade.
Jordan KleinMy mom started putting me in some YMCA basketball way back and I remember watching.
Jordan KleinI was born in the early 90s so I remember watching some of the later years of MJ play and I fell in love with it from there.
Jordan KleinThat might be a typical poop head story, but watching him play, see how he competed and I just loved how beautiful the game was.
Jordan KleinI thought it was fun get to be around other people and run around like burn some energy as a little kid.
Jordan KleinSo that was always fun.
Jason SunkelAbsolutely, there's no question about that.
Jason SunkelDid you play other sports as well?
Jordan KleinYeah, I played basketball, football and baseball.
Jordan KleinI went to a smaller high school so I was fortunate to be to play all three.
Jason SunkelWhat's it like growing up at that time and just playing multiple sports?
Jason SunkelHow do you go about getting better as a basketball player?
Jason SunkelWhat's the, what's the basketball scene look like for you?
Jordan KleinI had, I was fortunate in seventh grade so I'm sure at some point I'll share a little bit that I moved around quite a bit as a kid and growing up.
Jordan KleinBut in seventh grade I was.
Jordan KleinMy mom put me in a private school from kindergarten to eighth grade.
Jordan KleinThere were 95 kids in the entire school and one of the kids ended up being one of my best friends.
Jordan KleinHis name's Nate Zastro.
Jordan KleinHe was ended up being the all time leading scorer and all time leader in assists in his Division 1 high school.
Jordan KleinWe ended up going to separate high schools and then he had a full ride to North Dakota State and played there for four years.
Jordan KleinSo that was a great.
Jordan KleinThat was eye opening for me.
Jordan KleinJust his work ethic and spending time around his family and what it took to be successful in the game.
Jason SunkelYeah, when you have somebody like that, that really I think that you can look up to and then be around and just inspire you to even be, you know, take, take the game even more seriously.
Jason SunkelI think that's always an advantage.
Jordan KleinYeah, I never like you talk about, you can like you like something, you love something or you live it.
Jordan KleinAnd I, he definitely taught me how to live it.
Jordan KleinThere was never a moment in my life where I thought waking up at 4am to go lift or run on a football field in northern Wisconsin with dew on the field was normal, but he taught me that that's what it takes.
Jordan KleinSo it was.
Jordan KleinIt was a great friendship to build and definitely helped me out.
Jason SunkelAbsolutely.
Jason SunkelAs you are growing up and experiencing that from a playing standpoint, what.
Jason SunkelWhat are you thinking about at that time?
Jason SunkelBecause obviously we're going to get to some of the twists and turns and different things that you've done in your career, but.
Jason SunkelBut what are you kind of thinking about when it comes to what you might have wanted to do?
Jason SunkelDid you see yourself at.
Jason SunkelAs a high school.
Jason SunkelAs a high school kid ever being interested in coaching?
Jason SunkelWas that something that was even remotely in the back of your mind, or was it not even on the radar at all?
Jordan KleinIt was not.
Jordan KleinIt wasn't on the radar for me because I was so focused on playing.
Jordan KleinYeah.
Jordan KleinAs a younger.
Jordan KleinAs a younger kid, I was just more focused.
Jordan KleinI was more focused on me.
Jordan KleinAnd I didn't learn.
Jordan KleinI just didn't have the awareness of how engaging and how much purpose and how rewarding it can be to coach.
Jordan KleinI didn't know that aspect of the game.
Jordan KleinI thought it was, let me teach you how to run a ball screen.
Jordan KleinAnd had nothing to do with those life skills.
Jordan KleinLike, I just wasn't aware of that at the time.
Jordan KleinSo that developed over time.
Jordan KleinI.
Jordan KleinI did in high school.
Jordan KleinI would.
Jordan KleinI would coach our grade school, middle school, summer league stuff, and I enjoyed it and I thought it was fun from a competitive standpoint, but it wasn't really on my.
Jordan KleinOn my list.
Jordan KleinMy.
Jordan KleinMy parents were both business owners, and they talked to me a lot about money growing up.
Jordan KleinAnd so that was my focus on what.
Jordan KleinLike, that was my version of what success looked like, was having money.
Jason SunkelRight.
Jordan KleinOr making a lot of money.
Jordan KleinAnd that's pivoted and really grown.
Jordan KleinThat's really changed, actually, as I've grown up and matured.
Jordan KleinSo that's where coaching really fits in with just my purpose.
Jordan KleinEvery day, waking up and just who I want to be as a person.
Jason SunkelWhat's your favorite memory?
Jason SunkelAnd that makes total sense to me.
Jason SunkelI mean, I think, again, it's interesting how much we're influenced by our parents, the people that are around us, and sort of what is important to them becomes what's important to us because that's what we're exposed to all the time.
Jason SunkelI often say, like, my kids, we played every sport, but my kids got a lot more exposure to basketball because that's the sport that I liked, and that's the one that I wanted to be around all the time.
Jason SunkelSo even though they got an opportunity to be involved in lots of sports, at least two out of the three of them eventually ended up gravitating to basketball.
Jason SunkelAnd just again, thinking about your experience with your parents and as business owners and people who again, were focused on growing that side of it, you can totally see where that's sort of the direction that it steers you.
Jason SunkelWhat was your favorite memory of playing high school basketball?
Jason SunkelDo you have one memory that sticks out for you?
Jordan KleinYou're doing a good job right now.
Jordan KleinMaking me feel old.
Jason SunkelI'll tell you, man.
Jason SunkelCome on, you're a young guy, man.
Jason SunkelI'm 54.
Jason SunkelJordan, come on, man.
Jason SunkelYou're making me feel old, man.
Jordan KleinSure.
Jordan KleinNo, I'm going to take it a little different direction.
Jordan KleinIt's a memory and it's fun.
Jordan KleinNow when I go back to my hometown.
Jordan KleinAt the time, it was a challenging situation, but we were playing my sophomore year, we were playing the number one team in state and they happened to be in the same city as us.
Jordan KleinSo it was a big game.
Jordan KleinAnd we were down by two with eight seconds left.
Jordan KleinI'll never forget it.
Jordan KleinAnd I was a starting shooting guard, but I was the third option on offense.
Jordan KleinWe had a senior point guard that was first team all conference and a junior guard that was second team all conference.
Jordan KleinSo we had an inbounds play, got the ball in, I sprinted to the corner and between the two other guards, they had four defenders on them and I was wide open.
Jordan KleinSo senior guard makes the right play.
Jordan KleinHe passes me the ball in the corner with two seconds left.
Jordan KleinThere's thousands of people in the gym in this smaller town.
Jordan KleinAnd I shoot the ball off the pad off the side of the backboard and we lose by two.
Jordan KleinAnd there were extra bleachers on the baseline.
Jordan KleinIt was, it was the.
Jordan KleinEven between now and college, it was the most packed, loud gym I've ever been in, in my life.
Jordan KleinOutside of, of course, NBA games.
Jordan KleinBut now I go back, even now, 15 years later, I go back home and they're like, hey, Klein, watch this.
Jordan KleinAnd this little, this little 12 year old that, I'm not sure, I mean that his parents, I mean, his, his siblings have to tell him about it.
Jordan KleinThey're like, jordan, watch this.
Jordan KleinAnd they'll shoot it off the side of the backboard.
Jordan KleinLike, come on, man.
Jason SunkelSo, so, so the pandemic P did that in the bubble.
Jason SunkelDid that trigger flashbacks when he threw it off the backboard in 2020.
Jordan Klein100%.
Jordan KleinI don't think about that.
Jordan KleinOkay, brings up, brings up some PTSD for me then.
Jordan KleinSo that was in high school.
Jordan KleinIn College, I played two years at a junior college.
Jordan KleinWe were 48 and 4 over my two years there.
Jordan KleinAnd so I don't really have one specific memory from that.
Jordan KleinBut being around a culture, just a competitive culture, they say, I mean, everyone says winning fixes a lot of things, but it was amazing while we were winning how close we got as a team.
