TOM SADLER – IMG ACADEMY (FL) BOYS’ VARSITY BASKETBALL COACH – EPISODE 1034

Website – https://www.imgacademy.com/boarding-school/basketball

Email – tom.sadler@imgacademy.com

Twitter/X – @TSadler2

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Tom Sadler is in his second season as a varsity boys’ basketball coach at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.  Previously, he was the Head of Performance Basketball at the University of Essex in the United Kingdom.  Tom was also the Director of ONE2ONE Basketball from 2015-2022 in addition to working at several other academies in the U.K.

Tom played collegiate basketball at Franklin Pierce University and enjoyed a six year professional career including stops in Denmark, England, France, and the United States.

On this episode Tom and Mike discuss Tom’s inspiring journey from a young player in England to a coach at one of the premier sports academies in the world. He emphasizes the importance of player development and the holistic approach taken at IMG, which includes mental performance, nutrition, and physical training. Sadler reflects on how his experiences as a player shaped his coaching philosophy, highlighting the need for self-awareness and accountability among athletes. He discusses the invaluable learning environment at IMG, where coaches collaborate and share insights to foster growth. Ultimately, Sadler’s passion for coaching is rooted in his desire to positively impact young athletes, guiding them not only in basketball but in life.

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You’ll want to take some notes as you listen to this episode with Tom Sadler, varsity boys’ basketball coach at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

What We Discuss with Tom Sadler

• How free play accelerated his basketball learning and skills growing up in the UK
• His journey in basketball that began at age 13, sparked by early passion and a growth spurt
• The importance of player development and individual growth in coaching
• Why body language can impact recruitment opportunities
• How the unique environment at IMG Academy fosters collaboration among coaches with diverse backgrounds
• The significance of mental performance coaching in today’s athletic training and why the mental aspect of performance is equally as critical as physical training
• Why his passion for coaching is rooted in a desire to positively impact young athletes’ lives
• How coaching at IMG Academy has provided him with invaluable resources and networking opportunities
• Why the greatest impact coaches can have is on players’ lives, beyond just basketball
• The importance of player accountability and mindset in helping players reach their goals
• The balance between individual player aspirations and team dynamics in coaching
• Mentorship and surrounding yourself with knowledgeable colleagues
• Holistic development includes mental performance and character building
• Building relationships with players enhances coaching effectiveness

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THANKS, TOM SADLER

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TRANSCRIPT FOR TOM SADLER – IMG ACADEMY (FL) BOYS’ VARSITY BASKETBALL COACH – EPISODE 1034

[00:00:00] Mike Klinzing: Hello and welcome to the Hoop Heads Podcast. It’s Mike Klinzing here without my co-host Jason Sunkle this morning, but I am pleased to be joined by Tom Sadler, basketball coach at IMG Academy. Tom, welcome to the Hoop Heads Pod.

[00:00:15] Tom Sadler: Mike, thanks for having me on, man. I just want to say thank you for inviting me on the podcast.

It’s really an honor for me to be here. I’ve been a long time listener of your show and your shows definitely inspired me during many, many of my morning workouts on the treadmill. I’m excited to be here today and share my basketball journey with you.

[00:00:34] Mike Klinzing: I appreciate the kind words. And like I always say, it’s nice when you talk to somebody who listens, because sometimes you feel like you’re talking and you want to make sure that there’s somebody out there getting value.

So whenever I talk to someone that is a long time listener, I, again, I can’t express my appreciation enough for the people who are out there like yourself and our audience who. Get some value out of what we’re doing. So we are very excited to have you on and looking forward to diving into all the things that you’ve been able to do in your career.

Let’s start by going back in time to when you were a kid. Tell me about growing up, how you first fell in love with the game of basketball.

[00:01:10] Tom Sadler: Yeah. So, so I actually started playing in a PE class. I was around, I think I was about 13 at the time. So I was late to the game. But picked up the basketball. It was, it was one of those things, like as soon as I picked it up, it just felt so natural.

It also helped that I had a growth spurt the summer, the summer before, where I went from about 5’10 to 6’4 at 13. So, so it kind of gave me an advantage over a lot of my peers during those lessons. It was, it was a really unique situation where I grew up because a lot of my friends got into the game as well around the same sort of time.

And we just, we were obsessed with it, man. Like we were playing every single day before school, during break times, after school for hours. You know, I would, I wouldn’t get home till like seven, eight o’clock at night, you know, just because we were up at the school playing hoop. So it was, it was a really special start for me.

A lot of those guys that I grew up with, I started playing with, I’m I’m still very close with today. Which, which is really cool. And for about two or three years, it was just, it was a lot of free play after school, you know, two on twos, three on threes, one on ones, whoever was around and that kind of gave me my real introduction to the game.

You know, and during that time I remember staying up late to try and watch the NBA. We had. A BBL team, which is, which is our, our pro league over in England. We had a BBL team about 45 minutes away and, and me and my friends, we would just go and watch this team play. It was actually the Essex Leopards that were coached by Billy Mims at the time.

And he’s now at Florida Tech not too far from here. And, and just being able to see, you know, professional basketball, it kind of, it inspired me. And I knew. During that period that this is, this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. When I was about 15, there was, there was trials in my local my nearest town for a National League team.

They were looking at under 18s and I was, I was a little bit younger. But, but I made the team nevertheless. You know, had opportunities to, to train by, by an actual coach who, who was a great mind at the time. He kind of taught me the real fundamentals, you know, even though I was, I was rapidly growing, I was probably about 6, 6, 6, 7 by the time I got into National League and He didn’t, he didn’t make me a post player.

He kind of taught me how to play a face up game. Taught me how to cart, you know, we learned how to, how to set and use screens, but, but funny enough, we only practice once a week. You know, so we would have this structured practice on a Friday night before our games on the weekend. But prior to that, the rest of the week, it was just, it was just me and my friends playing, you know, three on threes, like I said, two on twos and one on ones.

And, and that’s kind of how I, how I got into the game.

[00:04:07] Mike Klinzing: How do you think your development was affected by all that free play, which I know at least here in the States, then the amount of free play that kids have today compared to the amount of free play? That I had when I was a kid is much lower. So how do you think that affected you as opposed to maybe being in a more structured environment from an early age?

[00:04:29] Tom Sadler: Do you know what? I think it accelerated my learning, you know, and you hear Alex talk a lot about this stuff with, with CLA and transforming basketball. You know, just, just having the freedom in a small sided game to be able to, be able to attack a defender in a one on one situation, but. You know, recognizing spacing.

You know, I’m, I’ll be honest, I’ll hold my hands up. I’m guilty. I’m one of those guys, you know, I’m a little bit older now, you know, over the last few years, you know, you talk about kids not having a real feel for the game. And, and I kind of see that as, well, that’s our responsibility to try and create that environment where they can, where they can have a little bit of freedom.

You know, I think we need to do more to create a little bit more free play during our practice times. For me, like I said, I think it made a huge difference. I think it really, like in a short amount of time, I went from playing, you know, just school basketball to national league. And before you know it, I was having opportunities with the national team.

And I think, I think that’s just a big testament down to that, that free play element. So as

[00:05:31] Mike Klinzing: you continue to develop, as you get into your late teens, what’s your plan for the game of basketball as a player? I know eventually you end up coming to the States and going to school and playing here at Franklin and Pierce and have a professional career, but what are you thinking when you’re 16, 17 years old?

