Gonzaga Prep boys basketball coach Matty McIntyre joined to talk about building toughness in a program and getting players to buy in to being program- and team-first using his Defining Dozen. He also talks about how Dick and Tony Bennett influenced his Pack Line defense and how he’s continued to have success with it as more programs evolve into “modern” basketball strategies, playing with pace and space.  Statewide coverage of Washington high school sports: https://scorebooklive.com/washington/Follow host TJ Cotterill on Twitter: @TJCotterill  Download the SBLive Sports app on iPhone and Android, your national home for high school sports news and information.

Former USWNT defender Stephanie Cox is back playing with OL Reign FC after five seasons coaching the Gig Harbor High School girls soccer team, which included winning the WIAA 3A state championship in 2018, the school’s first. She joined to discuss how to teach work ethic, how she pushes herself, how she motivated her players in her time at Gig Harbor, as well as how she’s seen some of her teammates at the professional level, Statewide coverage of Washington high school sports: https://scorebooklive.com/washington/Follow host TJ Cotterill on Twitter: @TJCotterill  Download the SBLive Sports app on iPhone and Android, your national home for high school sports news and information.

When Jon Eagle took over the Camas High School football program 13 years ago, he said he made a trip to every prospective player’s home, learning about them and asking how they see themselves contributing on the football field. Eagle, a two-time 4A state championship coach (2016, 2019), joined to discuss his philosophies and strategies on player development since he’s been at Camas. Statewide coverage of Washington high school sports: https://scorebooklive.com/washington/Follow host TJ Cotterill on Twitter: @TJCotterill  Download the SBLive Sports app on iPhone and Android, your national home for high school sports news and information.

Longtime former Steilacoom (Wash.) coach Gary Wusterbarth joined to address how coaches ought to cope with the burnout that comes today with the seemingly mounting challenges and expectations on high school coaches, the qualities necessary to be a successful coach today and best practices for navigating relationships with players, parents and school administrators. Wusterbarth is the ninth winningest coach in Washington state history, and a Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association hall of fame inductee. Statewide coverage of Washington high school sports: https://scorebooklive.com/washington/Follow host TJ Cotterill on Twitter: @TJCotterill  Download the SBLive Sports app on iPhone and Android, your national home for high school sports news and information.

The best athletes spend countless hours on strength training and skills training. What former Washington State University two-sport standout Collin Henderson has been asking, though, is how much time are they spending on mindset training? Henderson is now the CEO of Master your Mindset after a stellar career at Puyallup High School and then WSU. He’s the author of five books and he regularly speaks to athletes, coaches and companies across the country talking about the importance of mindset training. He joins SBLive’s The Preps Lab with TJ Cotterill to talk about an important message he both lived and continues to see in programs today – that we tell kids to be tough mentally, but we’re not teaching it.Statewide coverage of Washington high school sports: https://scorebooklive.com/washington/Follow host TJ Cotterill on Twitter: @TJCotterill

How do schools define what makes their athletic programs successful? Curtis High School athletic director Suzanne Vick says it’s not nearly as much about the end-of-season win-loss record as some people would believe. In the latest episode of SBLive’s The Prep’s Lab with TJ Cotterill, Vick discusses her philosophies and how she determines what makes her school’s programs successful. Vick is a lifelong athlete in several halls of fame who has made a career of impacting young people through athletics. She's a recent appointee to the WIAA Representative Assembly.Statewide coverage of Washington high school sports: https://scorebooklive.com/washington/Follow host TJ Cotterill on Twitter: @TJCotterill

While high school programs have done their best to adapt to the restrictions, including holding conditioning-only, outdoor workouts with social distancing and other precautions, the issue of equity in prep sports programs has only intensified over the past year. Host T.J. Cotterill spoke with four people from some of the most diverse school districts in the state — Chiawana athletic director John Cazier, Kent-Meridian football coach Justin Callander, Franklin Pierce School District athletic director and WIAA executive board member Wendy Malich and Mount Tahoma boys basketball coach Jason Townsend — to discuss their experiences in trying to work within the pandemic restrictions to help kids who typically need the benefits of extracurricular athletics the most.

How should student-athletes navigate the recruiting process, or even just get recruited? And how has that changed over the years? Host T.J. Cotterill sits down with Monte Kohler, football coach and athletic director at Seattle's O'Dea High School, who pulled from his his dearth of experience having coached many college and even NFL-bound players over more than 35 years. Kohler, the state's winningest active high school football coach, also spoke about this year in particular and how the pandemic restrictions have dramatically altered the recruiting landscape, especially for this year’s seniors. And how coaches and athletes together should play an active role in owning the recruiting process.

High school sports programs have dealt with enough problems as it is connecting and staying in touch with their players during the pandemic. But there were already plenty of other challenges in building relationships with student-athletes of this generation – in an age of limitless distractions. Timberline boys basketball coach Allen Thomas has thrived though on relating and connecting with the players in his program. Just ask one of his former stars, Donaven Dorsey, who even after heading to the University of Washington and Montana, he still recently called Thomas the best coach he’s ever had and the ultimate player’s coach. Thomas has been at Timberline for 18 years, and he’s reached the state tournament six of the past eight years since he took over as its head coach. He shares his experience and perspective on why relationships are No. 1 in his program and how he goes about building them.

This inaugural episode of SBLive's The Preps Lab podcast with T.J. Cotterill takes a step back to look at the bigger picture of high school sports and ask the question: is it time to re-imagine their purpose? With prep sports on pause during the pandemic in Washington as well as many other states, host T.J. Cotterill sat down with Wilson girls basketball coach Michelle Birge, Eastlake football coach Don Bartel, Tahoma athletic director/football coach Tony Davis and Seattle Prep athletic director Sam Reed for their perspectives and reflection of what it means to be involved in the world of interscholastic athletics and how that has changed throughout the years.

Welcome to SBLive's The Preps Lab with T.J. Cotterill! A podcast that takes a deeper look at how things get done in high school athletics. Hear conversations about the most relevant challenges, as well as the latest strategies, philosophies and concepts with some of the most dedicated people in high school sports. From culture-building, scouting, player development, mental performance, off-the-field support, each episode will tackle a different topic. Presented by SBLive Washington and SBLive Sports. Episodes publish twice per month. Subscribe wherever you get podcasts.