Jordan KleinLike, I still talked to my coach 1412 years later.
Jordan KleinSo some of those relationships you can build in a short period of time.
Jordan KleinThat's the most memorable stuff for me.
Jason SunkelWhat was the recruiting process like for you?
Jordan KleinIt was, I'll be honest, it was minimal.
Jordan KleinI'm a six foot.
Jordan KleinI was a good shooter.
Jordan KleinThe scouting report on me was get a hand up and he, you can attack him on defense.
Jordan KleinSo the recruiting process was.
Jordan KleinI just, I went to a private high school and I knew that I wanted to keep playing.
Jordan KleinSo I had a couple of junior college offers and those schools ended up actually being just less expensive than my high school.
Jordan KleinSo my parents were supportive of that and I could stay within a couple hours of home.
Jordan KleinSo I chose to stay closer to home.
Jordan KleinI had an.
Jordan KleinI had an offer from York in Pennsylvania, but it was just too far away from home.
Jason SunkelYeah, understood.
Jason SunkelCompletely got.
Jason SunkelCompletely understand that.
Jason SunkelSo what are you thinking about career wise as a college student?
Jason SunkelWhat are you studying?
Jason SunkelWhat are you thinking about?
Jason SunkelAnd what do you end up doing at first after graduation?
Jason SunkelBecause I think this is kind of where your story takes some, takes some interesting turns.
Jordan KleinYep.
Jordan KleinMy.
Jordan KleinEnded up meeting my eventual wife when we were both at Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
Jordan KleinI was studying finance and I got a job my sophomore year of college.
Jordan KleinJust needed some extra money, so I started selling phones at US Cellular.
Jordan KleinAnd in my eyes at the time, I was making good money and that, that steered my focus away from school.
Jordan KleinAnd so I ended up getting into the workforce.
Jordan KleinTook an opportunity to.
Jordan KleinI did that for a little while.
Jordan KleinIt was just for.
Jordan KleinJust for some extra sales money.
Jordan KleinI was a finance director at a Lexus dealership in the suburbs of Milwaukee also.
Jordan KleinIt was just, just kind of fell into that.
Jordan KleinIt was good money.
Jordan KleinI didn't love what I was doing every day, but I made some really good connections from my time at US Cellular.
Jordan KleinI had a friend that left.
Jordan KleinHe left the industry.
Jordan KleinHe started a media company, real estate media.
Jordan KleinSo they did, you know your drone photos listing photos 3D walkthrough videos, et cetera.
Jordan KleinAnd the company outgrew him.
Jordan KleinHe was, he just needed help with his finances.
Jordan KleinAnd again, I had background from studying finance and both my parents with business.
Jordan KleinAnd so right out of the gate, he offered me a position to be a cfo.
Jordan KleinHelp him with.
Jordan KleinHelp him with taxes and reorg and get the company from red to green.
Jordan KleinAnd so I did that for two years.
Jordan KleinWas successful.
Jordan KleinI was just wearing, I was, I was just working, working a lot.
Jordan KleinDidn't have a ton of purpose.
Jordan KleinI found myself not having a lot of purpose.
Jordan KleinAt the end of the day, it was fun being around a team, but it, I just didn't go to bed saying, yeah, I accomplished X today and I feel really good about it and I'm pumped to do it the next day.
Jordan KleinAnd that's, no, that's not saying anything bad about the industry, the company, the people that were there.
Jordan KleinYeah, it was just me in my stomach.
Jordan KleinI just had a little pit that said, you know, I think I played basketball.
Jordan KleinI.
Jordan KleinI started coaching high school part time on the side.
Jordan KleinWhile I was doing that, I fell in love with it.
Jordan KleinI didn't realize how much I would love it.
Jordan KleinAnd my wife and I, you know, if you.
Jordan KleinI'd love for you to ask about my wife.
Jordan KleinI'd love to touch on that for a second.
Jordan KleinBut if you.
Jordan KleinWe just talked about the support system and being able to create a plan and figure out solutions and ways to actually put plans in action instead of talk about it.
Jordan KleinMade a plan to coach college.
Jordan KleinSo I was a CFO for two years and then put a plan together to pursue coaching college basketball.
Jason SunkelAll right, well, let's talk about your wife and give her a little credit, because as anyone who is coaching and has a spouse knows that if you're going to pursue a coaching career, and I don't care at what level, and especially for someone like you who's making a career change, who is making good money as someone who's working in the business world to say to yourself, I'm going to start trying to pursue the idea of becoming a college coach.
Jason SunkelI can't even count the number of podcasts that we've talked to or the number of guests that we've talked to on the pod about, hey, I'm starting my career and I'm making $0 or I'm making $2,000 for this entire year.
Jason SunkelAnd so you're not making the change to go in and have it be a lucrative financial decision.
Jason SunkelAnd obviously, if you are with a partner at that point, There, there's a, there's a sales pitch that has to be made in order for that to be a palatable decision.
Jason SunkelSo talk a little bit about your guys planning what those conversations were like and then tell me about the plan that you put together.
Jordan KleinSure.
Jordan KleinWe were.
Jordan KleinSo when I was, when I was working at Lexus and then eventually onto being the cfo, the media company, my wife was working just, she was out of college and she was working a front desk job as a manager and she just wasn't happy on a day to day basis.
Jordan KleinSo I had the money coming in to be able to support her to leave that job.
Jordan KleinAnd she pursued opening a social media and marketing company and it took her 12 months to get her first client.
Jordan KleinSo there were ebbs and flows in that, but it was an opportunity for me to be able to support her, to be able to do something that she loves and she was passionate about and give her the flexibility to work from home.
Jordan KleinAnd then after about three years, she was, she was doing that full time and she was bringing in enough money to pay our bills.
Jordan KleinWe weren't, you know, we weren't maxing out our 401k, but our bills were paid and if, if we needed to live on one income.
Jordan KleinAnd we started talking about trying to have a kid after being married for two years and we said to each other, if we're going to pursue a family, I can't be working 60 hours a week at that time and being outside of the house.
Jordan KleinSo I gave her essentially the opportunity to pursue her, her passion for a few years.
Jordan KleinShe has it up and running, she still does it full time.
Jordan KleinAnd now that plan was she's willing to move around the country with me and support me while I pursue this career path.
Jordan KleinSo there's been some, and we've been married for five years and there's been some pretty big ebbs and flows, but it's, it's just about the foundation that you have together.
Jordan KleinAnd I'm sure coaches say this all the time, that they couldn't do what they do without their wives, but I would be, I'd be living in a studio apartment right now if it wasn't for my wife.
Jordan KleinSo.
Jason SunkelAll right, so in the plan, from working a quote unquote regular job to the first step of becoming a college coach, what's step one?
Jason SunkelWhat do you guys do first?
Jason SunkelWhat's the first move?
Jordan KleinFrom my finance background I had, I pulled out a spreadsheet.
Jordan KleinMy parents have, they live in, my dad has a house in Iowa.
Jordan KleinMy mom has a house in the Denver area in Phoenix, and then she ended up recently just buying a house in Iowa.
Jordan KleinSo I made a spreadsheet of 50 colleges that were near those three areas and then filtering them down by head coach tenure, just so I didn't go with my first.
Jordan KleinIt's.
Jordan KleinIt's.
Jordan KleinWe have some real estate, we have some investment properties, and the first one that you buy is very important.
Jordan KleinAfter that, they're still important, but the first one is crucial to your success.
Jordan KleinIt can really hinder you.
Jordan KleinSo I had that same mindset going into coaching.
Jordan KleinSo step one was creating a spreadsheet.
Jordan KleinAnd then I just cold emailed.
Jordan KleinI didn't have a lot of great relationships, and I.
Jordan KleinGreat.
Jordan KleinI just didn't have a lot of relationships with college coaches.
Jordan KleinSo I sent a lot of cold emails and.
Jordan KleinBut was very targeted in who I reached out to and who I would truly be willing to relocate for with my family, and was fortunate to get an email back from Coach Dave Slaughball at Cornell College.