What’s the plan or is there a plan or is it just things are kind of happening to you?

[00:05:53] Tom Sadler: No, no, I think, I think I kind of knew that this was what I wanted to do. Like, like I said to you, as soon as I picked up the ball, I knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was, I was very fortunate that the, in the National League at the time, there was some, like I said, I was playing in an under 18s competition at the age of 15, you know, and there was some older guys that were really dominating that National League from the London area that were going out to the States and all of a sudden I saw that as a route, you know, I knew I wanted to play.

Professionally, that, that was my goal. I wanted to be a professional basketball player and, and these guys that were going off to America, I kind of, they kind of laid that, that pathway for me, so to speak, and I kind of, I put all my eggs in one basket and I was, I was very focused, you know, I think, I do think I’m someone that when I put my mind to something, I find a way of making it happen.

When I was 17, I was traveling with a team in the summer. It was like a representative team. We had some of the best players in the country. It wasn’t a national team. But we got invited to go over to France to play in this tournament in Douai, and it was through working with that team, there was a coach involved who connected me with a high school coach out here in the States.

And, and that’s kind of how it happened. You know, I was playing on that team in June. We traveled out to France. Funny enough, Luau Deng was on that team as well. And I think in the same tournament Carmelo Anthony was playing. So it was, it was a really good it was a really good opportunity to kind of expose yourself to, to some high caliber competition.

But anyway, so before you know it, I was playing in this tournament in June. Fast forward to end of August. I’m, I’m starting my senior year in high school up in Farmington, New Hampshire. And that was just, that was an amazing experience for me. And one that I’m forever grateful for, for the people that were involved.

The coach that was able to connect me to the high school coach the host family that, that put me up for the year, you know, I’m still in touch with those guys that they’re like a second parents for me. I’ve stayed in contact through them throughout, throughout my career. They actually came down last, last year to meet my little boy.

So that was, that was really special, but yeah, I mean, just, just an awesome experience being a, being a kid from, from England, you know, getting to America and just kind of living out my dream was, was fantastic. What was the

[00:08:14] Mike Klinzing: cultural

[00:08:15] Tom Sadler: adjustment

[00:08:16] Mike Klinzing: like and what was your perception of the U. S. before you got here versus what you experienced when you actually set foot and started participating in, in high school basketball and just being a high school student and living in the United States.

[00:08:30] Tom Sadler: Yeah. I mean, everything, my my perception of the U. S. was just from movies, right? TV shows magazines. Like I used to read slam magazine every month when it came out. You know, staying up and watching the NBA. Like for me, the U. S. was just all. All glitz and glamour, you know, and it was, I wouldn’t say it was an adjustment, you know, I think I settled in to the, to the transition living here in the U S really well.

Because again, it was, this was something that I really wanted to do, that I was passionate about and I knew I needed to be here and try and make a success of it in order for me to get to where I wanted to get to. So maybe, maybe when I first started high school, there was a, A slight adjustment, you know, my accent sounds different to everyone else’s.

It was a small school. You know, people would ask me crazy questions about the UK and, you know, but, but really it was, it was cool, man. I loved it. I absolutely loved it. Tell me about the recruitment process for you. Oh man. So, so that was nuts. I remember my my first session with my high school coach, you know, he, he hadn’t seen me play other than off a tape.

And it was like this, this VHS highlight tape that I’d put together of me. Me dunking on people in the national league, you know, so he hadn’t really seen me play and move properly, you know, so he works me out in this first session and after the session, he’s like, look, man, you’re going to get to go to any school you want.

He’s like, where do you want to go? And I was, you know, again, coming from the UK, you know, my parents came from a working class family. My dad was a London taxi driver, had like a football background. My mom was a travel agent, you know, neither of them had any sort of experience in basketball or. you know, where it can lead to and further education and the rest of it.

You know, none of my family had been to college, so I was the first. And, you know, I just, I didn’t know, you know what I mean? And I was just, you know, I kept an open mind to, to, to the recruitment process, but I remember it being really exciting, I would say. I remember my first game and it was in what you call a full league.

Coaches, coaches weren’t allowed to coach. It was just the players had to organize themselves, but word must have got out that, you know, by the time I started high school, I was six, six, nine, right? So word must have got out that there was a six, nine English kid around. And I remember showing up to this game and I promise you there was every coach from the Northeast, Division One, Division Two in this gym.

You know, you could tell by the polo shirts and the khaki shorts that they were wearing. And it was, it was wild. But again, it kind of, at the time it went over my head. I wasn’t thinking anything of it because I hadn’t experienced or I hadn’t been exposed to it before. You know, and I, I just remember I was playing really freely, you know, making moves, you know, taking guys out to the perimeter, going by them.

You know, and my coach afterwards, he said, look, this, this is going to be a crazy year for you. And he was right. Like from that day on, I was receiving, and it was all mail back then. Right. It was personal handwritten notes. It was packages. It was telephone calls, you know, all, all hours of the day and night, you know, and it was, it was a really cool experience and it’s one that I’m really grateful for having gone through.

And. There was a, there was a school, I’ll tell you the story, right? And it’s one that I share with, with my kids today. And it’s kind of ties into why I do the things I do now, you know? So again, I told you like, you know, my family and the people that I’ve been around growing up, like hadn’t, hadn’t been exposed to any of this in the States or, or really fully understood the pathway or, or a lot of things to do with basketball.

Right. So. I’m playing, we’re in a game, it was right before Christmas. There was a school that I was really set on going to. I mean, they were recruiting me really hard. The guy was flying up to all of my games, like flying to New Hampshire to watch me play. He was at nearly every game. And it was a pretty big game for us.

And I remember I was getting like double teamed, triple teamed in the post and I was, I was starting to get frustrated. And I, you know, I’m a 17, 18 year old kid. And, you know, coach calls a timeout. I go over to the timeout. My body language is bad. I go and sit on the end of the bench. I put a towel over my head.

And, and that was the last time the school, I saw the school, you know, they stopped recruiting me right then and there, you know, and that was, that was a huge, huge lesson for me a one that stuck with me my entire life, you know, so I’m, I’m big on body language and being a great teammate with the kids because you, you don’t know who’s watching and I think that everything that you do.

Matters, right? It counts. So, you know, guys, guys want players that are going to come in and make an impact. You know, if you’re in a difficult situation, you find a lot, find out a lot about people, right? And, and who they are in those moments, you know, can be the determined factor as to how successful you’re going to be.

So I’m big on body language, but it’s a result of that experience that I went through. And it was a division one program but to cut a long story short, I kind of narrowed down my recruitment and conversations with my high school coach. And by the end of the year, he was like, look, you know, I think it would be a good idea for you to go to Franklin Pierce University.

It’s a, it’s a really good school. It plays, you know, they’re in a great league, the any 10, which is a fantastic conference still is you know, and, and you can do really well under coach Chadbourne. And so I ended up committing to Franklin Pierce University. It was a, it was a five year deal because I was academically.

Ineligible. And so I had to redshirt my, my freshman year and that would, that was an experience in itself, you know, just, just going through that process. But it was, it was a good experience because it allowed me to kind of get my, my body ready again. Like I was 6’9 6’10 By that time I got to college and I was probably 185 pounds soaking wet, you know, so.

I had to get stronger. I used that year to, to get stronger and, you know, learn the physicality of the college game and, and kind of get used to playing against grown men. You know, a lot of the guys you go up against in college are in their twenties and. You know, it gave me that opportunity to acclimatize to it all.

