Just this Fall, since taking over here at WV Wesleyan, I have spoken at clinics in Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Dallas, Charleston (WV), and will address the Iowa High School Basketball Coaches Clinic in Des Moines (will be over 1,000 attendees) on October 29th, as well as, our own, 25th Annual Fall Coaches Clinic, to be hosted on our campus on October 22-23rd and, our clinic will be free of charge (for information, please e-mail me at Boone_J@WVWC.edu).
I thoroughly enjoy my clinic opportunities. To talk basketball, share ideas with other coaches, to remain fresh and current, it’s amazing. Again, the most gratifying part of this entire experience has been the development new relationships, as well as, catching up with old friends, priceless!
But, speaking at the clinics listed above has required a great time commitment on my part, both in my preparation and the actual travel and attending of the various clinics. And, as we all know, the lifeblood of a college basketball program is recruiting, and my speaking opportunities certainly cut into potential recruiting times. When trying to balance the two, I go back to a conversation I had with Herb Sendek, currently the head coach at Arizona State University, when he was the assistant coach at the University of Kentucky with then head coach, Rick Pitino. I had the pleasure to hear Coach Sendek speak at a local coaches clinic, and I knew that very same weekend, Coach Pitino was also speaking at a clinic in Chicago – my question to Herb, how does your staff find time to recruit with your numerous speaking obligations.
Herb replied, “Coach, they are one in the same – there is no better way to build a network for recruiting than to speak at a clinic to a captive audience of high school coaches.”
Therefore, I have always taken Herb’s advice, and used every opportunity possible to develop as many positive relationships as possible in order to create a vast recruiting network. Having been involved in coaching at the collegiate level for over 30 years, I have developed quite a rolodex of high school and junior college coaches. We are always looking to expand this network, and my opportunities to speak across the country has enhanced this tremendously.
As well, here at West Virginia Wesleyan, we feel that we have such a strong campus life, coupled with a College that processes an outstanding reputation for its liberal arts education, that we can most definitely recruit on a national level! And, obviously in taking over a new program, this has provided us with an invaluable opportunity to introduce ourselves across the nation as West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats!
I am looking forward to meeting more and more coaches, as we continue to build our network, and more importantly to continue to develop lifelong friendships through our great game!