Jordan KleinAnd then that led to a world of networking that I could not have imagined.
Jason SunkelAbsolutely.
Jason SunkelI mean, Coach Law and the connections that he has, and we're going to dive into the whole Snow Valley piece of this and everybody that's connected with that, and Jason and I have been fortunate enough through the podcast and our relationships and get an opportunity to go out to Iowa.
Jason SunkelJason's been out there once, and I've been out there.
Jason SunkelI think three.
Jason SunkelI've been out there three times, and just again, great opportunity to be able to go out and to network and to be a part of it.
Jason SunkelSo.
Jason SunkelSo tell us a little bit about your relationship with Coach Slobaugh, just what that's meant to you and how it kind of led to.
Jason SunkelLed to these opportunities that you were.
Jason SunkelThat you were able to earn at the college level.
Jordan KleinSure.
Jordan KleinSo when I was looking at colleges in the area, I pulled up Cornell.
Jordan KleinThey have a new $23 million renovation that they did.
Jordan KleinIt was beautiful, just looking at the pictures.
Jordan KleinAnd I'm.
Jordan KleinI was a high school coach, so this was.
Jordan KleinIt just looked incredible.
Jordan KleinAnd it was really just a reach.
Jordan KleinI just sent an email to say, hey, you know what?
Jordan KleinIt can't hurt to send this.
Jordan KleinAnd he emailed me back within 30 minutes and said he'd be interested.
Jordan KleinAnd we set up a time for me to come down and visit my dad, who lives about 25 minutes away from campus.
Jordan KleinAnd I just told him I'd drive down, make a long weekend out of it.
Jordan KleinWe Had I met.
Jordan KleinI was scheduled to meet with him for.
Jordan KleinThis is something people.
Jason SunkelThis.
Jordan KleinThis is a big takeaway for me was I was scheduled to meet with him for one hour and I ended up being there for three.
Jordan KleinAnd he said at the end of it, he said, I think it's important for our wives to meet each other.
Jordan KleinLet's get dinner tomorrow.
Jordan KleinAnd we did that and just hit it off from there.
Jordan KleinAnd I, after talking to him, did not.
Jordan KleinI told everyone else that said they were interested that I had found my place.
Jordan KleinThe amount of time and how genuine he is and authentic and just.
Jordan KleinThere's a public speaker named Jordan Montgomery, and he says that love is spelled T I M E.
Jordan KleinAnd I was blown away by how much time Coach was willing to spend with someone that would come in and just be a.
Jordan KleinNot just, but to be a stipend assistant for his first college opportunity.
Jason SunkelTell me what that first experience was like.
Jason SunkelWhat do you remember about just the difference between the experiences that you had had to that point with coaching in high school versus coaching in college?
Jason SunkelJust what were some of your first impressions?
Jason SunkelWhat.
Jason SunkelWhat did you really enjoy and love about the college experience?
Jordan KleinI.
Jordan KleinSo for me, I really enjoyed the challenge of recruiting because I had a sales background, sales and finance background.
Jordan KleinI really.
Jordan KleinI enjoyed being able to put together the puzzle of what does this class size look like?
Jordan KleinWhat do we need next year?
Jordan KleinEspecially at the Division 3 level, where you don't deal as much with the transfer portal, you can put the puzzle pieces together on what you need.
Jordan KleinAnd then in addition to that, It's a top 100 academic college in the country, and it's not inexpensive to go to school there.
Jordan KleinSo I appreciate the challenge of finding the right fit, meeting with parents, and putting that process together.
Jordan KleinSo recruiting was.
Jordan KleinWas big for me.
Jordan KleinAnd then in addition to that, what I loved about college was that you recruit the type of players that you're looking for, which we all know.
Jordan KleinBut it.
Jordan KleinIt helps a lot with.
Jordan KleinYou give yourself chess pieces now instead of checkers.
Jordan KleinAnd then instead of so much dealing with how you play the game, it's a lot more of what can we do with the assets that we have or with the people that are around us?
Jordan KleinSo that was.
Jordan KleinI just love the challenge of.
Jordan KleinLet me put it this way, when you're in high school, a lot of it has been in the past.
Jordan KleinThere's a lot of systems and you have a youth program and they run the same thing from sixth grade up.
Jordan KleinAnd that just doesn't fly in college with Scouting and etc.
Jordan KleinSo I love the challenge of having to be an expert and, you know, multiple offenses, culture, coverages, etc, and then figuring out what's worked best for the personnel that you have.
Jason SunkelTell me a little bit about recruiting and what you like about that process.
Jason SunkelWhat's a challenge when it comes to that process?
Jason SunkelObviously at the Division 3 level, you have a certain academic profile of player that you have to be able to recruit depending.
Jason SunkelDepending upon what your school is.
Jason SunkelBut just tell me about building relationships with recruits, how you go about doing that and then just again, how you kind of take them from the beginning.
Jason SunkelIntroductory stage of, hey, we're just trying to identify whether or not a kid can play and academically be a good fit for our institution to, okay, this kid's actually going to walk on campus and become a part of our program.
Jason SunkelTake me through those steps.
Jordan KleinWe emphasized, we emphasize character just as highly, if not more than your talent.
Jordan KleinIf we're going to spend 40 hours a week together.
Jordan KleinI want to make sure I like you and I want to make sure you like me and you're a good fit for the culture.
Jordan KleinAnd that's a trigger word, but that's such a cliche thing to say.
Jordan KleinBut that came from my background and in business, if I don't, I think there's someone out there that can type numbers into a spreadsheet and balance things for me.
Jordan KleinBut if I don't like you and don't want to see you walk through the door every day, it's hard to.
Jordan KleinIt's hard to go after you and put my best foot forward when I'm recruiting you.
Jordan KleinSo.
Jason SunkelRight, right.
Jordan KleinWe look at character a lot.
Jordan KleinBut that process at Cornell, 70% of the students are from out of state, international.
Jordan KleinSo we spent a lot of time through, I mean, different software we used.
Jordan KleinI actually, I use Twitter a lot.
Jordan KleinEvery, Every kid needs to have X.
Jordan KleinBut we would meet, we would.
Jordan KleinWe never sent an offer or we never offered a kid unless we met with his parents first and we had to gauge.
Jordan KleinI mean, finances are important, but I'm, again, I'm.
Jordan KleinI'm gauging character and eye contact respectfulness.
Jordan KleinIt's just in this, you know, in the age that we are in, that's so important to us.
Jordan KleinAnd I mean, you know, high character education is important.
Jordan KleinAnd then we'd get them on campus, meet with the family, take them out to eat and just decide if it was a good fit.
Jordan KleinI mean, you can feel it in your gut whether this is a good person in front of You.
Jordan KleinBut I think to pivot a little bit, I think it's so important as coaches to be authentic, genuine, be yourself.
Jordan KleinPeople can smell BS from a mile away and there's just no time for it.
Jordan KleinAgain, very similar to my business background.
Jordan KleinYour competition is right down the street and there's no time for fluff.
Jordan KleinThe.
Jordan KleinWe're the best university.
Jordan KleinWe're the best university.
Jordan KleinIt just doesn't work.
Jordan KleinIt's like the push and promote things don't work.
Jordan KleinYou have to be able to share with them how you're, how you're different as a person.
Jordan KleinBecause school to school for the majority, you got, you have class Monday, Wednesday, Friday, you have different classes Tuesday, Thursday, you'll get your degree.
Jordan KleinAnd in a way we go.
Jordan KleinBut I think who you are and being trustworthy, respectful, showing someone that you care for, who they are authentically people, I mean, I just, it's, it's massive in building trust.
Jordan KleinSo thanks for listening to my belabored, long winded response, but I think that's so important.
Jason SunkelNo, I think you're 100% right.
Jason SunkelI mean, I think that any relationship that you have, once a kid is in the program, it all starts on the recruiting trail.
Jason SunkelRight?
Jason SunkelYou're trying to build that relationship with, first of all, the player, but, you know, getting to know their family because it's a package deal.