[00:14:54] Mike Klinzing: Were you thinking at all about coaching as you’re going to school? Are you still a hundred percent kind of focused on being a player at this point? Not

[00:15:00] Tom Sadler: once, not once. I was, Mike, I can’t stress, I was all, all my eggs in one basket. I was focused on, on playing. That’s what I wanted to do. You know, very, very like just tunnel vision in terms of where I was going and how I was going to get there.

So. What was your favorite moment from playing college basketball? Yeah. Favorite moment? I, I used to really love practices. I know that sounds, that sounds crazy. You know, I, coach, coach was great in terms of creating a real competitive environment and I think he was ahead of his time in, in terms of a lot of stuff that he was doing in practice. You know, we, we really used to get after it during practice and just competing against each other and, and, and it was, It was really cool, you know, teams just going back and forth.

We had enough players for two teams. So you had a red team and a white team and guys just battling, you know, he would mix up the starters. He would chop and change. And I just, I just remember every day, just really looking forward to getting in and getting a practice. And I know that sounds crazy because I know a lot of guys, it’s the opposite, you know, it can become a little bit monotonous.

But I thought coach did a great job. Like we were always working on something, you know, he was introducing something new a lot of the time and just made it really competitive for us and taught us how to compete. You know, and I loved it. It was, it was a really great experience. That was probably your first sign you were going to become a coach right there, even if you didn’t know it.

Right. Yeah. I, well, you know what, like, so, so I got, I actually got injured at the end of my redshirt year, I broke my ankle, so I missed a lot of my true freshman year, but during that time, like I spent a lot of time in his office and we, he was just talking X’s and O’s and it was, it was great. You know what I mean?

And he would ask me questions, but I was, you know, On, on things that I had done previously. And I was kind of picking his brains on, you know, X’s and O’s and all sorts of stuff. It was just. So that, that was kind of, that was kind of a unique experience, you know, turning, turning a negative into a positive and just trying to learn and absorb as much as I could.

Yeah,

[00:17:09] Mike Klinzing: not many players get that opportunity again, because when you’re a college basketball player, as you well know, so much of your time is just spent on, you know, Making sure that you’re ready to play and understanding what you need to do. And so to be able to take that step back and get the whole perspective and spend some time actually talking with coaches about something other than, you know, how am I playing?

How am I doing? How do I fit into the team? What’s my role? But being able to see that bigger picture, I’m sure that even at the time you may not have realized it, but looking back, obviously you understand the value of what that brought to you to be able to just take see that bigger picture and kind of get a feel for what a coach is looking at because as a player you’re just so focused on yourself as an individual and obviously the coach not that they’re not concerned with the individual but they’re obviously more concerned with the bigger picture of the whole entire team so that was a not what you were looking for i’m sure in terms of injury but again when you look into the future of Hey, this is where I’m going to end up that I’m sure

[00:18:06] Tom Sadler: that was, I’m sure that was valuable.

It was. And I got an insight into how he plans practice, right? I got an insight into the recruitment. You know, you’re looking at the depth chart on the boards, you know, and he’s talking about guys that they’re looking to bring in and you know, it was just, it was awesome. And you, you don’t realize it at the time, but you know, a lot of the things that he was doing, you know, it was kind of setting me up for success later on, you know, and Yeah, it was just really good experience from that standpoint.

[00:18:35] Mike Klinzing: Absolutely. All right. Tell me about the transition from college basketball to professional basketball. What’s the process for you from getting from the NCAA to getting an opportunity to play professionally? How do you go about that? Do you hire an agent? Just what do you do in order to make that dream a reality?

[00:18:55] Tom Sadler: Well, It, at one point it was looking like it wasn’t going to be a reality just because of the amount of injuries that I had throughout college, but I, my college coach backed me right from, from day one. And I remember towards the end of my senior year, he said, look, you have an opportunity to go out there and make some money and do this thing professionally.

He’s like, don’t, don’t give up on it. Don’t, don’t quit on it. And, and for him saying that to me and believing in me, like kind of just, you know, Propel me to again, just to, just to hunt it out and seek opportunities. I remember I got contacted by an agent just after I graduated was looking for players that, that had a European passport.

So I, I had a UK passport at the time. And he found me an opportunity to go and play in Denmark in the top. The top Danish league. It was, it was signing for a team that just won a championship the year before. They’re looking to have another run at it. They’ve got very, two very good Americans already that they’d signed.

And they kind of wanted me to come in and just, just be that kind of role player, you know, rebounder, set screens, be able to play in the pick and, pick and pop a little bit. And spread the floor. And it, it just seemed like a good fit at the time. So, you know, it was, I’m one of them, like it was, it was the first opportunity that came up.

Should I have waited and look for other things maybe, but, you know, I was just, just wanted that opportunity to go and play professionally. And this was, this was, this was it, you know, funny enough though, I will say this, I told a white lie there, that wasn’t really my first job offer. So my first job offer.

Was actually playing with the the nationals that travel around with the Harlem Globetrotters,

[00:20:38] Mike Klinzing: traveling

[00:20:38] Tom Sadler: the world. Yeah, it was, that was really cool. I, I turned it down just because, you know, I didn’t like the idea of getting my backside beat every night. So you know, I thought, did you

[00:20:47] Mike Klinzing: ever do anything with them at all?

I mean, did you have anything other than just kind of talking? Cause I got, I got a good general story for you.

[00:20:54] Tom Sadler: I didn’t, I didn’t. I did not. I so it was just my agent pulled me. And so

[00:20:59] Mike Klinzing: when I was, when I, when I graduated from, when I graduated from college, there was, and I was just at home and I wasn’t playing anywhere, but I, there was a radio contest and my friend heard this on the radio that you can go and there was a, I mean, it wasn’t a try, it was just like you could, you could go and they’d give you like.

One minute, it was the contest. They’d give you one minute to do whatever. And they were going to pick one person from this, whatever pool of people showed up to play with the Washington generals here in Cleveland when they played the Globetrotters at the old Richfield Coliseum. And my friend tells me about this and I’m like, I don’t want to, you know, I’m like, I don’t want to do that.

And it’s just, you know, like it’s, I don’t do that. So anyway, he eventually wore me down and convinced me. So. He and I go to this thing and basically they just give you the ball and there was like 60 people there. They give you a ball and one minute and they’re like, you know, you just have to do something.

And so there was guys doing like cartwheels and I mean it was, it was crazy. Like all this stuff. So like I just went out there and just basically shot the ball for like a minute. My friend rebounded for me and at the end I ended up winning this competition. And so I got to play. A game with the general.

So I go down and, you know, I go to the Coliseum and, you know, whatever, go and meet up with the team in the locker room, they give me a uniform. And like the uniform was, this is back in probably this was probably like 1994, maybe somewhere, somewhere in that range. So it was still like, they gave me this uniform that was like these tiny shorts, like barely, you know, barely fit.

And they’re like, you’re going to have to do this. We’re going to put you in and you’re going to do this one. We’re going to do the routine where they’re kind of running around in a circle and passing the ball. And they’re like, you have to stay directly behind. You’re a globetrotter. Like you basically have to be like right on the guy’s shoulder.

They’re showing me where, you know, where I have to be, whatever. And so, you know, the game’s going on, whatever. I forget if it was the second or third quarter, you know, I go in and, and they set up this routine. And as I’m running through, I don’t know what I did. Somehow I made a mistake and the ball just whacked me in the head.

