Coaches’ Round Table #3
This episode marks the one year anniversary of our podcast! We’ve had some fantastic coaches on the show who’ve shared great experiences for all of us to learn from.
We’re spoiled today because we don’t just have one coach on the show; we have three successful College coaches with us: Keith Vassell of Niagara College, Jonathan Smith of George Brown College and Jamie Girolametto of Redeemer University. They all agreed to take some time, sit down together and talk about coaching and the game of basketball the night before their conference championship tournament kicks off.
It’s always interesting when multiple coaches get together to talk about their craft. You’d think they would be very competitive and unwilling to share too many details about their philosophies. That’s not the case with these guys, they share some great insights that can help coaches of all levels.
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OCAA Coaches’ Round Table Topics
01:06 Introducing the three coaches: Keith Vassell of Niagara College, Jonathan Smith of George Brown College and Jamie Girolametto of Redeemer University.
03:35 What were your expectations coming into coaching in the OCAA?
05:00 All of us coaching in the OCAA also have full time jobs elsewhere. Jonathan Smith talks about managing the limited time he gets with his players?
07:01 Coach Jamie Girolametto explains the challenges he faces being at a small school with only one gym.
08:42 Jonathan Smith explains “date nights” with his wife and their relationships with the players.
10:03 How Keith Vassell structures his basketball schedule to maximize the players’ academic time.
13:47 Jamie Girolametto talks about the differences between his school, Redeemer University and the other teams in the OCAA. The guys also discuss the changes they see happening within the College basketball spectrum in Ontario.
18:27 Jonathan Smith talks about working in the inner city of Toronto and developing relationships with his players beyond the game of basketball.
23:11 Keith Vassell talks about Niagara College’s strong Bahamian population and how that has helped his basketball program.
26:12 Jamie talks about how his basketball coaching journey began and how he fell in love with it.
27:30 Coach Girolametto talks about being in the Joe Raso coaching tree and the values he instills that breads coaches.
29:01 Coach Smith discusses his coaching mentors.
30:04 Keith Vassell talks about his journey from an 11 year professional playing career to becoming a coach with a desire to constantly improve.
32:43 The guys talk about the ever changing landscape of the OCAA and the importance of adaptability.
39:51 Everyone talks about what they see from high school coaches and players while they’re out recruiting. They offer some great tips for players on how to manage their basketball lives.
FULL COURT PRESS
47:50 Do you prefer the FIBA rules or Federation rules?
47:57 If you could draw up a last second play for anyone in the world in any era, who would you draw a play up for?
48:40 If you could be an assistant coach for a day for any coach in any sport or era, who would you choose?
49:16 What is your favourite past time outside of basketball?
50:50 What is the one thing that your team will need to do well this week to win the championship?