Jason SunkelAnd you're trying to figure out again, what, what kind of a person is this beyond what kind of a basketball player are they?
Jason SunkelBecause as you said early on, one of the things that's nice about college basketball is you get to be the gatekeeper of who comes into your program and who doesn't.
Jason SunkelObviously, when you're coaching at the high school level, you don't have nearly as much control over what that looks like.
Jason SunkelAnd you, you're limited to who walks through the doors of your school.
Jason SunkelAnd those are the kids that you got to figure out and try to coach.
Jason SunkelAnd when you're coaching at the college level, you have some ability to control and figure out who's going to be a part of your program.
Jason SunkelAnd so you're trying to make good decisions when it comes to who you bring in and who you want to be around and who you want to work with.
Jason SunkelRight.
Jason SunkelI mean, it's a long time, four years and four seasons of working with a kid and being around them and pouring into them and building that relationship with them.
Jason SunkelAnd you just want that to be a situation where it's a good fit for everybody all around.
Jason SunkelTell me about the experiences that you had working with Coach Slaw just on the court.
Jason SunkelWhat are some things that you learned from him?
Jason SunkelFrom.
Jason SunkelLet's start with just a basketball perspective, and then we can maybe dive into kind of what he.
Jason SunkelWhat he taught you more specifically about the coaching profession in general.
Jordan KleinHe was, if something's not working, he is willing to pivot immediately the next day and fix it.
Jordan KleinHe is not willing to beat his head against the wall with something that's not working or that the team is not picking up on.
Jordan KleinSo within the first, we had.
Jordan KleinWe had some injuries early last year.
Jordan KleinAnd so within the first.
Jordan KleinI want to say within the first eight games, we had tweaked our offense about three times.
Jordan KleinAnd not just simple actions.
Jordan KleinIt was just different.
Jordan KleinIt was different philosophies.
Jordan KleinAnd that was.
Jordan KleinThat was the first time I'd ever seen that.
Jordan KleinA willingness to change and be humble enough to.
Jordan KleinAnd aware that you need to change.
Jordan KleinAnd it's.
Jordan KleinIt's good to grow in that way.
Jordan KleinLike, humility allows you to be teachable, and it allows you to continue learning.
Jordan KleinAnd he.
Jordan KleinThere was no ego about that.
Jordan KleinIt was not.
Jordan KleinMy system fits, and I'm going to put, you know, fit the.
Jordan KleinFit the squares into the circle situation.
Jordan KleinSo that was a big take.
Jordan KleinThat was a big takeaway as far as on court.
Jordan KleinSome things specifically that I learned from him was very personnel based and putting players in the right position to be successful based on their strengths.
Jordan KleinI used to coach players and you think you know how to do that, and then you see it done at a higher level and you realize that there's always things to learn.
Jordan KleinAnd so just some of his actions, things that we ran on the floor to get kids open, were so simple, but they were effective.
Jordan KleinSo there's some things I could share, I'm sure, but those were.
Jordan KleinThat was.
Jordan KleinThose.
Jordan KleinThose two things were big for me.
Jason SunkelAll right, let's dive into what the Snow Valley piece of this has meant to you.
Jason SunkelJust go through some of the people that have had an impact on you and just, again, what that experience.
Jason SunkelAnd clearly anybody who has been affiliated with Snow Valley in any way knows just what an incredible network of people have been connected to Snow Valley.
Jason SunkelBut just tell us a little bit about your experiences and maybe highlight a couple of the individuals that you feel have been especially impactful.
Jordan KleinAbsolutely.
Jordan KleinI'm happy to do it.
Jordan KleinSo I recognize Coach Showalter's name in Coach Slava's bio.
Jordan KleinSo I didn't know much about Cornell College, and I didn't recognize the name Dave Slobaugh.
Jordan KleinBut I, I knew who, at least on paper, from his track record, I knew who.
Jordan KleinSo Walter is right.
Jordan KleinSo that was a, that was a big thing for me is why I reached out to coach Slava.
Jordan KleinAnd so, I mean, it all starts with him.
Jordan KleinAnd he says, he says in order to be different, sometimes you have to do things a little bit differently.
Jordan KleinAnd so I took, I took that to heart when I started going to Snow Valley.
Jordan KleinAnd he teaches you.
Jordan KleinHe talks a lot about having no ego.
Jordan KleinWe're all here to teach.
Jordan KleinYou have to be a teacher of the game.
Jordan KleinWhether you're, whether he's with his junior national team and coaching Jason Tatum or Scotty Barnes or he's in a gym, in a cornfield in Iowa talking to sixth graders.
Jordan KleinHe is the same person.
Jordan KleinSo consistent, he's genuine and he knows he's very, very smart when it comes to.
Jordan KleinIt's.
Jordan KleinIt's an appropriate time to push you a little bit, get on you.
Jordan KleinAnd then when it's time to pull back and you need a different type of motivation.
Jordan KleinSo I took a lot away, took a lot of that away from him.
Jordan KleinAt the same time, the, something I have learned and seen is that you are.
Jordan KleinEveryone is.
Jordan KleinEveryone's treated like you hear this.
Jordan KleinProbably everyone's treated fairly but not equal.
Jordan KleinLike you are still anticipated to come in and work.
Jordan KleinSo the first, first when I did Soul Valley Last year in 23, we talked a little bit and then he saw my work ethic.
Jordan KleinHe saw some things that I was doing with Cornell, picking people up from the airport at 1 o'clock in the morning, et cetera.
Jordan KleinAnd then with that comes some, some respect level where he sees who you are, that you might be a little bit different or willing to go the extra mile.
Jordan KleinAnd then opportunities come from that.
Jordan KleinI was able to work USA Gold Camps.
Jordan KleinHe offered to be a reference on my resume.
Jordan KleinIt's just you don't know.
Jordan KleinYou just don't know the possibilities until you put your best foot forward.
Jordan KleinSo he's been unbelievable.
Jordan KleinI was just texting him earlier today.
Jordan KleinHe's a great guy.
Jordan KleinFrom that I will name a couple other people would be Dave Severns, formerly player development coach of the LA Clippers.
Jordan KleinI took his player development course which I would recommend to anybody.
Jordan KleinIt's great.
Jordan KleinAnd so he took us through a six week course on player development.
Jordan KleinLearned a lot from him.
Jordan KleinBut again, that comes from the network at Snow Valley.
Jordan KleinAnd then, I mean, I'll just share that.
Jordan KleinIt just keeps leading into will twig is the reason why I'm on this podcast.
Jordan KleinGreat friend of mine, the academy coach for the London Lions.
Jordan KleinAnd that friendship means everything.
Jordan KleinHis wife's amazing.
Jordan KleinHim and his wife are.
Jordan KleinOr his, her name's Rose.
Jordan KleinRose and my wife are best friends.
Jordan KleinWe've been to their house in London, they've been to our house in Iowa.
Jordan KleinSo you're creating lifelong friendships.
Jordan KleinAgain, as cliche as that might sound, it's genuine.
Jordan KleinAnd you never know where those relationships or people in their career are going to go.
Jordan KleinSnow Valley is just a special place.
Jordan KleinLast I'll mention that Bayoudo, former NBA player, he was at Snow Valley.
Jordan KleinQuinn Snyder actually sent him there, which is unbelievable when you think about it.
Jordan KleinFormer NBA player being sent to a cornfield in Iowa to come work a youth camp.
Jordan KleinBut yeah, he, he was able to get me into a Atlanta Hawks practice.
Jordan KleinYou talk to me after practice for 45 minutes.
Jordan KleinLike, the people that come to Snow Valley are just so genuine and want to help.
Jordan KleinAnd it's not a passive, hey, let me know if I can ever help you in the future.
Jordan KleinLike, these people respond.
Jordan KleinThey're there for you.
Jordan KleinThey're good people because they are absolutely psychotic about the game of basketball.
Jordan KleinAnd if you're willing to work from 6:00am until 11:00 at night, probably have a couple screw screw looses for the game, you are, you are a good person that really wants to help others, kids and coaches alike.