Oh man. And then and then they, then they fought, then they followed me and I got to go to the free throw line. And of course the Trotters were doing all kinds of heckling and whatever. I ended up making two free throws. So that was my, that was my claim to fame for the Washington general. So it was kind of, it was kind of cool again to say that you were a part of that at some point, but I, I completely understand why you wouldn’t want to do that.

Why you wouldn’t want to do that full time. I mean, the one thing would be the, I guess the positive would be. You know, depending upon which team you’re traveling with, whatever, you could get some cool travel experiences, I’m sure, but it’s, it’s not, it’s not real basketball, let’s put it that way.

[00:23:48] Tom Sadler: No, no, for sure though, just being able to travel would have been, would have been really unique.

But you know, like I said, I ended up, I ended up going to Denmark. I, again, riddled with injuries just before Christmas. I slipped a disc in my back and had to leave the team. It was, it was unfortunate. I couldn’t finish out the season, but you know, I was, I was in a bad way. And so I came back to the U S to do a lot of my rehab back back at Franklin Pierce.

And then randomly I got, I got emailed by an MBA agent inviting me down to Connecticut, again, looking for guys that were 6’10 wanted, wanted to put on private workouts and. So I went down there and before you know it, I’m signing with this guy. And you know, there’s, there’s conversations that, that I’m going to potentially get a shot at a 10 day contract with a team and I’m, I’m having opportunities to try out with the Albany Patroons in the CBA.

And then the conversation switches from, you know, do a year in the CBA and then, then they’ll consider something potentially in the summer league the following year, but they kind of wanted to see that I could do a year in the CBA. Before they made any sort of decision, which I get. So went, went through that whole process being in Albany, you know, making it through training camp, made it through veterans camp, making the team, you know, and a lot of the guys that I’m up against in, in that situation, the guys that have won national championships in, in college at the division one level, guys that have been in the NBA, that were trying to get back to the NBA.

So, you know, those guys had way more talent than I certainly did, but, Because of, you know, where I’d come from in college and getting that education on, on how to compete and making sure you’re working hard, you know, I attacked every session making sure that I was going to be the hardest working guy in practice and it, and it led me to a spot on the team.

You know it was really exciting time. You know, it was probably the closest thing for me in my career, you know, to the NBA, right? You know, we, we traveled privately by plane because our owner had his own, his own airplane. You know, you get You get a daily stipend of, of cash to spend on, on food, plus your, plus your salary, which was being paid every week.

You know, and it was, it was just a really, really cool experience, but unfortunately again, tore my groin and got put on injured reserve. So just, just lots of injuries. I think, I think in hindsight, looking back, you know, as, as talented and as hardworking as I was, I think my body just wasn’t, wasn’t ready.

Wasn’t cut out for it, unfortunately.

[00:26:20] Mike Klinzing: So I’m assuming based on our conversation that eventually those injuries just take a toll. And even though you had a few more stops in a different, in a couple of different places to be able to play that eventually you just, your body just doesn’t allow you to play at the level that you want to play.

And so when do you start thinking about coaching?

[00:26:38] Tom Sadler: So, so I was actually. I was actually playing in France. So, so after I left Albany, I went back to the UK, got myself healthy, and I ended up signing in France for about four years. And I was, I was getting close to 30 around 2012 and a good friend of mine had set up a basketball academy in England and had built this club and was asking me if I would, if I would like be interested in, in assisting him with the academy.

And, and being involved with the club in some capacity, you know, he was hoping that I would, I would come back and play. And I eventually did, you know, it just got me, got me thinking about, you know, I’m not going to be able to do this forever you know, as much as I’m earning a living, it’s not going to be enough to be able to retire on.

And I need to start thinking now about career, you know? And, and so I ended up working at this academy but in order to, to make up the hours, I had to split half my time in a school teaching. As a teaching assistant. And then the rest of the time was, was with basketball. So that kind of, that kind of got me, got me started on my coaching journey.

[00:27:47] Mike Klinzing: What did you like about coaching right away? Cause obviously it wasn’t something that you had thought a great deal about before you jump into it. So how did you feel about it? What did you like about it right from the start?

[00:27:57] Tom Sadler: Player development, player development side of things. I think just, just, you know, just recently coming from being a player, You know, I loved, I loved working out, you know, I liked lifting.

I liked my on court workouts outside of practice you know, doing individual stuff like that and really passionate about it and being at the academy with kids, you know, who reminded me a lot of myself, you know, when I was their age, you know, these are kids that have aspirations to go off to the States to do a lot of the things that I had done, you know, it was just, it was a really cool experience.

You know, and the player development side of things is, is something that I’ve, I’ve always been passionate about. So yeah.

[00:28:43] Mike Klinzing: Talk to me about just the journey then from the start of your coaching career to IMG, and then we can dive into what you’re doing at IMG and just kind of how your coaching has evolved over time.

[00:28:56] Tom Sadler: Oh man, it’s certainly evolved. You know, like I said, I was, you know, transition from, from player to coach. I was an assistant coach at the time within the Academy. And in my second year, I, I had a head coach, coaching opportunity cause the Academy was growing. We were looking to launch a girls program.

So the guy that I was working for went off and coached the girls and, and I stayed with the boys. And that was, that was just a great, great experience. You know, you. You’re on the mini buses, you’re organizing the travel talking about college placement. We’re trying to get the kids placed in college.

We had a number of kids that ended up coming out here to the States, you know, so it was, it was a really good experience. You know, you’re writing match reports after the games. And then around 2015, 2016, there was like, there was a life event that kind of happened to me that kind of made me reevaluate the things that I was doing and as grateful as I was to be coaching basketball in the academy you know, and starting out on this coaching journey.

I was still spending the other half of my time in school teaching. And, and, you know, as much as I love being around the kids I just, it wasn’t for me. I understood. Teaching wasn’t for me. And, you know, I needed, I needed to really look at what I was doing. And I felt, I just felt like there was more I could be doing.

I could be, I could be having more of an impact. You know, it was, Basically it was a situation, I lost my dad and he was really close to me, but going through that process of him passing you know, you realize life’s too short and what really matters, it’s not, it’s not so much the money or cars and houses, but, but really people.

And I think it gave me purpose and led me to, you know, just wanting to do more for people and trying to make more of a difference and trying to, trying to have a bigger impact. It’s. And so first thing I did was I went back to university. I went and got my MBA. I set up my own coaching company actually in the area where I grew up.

Because I looked at, I looked at the area where I had grown up and I realized in, in the 20 years that I’d been removed from that area, you know, there hadn’t been another kid, Like me that had come through and I thought that was you know, there was no reason why we couldn’t try and recreate something and make that happen again and provide opportunities for kids and, and try and give them experiences that they wouldn’t get elsewhere, you know?

And so I set up my own academy and. Put a load of sessions on in the community for, for under 12s, under 14s, under 16s. And, and just kind of immersed myself into giving back to the, to the local community through these basketball sessions. The following year, before you know it, we had enough kids that we could enter our own teams into the national league and.

You look back, it started with four kids in, in a gymnasium on a Friday night, a community session, and it, and it grew into this monster of a program, you know, and we created this whole pathway and around 2018, I was actually out here in Boston with the academy team that I had set up. We were, we brought the kids out, toured around the Northeast, we were looking at colleges, we were talking about college placement.