Jordan KleinSo Snow Valley's meant everything to me.
Jordan KleinThat's where I also met Coach McAdams.
Jordan KleinSo Coach Show Walter talks about if you want to be better as a coach, you have to go to camps and clinics.
Jordan KleinGo to camps and clinics.
Jordan KleinAnd so I've done that.
Jordan KleinThat's where I met Coach McAdams.
Jordan KleinHe had an opportunity, a rise on his staff and I was down here about a month later and that all came from Snow Valley.
Jason SunkelHey coaches, we know you're invested in the next generation of athletes, so why not give them the star treatment this season with Game Changer, a free app that provides you with the tools to help your players improve.
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Jason SunkelDownload it today and make this season one for the books.
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Jason SunkelLearn more@gc.com hoopheads that's gc.com hoopheads your story is a testament to how powerful a coaching network is it.
Jason SunkelIt also speaks to just what we discovered from doing the podcast for the last six years.
Jason SunkelAnd I guess I.
Jason SunkelI sort of knew this before we started, but I don't think I fully comprehended the just willingness of people to share their knowledge, to share their connections, to invest in something that they feel is worthwhile.
Jason SunkelAnd then probably the most overwhelming thing is just the love for the game of basketball that's out there.
Jason SunkelAnd I know you can probably speak to this as well, but I grew up just loving the game of basketball.
Jason SunkelAnd in my little area of Strongsville, Ohio, here, suburb of Cleveland, I was.
Jason SunkelYou know, I mean, I loved the game, felt like I loved it more than.
Jason SunkelMore than anybody.
Jason SunkelAnd sometimes you get caught up in it, and it's maybe not as easy to get caught up in it as it is, you know, back then as it is now, because with social media, you can see lots of things and whatever, but back in my day as a.
Jason SunkelAs a young kid and then as a young coach, you know, you were kind of isolated in your own sort of.
Jason SunkelSort of little world.
Jason SunkelAnd I just.
Jason SunkelThe love for the game of basketball and the willingness of people to share and your story does a tremendous job of illustrating that.
Jason SunkelThat, you know, here's a bunch of people that obviously, at the time you're meeting them, had.
Jordan KleinAre.
Jason SunkelHave tremendous, tremendous accomplishments in the game and have done so many things, and yet they're not just walking by you and looking down and go, oh, there's Jordan Klein.
Jason SunkelLike, what does this guy want?
Jason SunkelYou know?
Jason SunkelInstead it was, hey, there's Jordan Klein.
Jason SunkelLike, look at how hard this guy's working.
Jason SunkelHow can we help him?
Jason SunkelYou know, how can we help him to be better so ultimately we can help game of basketball be better.
Jason SunkelAnd a word that you said that keep flashing in my mind as I think about what you just shared is just that idea of just being genuine, right, and genuinely caring about somebody else.
Jason SunkelAnd too often in this world today, you don't see people.
Jason SunkelYou see a lot of, I guess, window dressing of people who say, hey, you know, yeah, I'll, you know, I'll help, whatever.
Jason SunkelBut the.
Jason SunkelThe number of people that actually will set something down, set something aside to.
Jason SunkelTo help someone, that's when you really start talking about those genuine relationships.
Jason SunkelAnd I know that Jason and I, when we went out together for the first time to Snow Valley, we certainly felt that.
Jason SunkelAnd then I went back a couple times with my son and felt it even stronger and just the number of people that we've had on the pod from, from Snow Valley.
Jason SunkelAnd of course it all starts, as you said, with Coach Showalter and Coach Slobaw and just how gracious they were to be able to first of all invite us to come on the podcast to be a part of it.
Jason SunkelAnd so I can completely understand the reverence that you have for those two guys and what they've been able to do for you in your career.
Jason SunkelWhen you think about this plan that you started that we talked about a few minutes ago with you and your wife, kind of putting it together and you see kind of where it's taken you, what have been, the things that kind of have gone according to plan and what are.
Jason SunkelIs there a thing or two that maybe has been a surprise or a twist that you didn't see coming when you put together that original plan?
Jordan KleinThat is the most relevant question you could ask me at this time in my first 72 hours down in Arkansas.
Jordan KleinSo I now have, we have a two year old daughter, happy, healthy, amazing.
Jordan KleinI've been able to spend a lot of time with her for the last, with, with her at home with the last two years.
Jordan KleinCoach Slapaw was very understanding.
Jordan KleinHe allowed me to do scouting reports and film for my home office so I could spend more time around my daughter.
Jordan KleinAnd like I said, this opportunity arose very quickly.
Jordan KleinSo I am in, I'm currently sitting, I'm, I'm 32, I have fortunate to have two houses and an investment property and I am sitting in a college dorm room on campus right now.
Jordan KleinI just had three meals in the cafeteria today and my wife and 2 year old daughter are back in Cedar Rapids for the next, you know, for the foreseeable for this season.
Jordan KleinMy wife is the head dance coach at Cornell College and she committed to the season prior to this opportunity arising.
Jordan KleinSo again, going back to Coach Sowalter, you know, in order to be different, you have to do things differently.
Jordan KleinI would also share from my finance days with Dave Ramsey says if you live like no one else later, you can eventually live like no one else.
Jordan KleinAnd can't tell you how hard the last 72 hours have been and making this decision and not just me collectively with my wife as a, as a unit, but I am for the first time not living with my wife and daughter for potentially six months.
Jordan KleinSo yeah, there's been some twists and turns and there's been some conversations that have ended in tears and I've also been really excited over the last few days to be back in the gym, working with great talent, having established relationships.
Jordan KleinThere's no, no way that I would be sitting in the, that I would have chose to sit in this dorm room right now if it wasn't for relationships with Coach McAdams that were built off of Snow Valley.
Jordan KleinSo it's not all doom and gloom.
Jordan KleinI'm happy to be here.
Jordan KleinIt's a really great opportunity.
Jordan KleinBut as far as personal life goes, absolutely.
Jordan KleinThere have been some twists and turns.
Jason SunkelWhat was the discussion like with your wife when this opportunity is presented to you?
Jason SunkelWhat were some of the things that you guys talked about?
Jason SunkelWhat was your process?
Jason SunkelBecause I think this is a, an interesting conversation.
Jason SunkelIt's an interesting situation that I think a lot of coaches who are at the college level, who are at the early stages of their career have to make similar decisions.
Jason SunkelThey have to decide, am I willing to move, am I willing to be separated from my spouse, my kids for a certain period of time, am I willing to work for less money to be able to take a step forward in my career?
Jason SunkelSo I think that whatever you're willing to share about that conversation, maybe how you structured it.
Jason SunkelDid you talk pros and cons?
Jason SunkelDid you just.
Jason SunkelHow did you go about having that discussion so that it would be productive and you could ultimately make what was going to be the best decision for you and your family?
Jordan KleinYeah, I mean we, I had a great, I had a great year, great time at Cornell building those relationships.
Jordan KleinI love everything about both slob odds that are there.
Jordan KleinAnd so, yeah, absolutely, we made pros and cons.
Jordan KleinWe had conversations about, you know, when you make a decision, they're good and bad, there's positive and negative consequences to everything.
Jordan KleinAnd so we, we listed those things out.
Jordan KleinFor what it's worth, I'm not set on this.
Jordan KleinLike the division that you're in and coaching is nice.
Jordan KleinI'm happy to be at Division 2 level.
Jordan KleinI also really, I was excited to be you mentioned in the intro, but I'm excited to be on the women's side because I have a two year old daughter.
Jordan KleinSo we talked about the pros and cons of the opportunity.
Jordan KleinI think that exists in the women's game right now, being in Iowa for the last year, the Caitlin Clark effect and the rise of women's basketball and the awareness.
Jordan KleinSo.
Jordan KleinAnd then personally, I'm thinking big picture about how temporary this is in the scheme of our, our marriage and our lives and then how that's going to impact.
Jordan KleinI'll just say personally, how that can impact my daughter later.
Jordan KleinOn in life, being able to be around, you know, strong minded women.
Jordan KleinAnd I, I mean that's very genuinely.
Jordan KleinSo if there's anything that I can do to help my daughter be in a better place or help her succeed later in life, if this is one thing I can do to do that, I am, I'm willing to drive nine hours down to Arkansas and live in a college dorm.
Jordan KleinSo yeah, we talked about the pros and cons again with her flexibility of work and having family nearby and sort of and you know, having a support system to where she might not love her day to day, it's not optimal but you know, she, we can make it work.
Jordan KleinAnd so she gave me that blessing 12, 15 months after moving from Milwaukee, Wisconsin down to Iowa for Cornell.
Jordan KleinSo again, you're, you're, I think it's so important to note that you can have the best plan, you can be willing to put it into action.
Jordan KleinYou can make pros and cons lists, but if you don't have a support system, whether it's through your spouse, your family, whatever that is, I just can't, in my, in my reality, in small corner of the world, can't imagine being able to do something like that.
Jordan KleinSo I just, I want to reiterate that because it's, I think that's big for coaches if to find people around you that have genuine care and love for you, that are willing to go through you.
Jordan KleinIt's, it's like when you start dating somebody, you go on a first date and it's awesome.
Jordan KleinThe conversation's great and then you have your first argument and the test comes out of I don't know if I like you that much or yeah, I'm willing to, I'm willing to fight for you.
Jordan KleinI'm willing to work through this.
Jordan KleinAnd it's just been, it's been incredible.
Jordan KleinSo that's where we're at.
Jason SunkelHad you ever set foot in the state of Arkansas before this?
Jordan KleinNo, sir, I had never.
Jordan KleinIt was funny when I was walking into the first practice, I was walking in with Coach McAdams, he opened the door to the arena and it was, it was 15 minutes until practice.
Jordan KleinAnd I said, hey, this, you know, this is my first time walking into the arena, right.
Jordan KleinI had just got there, had my room set up.
Jordan KleinPractice was the next morning and I didn't have an opportunity to even tour the facility.
Jordan KleinI saw pictures, I knew them, but.
Jordan KleinAnd it was game time.
Jordan KleinThe lights were on, the clock was ticking down, and it's time to, time to get to work.
Jordan KleinSo I will tell you, I'm not making a recruiting pitch for anyone listening to this, but northwest Arkansas is a lot more beautiful than I anticipated.
Jordan KleinThere are some, there are some rolling hills here, there's waterfalls, there's national park.
Jordan KleinI had, I thought I was moving.
Jordan KleinI thought I was moving to.
Jordan KleinI'm, you know, I thought I was moving to the plains of Kansas.
Jordan KleinSo it's nice.
Jason SunkelGotcha.
Jason SunkelUnderstood.
Jason SunkelUnderstood.
Jason SunkelAll right.
Jason SunkelSo as you get there and you get on campus and obviously you have the relationship that you Described with Coach McAdams and before we jump down, you said basically you've been swallowing information for lack of a better way of saying it since you got onto campus.
Jason SunkelWhat are some of the things that this first 72 hours there that you've, that you've done, that you've taken in, the things that you're trying to assimilate sort of into your experience here in this early part of taking this job.
Jordan KleinThey had their first, the first Official practice was October 4th and I showed up three days ago.
Jordan KleinSo, you know, it's late in the process.
Jordan KleinIt's not something I've experienced before.
Jordan KleinSo along with learning players and their strengths and weaknesses and you know, trying to do your on court coaching, the biggest thing over the last 72 hours has been learning what, you know, doing my best in every way to be a good assistant coach and have understanding his philosophy in transition offense.
Jordan KleinHow are we going to be.
Jordan KleinDo we force baseline, do we force middle?
Jordan KleinBecause it's not necessarily about what I've been exposed to in the past.
Jordan KleinI think it's really important for us as a staff to have, we can all have our own opinions and if, hey, if this was solely my call in a summer league game, this is what we would do.
Jordan KleinBut I think it's important for us to have a common message when we address the team.
Jordan KleinSo understanding his philosophy, sharing input, he's, he's been unbelievable at empowering us to make, to make decisions.
Jordan KleinAnd again within 72 hours to be, for me to be able to lead things in practice and coach his kids that he spends time recruiting and they can be in the transfer portal in four months or tomorrow is unbelievable.
Jordan KleinAnd that all goes back to the relationship from so Valley.
Jordan KleinSo, you know, I would say learning his philosophy and then Billy is as quickly as possible, you're building relationships with kids.
Jordan KleinSo I'm just, I'm trying to bring in every day bringing in an energy in something that they might not expect.
Jordan KleinJust, it's called a pattern interrupt I like to throw people off their game a little bit.
Jordan KleinUm, so they remember you.
Jordan KleinIt's a lot about who you are as a person instead of what you do.
Jordan KleinAnd I think that goes a long way.
Jordan KleinPeople remember you for that.
Jordan KleinSo I've been doing that over the last three days.
Jason SunkelAll right, what's that look like?
Jason SunkelWhat's an example of a pattern interruption?
Jordan KleinWe have the Gatorade player of the year from Missouri last year.
Jordan KleinShe's a freshman.
Jordan KleinUm, we were in transition.
Jordan KleinShe got stuck in the short corner, and instead of spacing the floor, she was just.
Jordan KleinShe was lost in the short corner.
Jordan KleinSo she subbed out like it was just another team's rotation.
Jordan KleinAnd I walked over to her and I said, hey, can you shoot the ball?
Jordan KleinAnd just an inquisitive, you know, hey, are you.
Jordan KleinI.
Jordan KleinI just got here.
Jordan KleinI don't know anything.
Jordan KleinAre you able to shoot?
Jordan KleinI don't know.
Jordan KleinI haven't seen it on film.
Jordan KleinAnd she looked at me a little bit confused and said, yeah, she's a Gatorade player of the year.
Jordan KleinSo I said, you know, I know the answer to that question.
Jordan KleinRight?
Jordan KleinAnd she laughed and I said, so if you had the choice between being stuck in the short corner and being quiet, or spacing the floor to the corner using your voice and knocking down an open shot, which one would you choose?
Jordan KleinAnd she's like, use my voice in space.
Jordan KleinI was like, I think that's the correct answer.
Jordan KleinI'm happy you came to that conclusion.
Jordan KleinAnd I don't say it sarcastically.
Jordan KleinI'm just smiling.
Jordan KleinAnd in the next possession down, she faces the floor and hits a three and looks at me and she runs back on defense, takes a little glance.
Jordan KleinAnd to me, that was a good coaching moment of instead of saying, I could have walked over to her and said, hey, I need you to space the space, the floor.
Jordan KleinYou can't get lost in the short corner.
Jordan KleinAnd I just don't think that resonates as well.
Jordan KleinI don't think.
Jordan KleinI think there's a learning aspect to that where people need to come to their own conclusions or have the perception that they come to their own conclusions based on how you coach and lead and communicate.
Jordan KleinSo that's a.
Jordan KleinThat was a quick one that happened yesterday, right out of the gate.
Jason SunkelYeah.
Jason SunkelSort of bringing something unusual.
Jason SunkelRight.
Jason SunkelAn approach where you're getting across the same message, but maybe doing it in such a way that it's more memorable.
Jason SunkelIt's different.
Jason SunkelIt's not an out of the box strategy that somebody can Say, hey, I've heard a coach say that to me before.
Jason SunkelMaybe you just approach it in a slightly different way.
Jason SunkelAnd to your point, I think that does maybe make it more memorable and make it more impactful to say.
Jordan KleinTo say it short and sweet.
Jordan KleinI just.
Jordan KleinAnd this is to keep it short and sweet.
Jordan KleinTelling is not teaching.
Jordan KleinAnd I think.
Jordan KleinI think a lot of times coaches make a lot of statements.
Jordan KleinThey talk a lot because they want players to know how much they know.
Jordan KleinBut it doesn't matter what we say.