You know, we, we visited some division three schools in Maine. We, we, we got to work out on my old college floor. We got to watch games. We got to spend time with the with Celtics at their practice facility, you know, and I get a call while I’m out here in Boston and it’s from the athletic director or the director of sport, as they say in England from the university saying, look, the head coach of the university program here has has resigned from the job.

Would you be interested in taking it on? And I kind of just. I said, yeah, you know, and I had a ridiculous amount of things going on with my company, the junior club you know, just trying to spin all these different plates. And, and again, you know, for me, it’s, I just, because of what had happened to me a year or two earlier, you know, I just, I wanted to make sure that I was doing everything I could every day to do something for others.

Right. To maximize each day, making sure I’m pouring into as many people as I could. So I, so I took on the role of interim head coach, you know, they, they were going to look to hire someone at the end of that year. But I’d done pretty decent job. I wouldn’t say we, we, we, they got the results that they had wanted.

Obviously you walk into a, to a situation like that and you inherit a team, right? And it was none of the, none of the players that I had recruited. But I spent that whole year kind of building the program for the following year. So I had done all the recruitment. You know, we managed to win three years in the Women’s Professional League.

And it was three wins more than anyone was expecting us to get. And you know, you, you find out a lot about yourself during that time when you’re, when you’re not winning many games, right? And you’re trying to keep the players positive and upbeat and you’re trying to find ways to, to keep the players engaged.

You know, they’re coming into practice and I’ve got to give them massive credit for, for being with me on that journey that first year. You know, they, they showed up every day, they continue to work. And we got better as the year went on. But, you know, like I said, I’d done all the recruitment and I’d set this thing up for success in the following year.

And at the end of the season, I had to go through the interview process and I sat down and interviewed for the job. And I think a lot of the things that I had done prior to taking on the role at the University of Essex. aligned with a lot of their objectives. You know, they wanted a performance pathway.

They wanted access to the community. You know, they wanted an academy program because it fit right under the senior teams, right? So it, so it made sense. And so they, they hired me, they gave me the, they gave me the full time position. First thing I did when I got into the role was made sure that we had, you know, a full time assistant coach because previously there, there wasn’t, there was just one coach who was responsible for the men’s and women’s team.

And it was just, it was too much, you know, so we hired an assistant coach, very good coach who’s still there now, he’s head coach in their men’s program. And, and to be honest with you, the five years that I was at Essex in that role of head of performance, like I was able to live out a professional dream, man, I really was, you know, I think when I started coaching, I think the goal was to somehow get back to the States, you know, and try and get into college basketball.

But for me being at Essex, this was, this was the closest thing to that. And I had a blank canvas, right. And I could create this program how I saw it, right. I had a vision for it. I wanted it to be something like a collegiate program in the, in the US, you know, strength and conditioning, individual workouts, daily team practices.

We, we ended up having a mental performance support staff around it. We utilized a lot of the resource that we had on the university campus. You know, like the, the human performance unit where we would test, test the athletes jump on the jump plates, right. Just to, just to see the fatigue levels we did, we did they would do urine testing just to check the hydration levels, making sure the players are hydrated.

And it was just, you know, you learn about. Budgets, you know, fundraising, having to go out and raise, raise money to, to get your team to where you need it to be right. The recruitment side of things, like a lot of the players that I recruited during my time at Essex were players that played division one basketball, you know, and it was a unique situation there at Essex because We could recruit these players to come in, do their masters, play for the university, but we had these professional teams as an outlet.

So it was a way for these players to get their foot in the door for, for other opportunities. So it was, it was a really, really good experience. And it’s one that I’m, I’m forever, forever grateful for, for, for the staff and all the players that were with me along that journey, you know? I think I just, you learn how to build a successful program, you know, and it’s, it’s not skipping steps.

You know, it’s very process driven you know, focusing on, on the day to day. Being able

[00:37:19] Mike Klinzing: to do it again in your home country and sort of to get kids an opportunity to follow in your footsteps, I’m sure was really, really, really, really special. How does the opportunity at IMG get your attention and then what’s the decision making process for eventually taking a job in Florida at IMG?

[00:37:40] Tom Sadler: So, so I told you I went back to school and I did my MBA right at the University of Essex. So when I, when I was doing my MBA, I actually met my wife at the university and she was doing her PhD. She’s an American. She’s a former division one player. She played at Iona. I mean, she’s, she’s someone you might want to get on the show.

I mean, she’s got some, some great stories from, from being a player. To now. And. And she was studying sports psychology and her whole PhD was around the pregame speech and the impact it has on performance, you know, us coaches, we think whatever we say is gold, right. You know, in, in that pregame, we give these great monologue speeches, you know, but actually, you know, has anyone done any real research and, and looked into, does it, does it have an impact?

What really has an impact? So that’s, that’s what a whole study was on. And, and we got together and two years later, we were married. And around 2022, she was just coming towards the end of her PhD and there was a job opportunity here at IMG for the assistant head of mental performance. So, so she put a name in the hat, she applied for it.

She went through the whole interview process and in, in the July, she was offered the job and it was just. Kind of took us both by surprise I think at the time. And we said, look, if, if this is something you want to do, let’s, let’s fly out there for 10 days. Let’s have a look at the area. Let’s see if it’s somewhere, you know, you really want to be.

And if it’s somewhere we can, we can try and make a life for ourselves. And so we came out for 10 days, you know, and come on, man, you fly it into Florida, you leave in England where it’s. You know, ridiculously cold, the weather’s miserable year round and we’re walking into this climate, you know, where we were 10 minutes away from from the Gulf of Mexico there, you know, and all the beaches.

And it was just, it was beautiful and it was a no brainer. But we had to, for me, you know, I looked at you know, who’s involved in the basketball program here? And, and, you know, do I have any connections or any links into the, into the program? Could someone introduce me? And so it was actually my college coach who I played for who knows or who knew the, the director at the time, the director of basketball, which was Brian Nash and put us in touch and we got speaking while I was out here.

And you know, Brian, Brian was excellent. You know, he, obviously he couldn’t make any promises as to a job, but, you know, You know, he said that there’s, there’s summer camp opportunities that come up you know, apply and, and, and go from there. And kind of, that’s what I did. But I had to wait. So my wife moved out here in the August of 2022.

It was just, it was a wild year. She went from finishing her PhD to moving across the world to start a new job. I couldn’t be out here at the time cause I didn’t have, I didn’t have a green card. And in the August of 2022, we also found out we were pregnant. So I had to go back, I had to go back to the UK and leave my pregnant wife here.

And I kind of explained to the people back in the UK, cause obviously I was still under contract with the rebels. I’d done all the recruitment for this year and I kind of told them what the situation was. And they knew, you know, I was going to have to get back at some point when the baby was being, was going to be born.

And that was, that was the goal. And it got to Christmas time, my green card came through. And just after Christmas, I handed in my resignation at Essex. It was, it was an easy decision cause it’s a no brainer, right? But it was the hardest part was, was leaving the players that I had brought in and recruited, that I’d built relationships with, you know, you, you feel like you’re walking out on a team halfway through, but But they were, they were awesome.

You know, they, they supported me every step of the way. It was, it was an emotional moment when I had to tell him that I was leaving. I’m sure it was an easy decision in the sense that I knew I had left the program better than I found it. Right. And really, really proud of everything that we did and built.