Jordan KleinIt's what people.
Jordan KleinIt's what people retain and understand.
Jordan KleinAnd so I think asking questions just activates your brain and gets people to figure it out for themselves, which they will remember.
Jordan KleinWhen there's fans and their parents are there and their boyfriend or girlfriend's there and there's distractions, you need to be able to retain and apply what you've learned based on your environment.
Jordan KleinSo telling is not teaching.
Jason SunkelYeah.
Jason SunkelCoaching with questions, I think is something that I didn't do hardly at all at the beginning of my coaching career.
Jason SunkelAnd then I think as time has gone on, I've become better and better and better at that.
Jason SunkelAnd to your point, it allows the player to come to their own conclusion or a conclusion that they.
Jason SunkelAgain, maybe there's the conclusion that your question is leading them to, but it gets them to the concept or the idea or the answer that you, as the coach, are looking for them to find.
Jason SunkelAnd so that's again, another way to be able to.
Jason SunkelTo cement that learning that you're trying to do with players out on the court and trying to get that across to them as you're talking about relationships.
Jason SunkelAnd obviously, very quickly, you've been there such a short period of time, so it may not even be necessarily put into practice quite yet at Fort Smith.
Jason SunkelBut when you think about building relationships with players, what does that look like for you in your mind?
Jason SunkelYou talked a little bit before about your relationships with some of the guys from Snow Valley and just the coaches and just how the relationship is genuine.
Jason SunkelSo how do you develop those genuine relationships with players so that a, they know that they're valued as people, but also so that you can get in there and they understand that the relationship that you've built with them off the floor allows you to push them and get the best out of them on the floor.
Jordan KleinMy first practice, walked into the gym.
Jordan KleinI was quiet for most of practice for day one.
Jordan KleinShowing up after their first official practice, observing, not pushing anyone's buttons.
Jordan KleinI'm.
Jordan KleinI'm there.
Jordan KleinI'M the new guy.
Jordan KleinAnd today we.
Jordan KleinA couple things.
Jordan KleinWe did a ball handling warmup drill.
Jordan KleinCoach McAdams let me lead that.
Jordan KleinAnd it was.
Jordan KleinAnd it was fun.
Jordan KleinIt wasn't.
Jordan KleinWe had two people arm arm's length away, just touch fingertips.
Jordan KleinThere was a cone in between them.
Jordan KleinWe would do a different ball handling series, and then whoever picked up the cone first, one very simple.
Jordan KleinWe did about eight different variations.
Jordan KleinBut it was great for me to be able to lead that in a fun, competitive way.
Jordan KleinSo people were smiling out of the gate at the first thing that I had led.
Jordan KleinThat was important to me.
Jordan KleinWe also implemented today after meetings, the classic communication circle that USA Basketball uses.
Jordan KleinSo I had the players.
Jordan KleinPlayers linked arms at the beginning of practice on the baseline.
Jordan KleinI went and talked to them, and I said, again, I like to ask questions, and I just want people to know that I'm genuine and I'm a real person that they can talk to and not just another coach that's going to harp on them all day.
Jordan KleinSo I said, hey, guys.
Jordan KleinI said, hey, ladies, how long have I been here?
Jordan KleinAnd they said, one day.
Jordan KleinThat's right.
Jordan KleinAnd I'm already switching stuff up, and I'm making you link arms.
Jordan KleinSo here's what we're going to do.
Jordan KleinYou guys are going to.
Jordan KleinWith 30 seconds left before practice starts, you're going to link arms on the baseline.
Jordan KleinWhoever's a leader on the team, upperclassmen, I just want you to communicate something that you're excited about for today, what you're looking forward to.
Jordan KleinAnd when you're done, the coaches will be at half court.
Jordan KleinYou're going to jog and clap to half court, where I'll link arms.
Jordan KleinAnd then Coach McAdams will talk about what we're doing for the day, anything we have coming up, any events we have planned, et cetera.
Jordan KleinAnd then I also mentioned if we had.
Jordan KleinIf you were at the University of Iowa and you have a staff of 74 coaches, they will watch practice, film back, and they track touches.
Jordan KleinUm, and so we focused a lot today just on togetherness with the communication circle.
Jordan KleinI will share.
Jordan KleinAlso, at the end of practice, we all went toe to toe in a circle because they're all sweaty and don't want to touch each other.
Jordan KleinAnd I had everyone look to the person to their left one at a time and say something that they did positive today, and I'll change that up, and it'll be fun.
Jordan KleinI might might ask, ask them who has the most pairs of Jordans, what's their Favorite parachute, what's your favorite food, Tell somebody something you don't know about that they don't know about you, et cetera.
Jordan KleinAnd I just think that builds relationships again.
Jordan KleinAnd just, again, it makes you seem human and authentic and there's.
Jordan KleinThere's things to you.
Jordan KleinAnd I want them to know I have a wife and a kid and that it, you know, et cetera, I think.
Jordan KleinBut we did all that in the last two.
Jordan KleinTwo practices, so that was great.
Jason SunkelI think that sharing things as a coach about your life outside of your basketball team is a really valuable piece because when you think about your experience as a player, or oftentimes I'll think about my day job as a teacher.
Jason SunkelAnd so often kids have this perception of they only see you in that role that they're seeing you most frequently in, and they're.
Jason SunkelThey're oftentimes like, so I teach elementary PE during the day.
Jason SunkelAnd obviously those kids are a lot younger than the girls that you're coaching now, but they'll still sometimes say to me, like, you have kids or, you know, you're married, and they have no idea that there's a life beyond the four walls of the school.
Jason SunkelAnd I think the more that you can open up and be vulnerable and share things about your family, about your life, about your hopes, your dreams, then that sort of frees up them to feel comfortable to be able to do the same thing.
Jason SunkelAnd before you know it, now everybody's sharing things.
Jason SunkelAnd people know a lot more about their teammates.
Jason SunkelThey know a lot more about their coaches.
Jason SunkelCoaches know a lot more about their players.
Jason SunkelAnd again, how do you build those genuine relationships that we talked about?
Jason SunkelIt's by getting to know someone and investing in them and learning about them and caring about them, not just as a basketball player, but as a person.
Jason SunkelI think that those examples that you just gave are really powerful ways to be able to build those relationships that you need, obviously, to be able to have a cohesive and successful basketball program, no matter what level of basketball you're talking about.
Jason SunkelLet's talk a little bit about your role and what you and Coach McAdams have talked about specifically day to day.
Jason SunkelDo you have.
Jordan KleinWhat.
Jason SunkelWhat's your job description?
Jason SunkelIs there.
Jason SunkelDo you guys break it down by.
Jason SunkelWe have somebody.
Jason SunkelAre you in charge of a specific aspect within practice?
Jason SunkelIs it.
Jason SunkelEverybody's kind of coaching everything?
Jason SunkelJust how does he break it down in terms of what your on court responsibilities are?
Jason SunkelLet's start there.
Jordan KleinOn court description, I would say, is developing and ongoing.
Jordan KleinHe's Figuring me out.
Jordan KleinI'm figuring out what he needs.
Jordan KleinSo today I did a small group workout with three players.
Jordan KleinI did some ball handling, I did a finishing at the rim with guards and then I think tomorrow it'll flip flop and I'll work with post players and do some shooting drills as well, put them in some situations.
Jordan KleinBut he had, he had one assist, one, he had a full time assistant, has one along with myself.
Jordan KleinAnd so it's just been a lot of learning each other.
Jordan KleinBut I can tell you he had the biggest smile on his face today when he was able to have each of us on one half of the floor when we did position work and he was able to get half court and just observe and then critique and sound bites on what he saw.
Jordan KleinBut he didn't have to be engaged with the drill and setting it up.
Jordan KleinSo the support aspect of just being able to come in and help help a program just by having a body in another set of eyes I think has been pretty valuable.
Jason SunkelWhat was your previous experience with coaching on the women's side of the game?
Jason SunkelHad you done any of that prior to this opportunity?