And, and now to this day, like it’s, it’s, it’s as strong as it’s ever been. You know, there’s more kids playing than there’s ever been. Senior teams are doing really well. And I think that’s testament to the five years that, that me and the staff put in there. So really, really proud of the work. And so I came out here in time for my son to be born.

He was born in the March. And around April time, I put in my job application for summer camp coach. So I was hired as a summer camp coach. Just, just focused on, on doing the work. I wasn’t really thinking about a full time job. If I’m being honest, I was, I was so incredibly grateful just to be back on the floor and coaching again after being out of it for a few months.

Focused on pouring into the campus trying to build as many relationships as I could with the coaches. You know, IMG is a, is a unique environment, you know, it is basketball heaven, man, like for me, it’s, it’s, there’s nothing like it. You know, I, I share an office with seven other head coaches, all have unique backgrounds, all have unique experiences, you know, some have, some have coached at the college level.

Some have built their own programs and it’s just, you know, it’s It’s an unreal place, you know, there’s nothing like it in the world. And, you know just, just being around these guys and the experience and knowledge that’s here, you know, I was just soaking it all up, I think in that summer and like I said, there was no, for me, there was no hidden agenda or any sort of outcome that I, that I wanted I wasn’t promised anything I was just trying to focus on doing the best I could and being and enjoying where, where my feet were at.

And being incredibly grateful to be here. And the end result was at the end of the summer, they offered me a head coaching position. Who was instrumental in helping you to, to get the position? So, so really it was down to Brian Nash, who was our director of basketball at the time. You know, he, after a long summer of, of camp, I think it was like 11 weeks, he called me up to the office and, and just kind of said, you know, we would like to offer you a full time position.

You know, I, I jumped at the, jumped at the opportunity. You know, it just, every, everything is it’s right here. Everything’s great. You know, in terms of the level of support that you get, the amount of coaches that you’re around, you know, I saw it as an opportunity where I’m, I’m going to grow personally and professionally.

And it also aligns with my own, you know, my passion and my purpose in terms of having an impact and helping others.

[00:44:21] Mike Klinzing: Tell me about, and this is something that I’ve talked with numerous guys from IMG, just in terms of the sort of think tank situation. You mentioned it earlier about sharing an office with all the other head coaches.

But I know everybody that I’ve talked to has expressed to me just how valuable it is to have all the great minds inside the building that you guys can all bounce ideas off of each other. So just dive into that a little bit more and tell me how that works. Valuable that resource has been and kind of how you guys utilize that.

[00:44:52] Tom Sadler: Yeah. I mean, it’s, it’s incredibly invaluable. I mean, just, just in terms of, you know, you, you walk through the gym in the morning and, you know, you’ve got coach Jimmy Carr, who’s working with the postgrads, who’s a former college coach himself, delivering a high level practice. You know, every time you walk through the gym and someone else is on the floor, You’re learning something new, you know, whether it’s Coach Carr, coach Rhodes, coach Tebow with the middle school, like there’s always an opportunity to learn, you know, and it’s just, it’s, it’s such a fantastic environment and like I said before, like I share, I share an office with six other varsity head coaches, all have unique backgrounds and experiences in the game and, you know, constantly.

Picking each other’s brains or asking questions and, you know, talking about the things that we like, that we don’t like, you know, things that we would do differently, you know, and again, it’s just, you’re going to grow, you’re going to get better in this environment. And I think for me, I’m just, I soak it all up because for the longest time being overseas, you know, I just, I felt so isolated as a young head coach.

You know, and now I’m in this environment surrounded by these, these amazing minds, basketball minds, you know, I’m, I’m absolutely loving it.

[00:46:05] Mike Klinzing: One of the things that I always find fascinating with a place like IMG, obviously the kids that come there have. Aspirations as individual players, whether that’s to play in college or you get up to the highest level of the players who are coming to IMG.

Those guys have aspirations to play at the pro level. And yet, you as a head coach are still tasked with not only improving them as individual players, but also, you know, Trying to win games and put together a cohesive team that is going to work together and teach those kids how to make great teammates and all those kinds of things.

So how do you balance out as a head coach the desire of the players individually to improve their game and yet also getting them to buy into a team concept? It seems like again, those two things you have to walk that fine line, that delicate balance. How do you handle that situation?

[00:47:02] Tom Sadler: Oh, I love it. That’s a great question.

I think, I think for me, it’s, it’s, I’m trying, I want to try and simplify it as best I can, you know, the, a lot of the players that come here, if not all of the players come here, have aspirations to play at the highest level, right? And for me, the response is always going to be, if this is where you want to go, then we need to make sure that your actions and everything that you’re working towards align with what you say you’re doing, right?

And it’s holding them account to that standard. You know, we, we want to develop players, you know, when, when college coaches come down to recruit, we want them to know what sort of kids you’re recruiting, you know, you’re going to, you’re going to recruit kids that have the right mindset, they’re going to be motivated for the love of the game.

Right. They’re going to be coachable. They’re going to have a growth mindset. They’re going to be always open to constructive criticism. We, we want to develop the kids that are self aware, knowing who they are. Knowing their strengths and their weaknesses, just in the same way as coaches, like, you know, we want to be self aware, right?

We should be self aware. You know developing the skill sets, right? Being being competent you know, mastering the three offensive skills like, you know, shooting, passing and dribbling, making sure that they’re displaying the right defensive traits, you know, how they guard the ball, making sure they know how to rotate making sure they understand positioning themselves to rebound developing their basketball IQ.

You know, we want to teach kids and not every kid that comes out of here is gonna have an opportunity to be professional. But the way in which we teach, you know, we want them to be professional, you know, be disciplined in your approach to the game, you know, sacrifice certain things now for what you want to do in the future.

You know, be appreciative, right? Like it’s easy to get caught up here. You can kind of get lost, but realize where you are, recognize where you are, you’re in the number one. Sports Academy in the world, you know, express gratitude, be thankful for this opportunity that not, not many people have you know, be the total athlete, not, not just talking about the on court stuff, but making sure they’re focusing on their mind and their body and their off court responsibilities.

You know, we want to develop character, right? Having, having integrity, leadership being respectful, respecting yourself, respecting the team, respecting the process, right? Grit, teaching the kids perseverance. Like we’ve just been through you know a tough schedule right before Thanksgiving, you know, where we lost a couple of games on the trot, you know, heads were starting to hang, you know, and the conversation that we had each day was Was about the things that power progress.

And the big thing that powers progress is perseverance, right? Being able to keep working towards something despite failures or not getting the results you want. You know, it’s easy just to hang your head and give up and quit. You know, the real success happens when you can really push through and persevere against all that stuff.

And, and just being relentless, just being relentless. And, you know, it’s a, it’s a unique environment. We get to coach every day. And I think. I think we have a great opportunity to pour into the kids and, you know, it’s, it’s trying to teach them the, the, the right way of doing it and, and what’s going to help them become successful.

Not necessarily just in terms of basketball, but actually in life beyond the court as well.

[00:50:31] Mike Klinzing: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think that opportunity, right, because especially when you’re in a situation where you guys are at, where you’re not just necessarily getting the kids for an hour and a half during practice every day.

You’re getting to see those kids through multiple settings because they’re living there. And so I know that the amount of resources that you have for your players and your students at IMG, is just immense for them in terms of what they can access that maybe a kid at an ordinary public high school somewhere doesn’t have access to.

So tell me a little bit about some of those extra things that at IMG and how you guys make use of Again, whether it’s the, the mental training that you talked about with, you know, your wife being a part of that and just the, the weight room and the, all the kinds of things that you guys have extra that enable you to be able to provide the kind of experience that you’re just talking about with your, with your

[00:51:29] Tom Sadler: players.

So it’s the, we call it the holistic approach. And it’s all these support areas that, that basically go around the athlete. You know, if you were looking at the individual athlete, you know, we look at all the areas that, that they need, that are going to help them become successful. Whether that’s. mental performance, whether it’s leadership, nutrition and strength and conditioning.

And alongside of that, we have our, we have our amazing sports medicine team there to obviously help keep the players injury free or treat injuries when, when they happen. But it’s a unique environment. You know, they have access to, we call it APD. We have access to APD, you know, every day. The kids have an opportunity to meet with the mental performance coach, not just as a group in a group setting or a team setting, they can meet with them individually and just being able to access that resource at such a young age.

and become more self aware about the mind and the importance of that. It plays in sport is is unreal. You know, thinking back to when I was coming up, you know, we spend so much time developing our bodies in the weight room and our skill on court, but very little is done to really develop the brain and understand certain emotions and You know, being able to rely on certain tools that you need to perform, you know, and I think we do an amazing job here in terms of delivering, delivering the mental performance.

I have to say that as well, because my wife’s now the head of mental performance.

[00:53:02] Mike Klinzing: You bet, you better, you better pump that part out, man. For sure. You don’t want to hear about that later. No, I mean, I think there’s no question when you talk about the difference between a player coming up in the game today and the way that we train them and the way that players prepare to be at their best.

Certainly when you were playing, and I go back even a lot further than you do, the mental side of the game was kind of, I think, left to you and your own devices. You had to figure it out, and there were guys who were mentally tough and there were guys who weren’t and it didn’t have anything to do with somebody helping them to Do it one way or the other it was just you kind of it out.

And today, obviously, there’s so much more in terms of the support, not only for players building the mental aspect of their performance and helping to perform better. But of course, then you have the, just the mental health side of it. And, you know, there’s, I think one of the things that people outside of the world of sports, I don’t think they necessarily understand.

And I think even at, Young ages as players are coming up through grassroots basketball and even into high school basketball. I think you a lot of times People don’t understand the mental pressure and strain that players are under. And I think it goes to every player on the roster. You think about, okay, the player who’s a star, like what kind of mental strain do they have?

Well, they got to perform every day at their very best or their team’s probably not going to win. And then you have, well, what about the guy who never plays? What’s the stress on him? And guess what? That kid wants to play. And every day they’re trying to figure out why they don’t play and they’re trying to do the things that they need to do.

And there’s just, I don’t care what position you are on the roster. Everybody faces that mental game of trying to get the best out of yourself. And for you as a coach, obviously you’re trying to get the best out of your players and help them to perform, whether it’s in practice, whether it’s in games, whether it’s in the classroom and whether it’s eventually, eventually.

In their career that they choose to be at their very best. And it’s just, it is when you think about how important the mind is and how we perform and how we feel every day. It’s kind of amazing that it took us as long as it did to really realize how important that piece of the game. Is don’t know how you feel about, it’s huge.

Like you, like you when you were a player. I don’t know how you feel about, like, I feel like for me, I, I, I spoke, I would’ve benefited from it hugely. Let’s put it that way. Yeah.

[00:55:32] Tom Sadler: Well, well, I spoke about it earlier. You know, I, I didn’t have a mental performance coach teaching me to deal with frustrations in the moment, you know, or, or having that, that tool, that toolkit in my mind that I could rely on, you know?

You know, it, it shows, you know, and we still see it. Don’t get me wrong. Like kids are kids. We’re human beings at the end of the day, like we’re going to make mistakes. But my thing to the team is always going to be how we respond to the mistakes is what’s going to determine how successful we become. You know, I can accept mistakes that are going to happen in game.

Like we all can, like it’s, it’s going to happen. We want to see the energy and effort to make up for it, right? In the next play, you know, don’t hang your heads. Don’t don’t show your palms to the referees. You know, let’s be able to move forward to the next play. So we work closely with the mental performance team, like, you know, with all of our teams, leadership and obviously our strength and conditioning.

You know, it’s all very much aligned for the individual athletes. So, you know, and us as coaches, you know, our job is to just reinforce those messages that are being delivered. Good.

[00:56:35] Mike Klinzing: Absolutely.

[00:56:35] Tom Sadler: So that’s

[00:56:36] Mike Klinzing: obviously one way that you have evolved as a coach is talking more and being more cognizant of the mental performance.

But when you think back over the totality of your coaching career, how has your coaching methodology, your coaching philosophy changed from when you first started? Maybe hit on one or two things that you think are the most important that you’ve changed and you’ve improved upon since you started.

[00:57:03] Tom Sadler: So that’s a really good question.

I think when I first started coaching, I was, I was kind of Trying to be like a coach that I had guys that I’d played for previously, you know what I mean? I was trying to emulate a lot of the stuff that that I was taught through sessions and and how it was taught and it was, it just, it just wasn’t genuine, you know, and it wasn’t, it wasn’t until, you know, like I said to you earlier, until I, till I till I had that life event that caused me to kind of rethink what I was doing and really kind of look at my purpose that I kind of, you know, kind of Just kind of found my best self, really, my genuine self.

You know, develop my own coaching philosophy, which is always going to be about players first and serving them to the best I can and making sure I’m putting them in positions to be successful. I’m a believer that X’s and O’s are going to change, right? The game’s changed so much over the, over the years.

There’s always new stuff coming out. But, but at the forefront of it, for me, it’s always going to be about the people and putting them and putting them first.

[00:58:10] Mike Klinzing: All right. So we talked a little bit about just how valuable the resources at IMG just to have all the great basketball minds that you have there.

In addition to that, when you think about your ability to grow and improve as a coach, how do you do that? Where do you go? What’s your process for. Improvement besides again, sitting in on practices and things at IMG and picking the brains of the people that you work with, where else do you go? How else do you try to improve your craft as a coach?

[00:58:41] Tom Sadler: I think, I think you have to, you have to know yourself, right? Knowing, knowing what you don’t know, knowing that there’s a hell of a lot out there that you still need to know and learn. But I also think a big part of it is just being grateful, right? Being grateful allows you to, to learn. I believe, I mean, for me, Every day I drive up to the gates of IMG and I get this real wave of Gratitude and fulfillment that washes over me could also be the warm weather.

But, but I’ve, I’ve dedicated myself to this craft since retiring from playing and not once have I considered another profession. Now with that, you know, I believe I have a growth mindset. Like I don’t want to be stale. I want to stay relevant. I want to stay current. You know, I want to know what the latest trends are.

I’m going to continue to learn. I’ve got great people around me that are always going to challenge me. Like Kevin Sutton is our technical director. He’s, he’s amazing. Like you couldn’t ask for a better director. mentor and also coach Gillian, Mike Gillian, you know, former college coach Mike Kelly, former college coach, Bob Simmons, former college coach.

We’ve got all this knowledge around us, you know, and I can go in their office whenever I want and just sit down and pick their brains on certain things or how they deal with these, these situations, you know, and like I said, I haven’t, not once since I started this profession, have I considered Another job.