Jordan KleinNo.
Jordan KleinWhat sparked my interest, I coached boys in high school men for a year at Cornell.
Jordan KleinBut having my 2 year old daughter was, it made me, it made me look and consider.
Jordan KleinBut I can tell you it directly came from Snow Valley.
Jordan KleinThere are three boys camps and one girls camp and without compare, the girls camp is by far my favorite to coach from a coachability standpoint.
Jordan KleinYou know, not every kid thinks that they're LeBron and can shoot 45 foot step back threes.
Jordan KleinAnd I also really like, I will share, I really like the challenge of coaching women and I mean it from the standpoint that I think it's a, I think it's a good reflection, it's a great reflection on who you are as a coach.
Jordan KleinFrom my experience, having girls and now women around me that are so coachable and eager to learn and they want to get better if it's good information in good results on the floor, bad information in bad results on the floor.
Jordan KleinSo I really appreciate the challenge of having to be detailed with what I say, when I say it, how I say it.
Jason SunkelI think that's really.
Jason SunkelI've had an opportunity to coach, you know, two of my daughter's teams and there definitely is a, there's a difference, I think in, I don't want to say coachability because it's not that necessarily boys aren't coachable, but I do think your point of in the boys Game, there's a lot more of.
Jason SunkelEverybody thinks they're really, really good.
Jason SunkelAnd I think sometimes on the girls side, it's almost the opposite.
Jason SunkelLike you have to convince them sometimes that hey, you know, you're really good.
Jason SunkelRight.
Jason SunkelAnd so it's about, I think, you know, building that confidence and giving them that opportunity to be able to sort of shine and express those, you know, express the talents that they have that sometimes the guys are maybe too, too willing to express talents that maybe they don't have.
Jason SunkelVersus, versus.
Jason SunkelSometimes the girls, you gotta, you know, you gotta be able to give them a little bit of confidence to show what they can do.
Jason SunkelAnd there's definitely a different dynamic when it comes to, you know, it comes to coaching on the guy side and coaching on the girl side.
Jason SunkelI will say I can agree with you 100% when it comes to a camp setting.
Jason SunkelI have not worked the girls Snow Valley camp.
Jason SunkelMy daughter, who is a freshman in high school, that is my goal in the next.
Jason SunkelSometime in her next two summers, I guess three.
Jason SunkelI have three summers still left with her as a high school player that I'm going to try to get out there.
Jason SunkelJust depending on my, my own work schedule and her AAU schedule and family vacation, everything that my goal is to get out there and work that session.
Jason SunkelBut working lots and lots of camps that I've done for, I don't know, 30 some odd years.
Jason SunkelI can say that when you talk about girls in a camp setting as far as coachability and being enjoyable and the girls are much better listeners that whatever age you want to throw in there, they are much better listeners and pick up things much quicker than the boys do, especially in a camp setting as you describe.
Jordan KleinYeah, I couldn't agree more with you.
Jordan KleinCan you still hear me?
Jason SunkelYes, yes.
Jason SunkelWe got you.
Jordan KleinComputer.
Jason SunkelYeah, got you.
Jason SunkelThere you go.
Jordan KleinSo, yeah, I couldn't agree more with you.
Jordan KleinIt's it that has been very.
Jordan KleinThat's been a learning curve for me over the last 48 hours of.
Jordan KleinI like.
Jordan KleinThere's a book I'm reading called the Art of Encouragement and just how do you communicate with someone that it, you know, like you said, it goes from potentially having too much ego to having not enough ego based on your capabilities.
Jason SunkelRight.
Jordan KleinSo I mean, it's going to.
Jordan KleinThat it's improving me as a coach regardless of what side I'm coaching on, it's 100% going to translate to being a better dad.
Jordan KleinAnd you know, there's just.
Jordan KleinYou're capable, you're worthy, you're valuable.
Jordan KleinAnd how do you express that in a non cliche way that they say, okay, this guy just got done reading a tweet and he just relayed it to me.
Jordan KleinAnd so no, it's been, but it's been, it's been really fun.
Jordan KleinAnd I've done that with a, with a couple of players already.
Jordan KleinAnd the feedback, because we did the communication circle, the feedback's been really good about just the energy and the positivity and who we are as people that we want to genuinely.
Jordan KleinAgain, it goes back to the Snow Valley character, you know, your pillars and who you are as a person just being genuine and authentic and then they're willing to work and fight for someone that they know has their back.
Jason SunkelYeah, no question.
Jason SunkelNo doubt about that.
Jason SunkelAll right, Jordan, before we wrap up, I want to ask you one final two part question.
Jason SunkelSo I think this question is relevant at this point.
Jason SunkelI don't know if you're quite ready to answer it.
Jason SunkelIt might be better answered a week from now, but let's ask it anyway.
Jason SunkelSo the first part of the question is when you look ahead over the next year.
Jason SunkelSo this is going to be your first season in a new job.
Jason SunkelYou're going to be separated from your family during at least a portion of this.
Jason SunkelWhat do you see as being your biggest challenge over the next year?
Jason SunkelAnd then the second part of it, and we touched on it throughout the podcast tonight.
Jason SunkelBut your biggest joy.
Jason SunkelSo your biggest challenge followed by your biggest joy.
Jordan KleinIt's a good question.
Jordan KleinI'm thinking there's pros and cons to it, but I would say some of it will just be learning maybe some of the nuances of the women's game.
Jordan KleinAnd then I feel really comfortable talking to, talking to recruits.
Jordan KleinBut I think there will definitely be a learning curve on.
Jordan KleinI think it's possible that women will make decisions earlier, you know, that might commit to a school their junior year, whereas some boys or young men will wait until the summer after their senior year and stress their parents out to no end to make a decision.
Jordan KleinYep.
Jordan KleinBecause they have zero college offers and it's possible that Duke might give them a call the next day.
Jordan KleinSo I think there's some of that, but I'm.
Jordan KleinThat'll be, that'll be a learning curve.
Jordan KleinBut, you know, something I'm, I'm not afraid of or shying away from.
Jordan KleinAnd I definitely know I have a good support system around me with Coach McAdams.
Jordan KleinBut something I'm most excited about is, you know, biggest thing I think from being Division 3 to Division 2 is I'll be able to have more time with players and maintain those relationships.
Jordan KleinSo, you know, we can love or hate the transfer portal and it's there.
Jordan KleinBut I actually, I love, I love the onus that it puts on coaches to be, again, authentic and genuine.
Jordan KleinI, I think it's really exciting, especially at the Division 2 level, to be able to, I have access to work with players much more than I did at Division 3.
Jordan KleinAnd then again, it's a, it's a great reflection on who you are as a coach and the culture that you have and the people and the people that are around you, whether they decide to stay or not, because they are much more empowered than they have been in the past.
Jordan KleinAnd I think that's a great thing.
Jordan KleinTruthfully, I think it makes, I think it just evens out the playing field and empowers people and gives them options.
Jordan KleinSo I'm actually really excited to build relationships with the players and then work with them for multiple years.
Jason SunkelAll right, before we get out, I want you to share how people can connect with you.
Jason SunkelWhether you want to share, email, social media, website, whatever you feel comfortable with.
Jason SunkelAnd then after you do that, I will jump back in and wrap things up.
Jordan KleinVery good.
Jordan KleinMy cell phone number is 262-505-3176.
Jordan KleinMy ex handle is Coach J Klein K L E I N and Instagram is at Coach J M Klein.
Jordan KleinAnd then my email address is J M Klein K L E I N 12 Gmail.
Jordan KleinBut real quick, again my cell phone's 262505 3176.
Jordan KleinFeel free to call or shoot a text.
Jason SunkelAwesome.
Jason SunkelJordan, cannot thank you enough for taking the time out of your schedule tonight to join us.
Jason SunkelReally appreciate it and to everyone out there, thanks for listening and we will catch you on our next episode.
Jason SunkelThanks.
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Jordan KleinThanks for listening to the Hoopheads podcast presented by Head Start Basketball.