You know, you often hear guys like, Oh, you know, I could just do an office job. Fine. Not me. You know, the passion and the purpose that I found in helping others keeps me committed to what I’m doing. You know, it’s certainly not been easy by any, by any means over the years. But, but the belief in what I’m doing keeps me going.

You know, I, I think back to my dad, man, he used to say things to me all the time and you know what it’s like, you’re just, you’re sitting at the dinner table. Your dad’s saying stuff a lot of time, it’s going over your head, but there’s this thing that just, I’m reminded of all the time and it’s like, he used to say, when you do a job, you love, you never work a day in your life.

And for me, Mike, I think I’ve been on scholarship my entire life, man. Like I’m, I’m truly, truly grateful to be able to do what I’m, what I’m doing. And those words hold true for me, you know, navigating the ups and downs, you know, I love this thing. You know, you’re going to, there’s going to be challenges.

You’re going to have success. The time. That you spend with the players and the staff and other people around it just, just reinforces the love for, for what I’m doing.

[01:01:21] Mike Klinzing: Let me ask you this from a passion standpoint. I’m just curious because I think it’s interesting to talk to different people about how they come and transition from playing To coaching.

So when you transitioned from playing, which obviously as we talked about earlier, your passion for playing and your single mindedness of what you wanted to do from the time you started playing, you were obviously very passionate about the game as a player. When you transitioned to coaching, was that passion immediately equal?

Was it, did it feel the same? Did it feel different? How did it just, I struggled. Point where you are now.

[01:02:00] Tom Sadler: No, I struggled at first. I’ll be honest about it. I struggled to understand why some of the players couldn’t do the things that I was able to do. And I think players nowadays are more, more skilled than they’ve ever been.

You know, they’ve got more access to stuff than we ever had coming out, you know, and, and it, and it bothered me. And I remember having a conversation with my coach the guy that I was working for at the time. And he said, look, man, they’re not you. You know what I mean? They’re not you. And, and it just kind of hit home, you know, and, and yeah, I just, you, you try to treat everyone individually and try and meet them where they’re at and.

You know, build, build those relationships and try and understand how you can best hope and serve them.

[01:02:43] Mike Klinzing: Yeah. It’s really, it didn’t happen

[01:02:45] Tom Sadler: over, sorry. It didn’t happen overnight though, man. It, you know, probably took me four or five years before I really got to it. And like I said, it wasn’t until I lost my dad that I really started to reevaluate things deeply and, you know, come to, come to where I’m at now.

[01:03:01] Mike Klinzing: I think understanding that. Why of this is what I do and this is why I do it. I think once you kind of wrap your head around that and it becomes clear to you, then it becomes the passion. It’s much easier for that to, to show itself and for you to feel it. And again, just listening to you talk and having you share the things that you’ve shared about just, Again, how grateful you are and how much you love what you get to do every day.

I mean that, look, when anybody who out there, who’s played sports, who’s had a dad that’s been involved in supporting them and being a part of their athletic journey, I think we all have things that our dad has said to us over the course of time that, like you said, there’s probably a million things. And I probably only remember a few things.

Two or three that, but those are two or three things that now I’ve probably remembered for, you know, 40 years, 45 years that he said that those things continue to guide me in my life and move me forward. And so I think that’s a powerful, it’s a powerful reminder for not just parents, but for coaches certainly.

Right. Cause we say things all the time and most of the time it doesn’t stick, but. There are a lot of things that do stick that we don’t even remember. We said, and some kids somewhere that played for us is carrying around something that Tom Sadler said to him 10 years ago, that Maybe it’s still influencing them.

Maybe it was something good that in positive, which you hope, and maybe I don’t know about you, but I have things that coaches or people said to me that were, that were negative, that I kind of used as fuel to, you know, keep my fire burning and keep going after things. So it’s important. I think it’s always a less, a good lesson to remember that the things that we say is important.

You gotta be, you gotta be conscious of what you’re, of what you’re saying to players, because again, they, they remember that stuff and they can have a big impact long after your, your personal touch with them is, is long gone.

[01:05:00] Tom Sadler: Yeah, absolutely. And that, that kind of, you know, that kind of is an indicator of how successful you really are as a, as a coach and as a human being, right?

It’s not, not so much the wins and the losses in the now, but who those kids become, you know, 10 years down the road, how successful they become. And for me, that’s, you know, that’s, that’s more important than anything. No question.

[01:05:23] Mike Klinzing: All right, Tom, let’s wrap it up with a two part question. Part one, when you think ahead over the next year, what do you see as being your biggest challenge?

And then the second part, we’ve already. I think answered it, but I’m going to ask you to put it into a, a concise a concise answer, your biggest joy. So your biggest challenge, and then your biggest joy in what you get to do every day.

[01:05:49] Tom Sadler: Okay. Biggest, biggest challenge is probably Challenging myself to get out my comfort zone a little bit more like things like this.

This is the first time I’ve ever done anything like this. Hopefully, hopefully it’s come across relatively clear and I’ve been articulate with what I’ve been trying to say and, and people are able to take something from it, but I need to challenge myself to, to speak publicly a little bit more. Again, just just being your own head coach and on your own for so long.

And, you know, you kind of get caught up in a lot of the day to day things. But again, being here at IMG Academy, you know, it’s, you can’t not be in this environment and not want to grow and continue to get better. It’s infectious. You know what I mean? So I think biggest challenge for me is just pushing myself outside my comfort zone a little bit.

You know, trying to do a few more of these, you know, These podcasts and you know, just get out of my comfort zone. In terms of sorry, what was the other question? Biggest joy. Biggest joy, man. My biggest joy is probably, it’s not probably, it is going in to get my son every morning when he wakes up.

Honestly, just, you know, it’s it’s best, best feeling in the world, man. He’s, he’s standing up in his cop, you know, his arms are stretched out, ready to get picked up. Yeah, that moment for me is the biggest joy each day. Aside from coming to work here, obviously, and pulling through those gates, I’m just really, really thankful and really grateful for where I’m at.

Look forward to every single day because every day, you know, it’s something new. And just being where my feet are at this moment in time and, and knowing that right now I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be and embracing it.

[01:07:40] Mike Klinzing: Well, I’ll tell you one thing, Tom, you have a incredible journey ahead of you with your son.

There is nothing that, I’ve ever done in life that compares to being a parent and whatever your kids end up doing. And I can tell you that you’ll have no idea what they’re going to do or who they’re going to be or what they’re going to like. And they’re all, if you have, end up having more than they’re all, they’re all different.

And again, it is, it is an incredible adventure every single day. And it, it doesn’t, it doesn’t matter if they’re, if they’re one, they’re five, they’re 10, they’re 20. You still. feel the same way about them, the way you feel when you walk in and see your son’s out, stretch your arms and reaching for you.

It continues to, it continues to go the same way as a parent. I can, I can tell you that. So I can completely relate to. That being your biggest joy. Cause I would say that that is that’s right there. That’s right there for me at the top without, without question. All right, before we get out, I want to give you a chance to share how people can reach out to you, get in touch with you.

If you want to share email, social media, whatever you feel comfortable with. And then after you do that, I’ll jump back in and wrap things up.

[01:08:53] Tom Sadler: Okay. You can email me at Tom.Sadler21@iCloud.com or you can follow me on Twitter which is at @TSadler21

[01:09:03] Mike Klinzing: Perfect. Tom, I can’t thank you enough for taking the time out of your schedule today.

Really appreciate it. And to everyone out there, thanks for listening and we will catch you on our next episode. Thanks.