21 October 2026
Ep 2049 What Should You Say in the First Five Minutes After a Game?
Basketball Coach Unplugged (A Basketball Coaching Podcast)
About
https://teachhoops.com/
Win or lose, why the postgame talk should be short, and what to save for tomorrow's practice.
The longest talk Coach Steve Collins ever gave a team came after a win. Twenty two minutes in a hot locker room, kids still in their jerseys, parents waiting in the hallway. He could not remember one thing he said, and when he asked, neither could his players. That night became the starting point for how he learned to handle the first five minutes after the horn.
With openers right around the corner, this two part deep dive is about the postgame talk, win or lose. Steve explains why those minutes are a feeling moment instead of a teaching moment, the simple three piece structure that replaced his long speeches, and why the real corrections belong in tomorrow's practice, after the film and after a night of sleep. He also covers the part most coaches never plan for: their own temperature walking through that door, and the one kid who is hurting on the way out.
Part 1: Short on Purpose
The twenty two minute postgame speech after a win that nobody, including Steve, could remember
Why right after a game you have the most emotion and the least clarity, and so do your players
Keeping the talk under five minutes, because long talks steal joy after wins and become punishment after losses
Avoiding the staff pile on: one voice in the room, with assistants giving their thoughts in the hallway first
The three piece talk: one truth, one thing to be proud of, one thing for tomorrow
Ending every postgame talk with the same ritual, win or lose
The twenty point loss, the assistant who said "Three sentences," and the hungry practice that followed
Why clarity, not softness, is what earns a team's trust after a hard night
Part 2: What to Save, and Who to Find
Why you remember the game wrong right after it ends, and what the next morning's film usually shows
No individual call outs and no whiteboard breakdowns in the postgame locker room
Why the late night text to your team never teaches anything
The folded sheet of paper in the jacket pocket that turned postgame frustration into the next practice plan
Closing the loop by opening the next practice with the topic you named after the game
Checking your own temperature: the walk in, the clipboard, the door, and ninety seconds with your staff first
The kicked water cooler after a road loss, and what it really taught the team
Letting a big win be loud without promising the world, because practice is eighteen hours away
Finding the kid who is hurting on the way out with one steady sentence
Chapters
00:00 Coach Unplugged intro
00:16 Opening confession: the twenty two minute talk
00:51 Welcome from the Fifth Quarter Studios
01:19 Pre roll: TeachHoops.com day after game outlines
02:21 Why the postgame talk goes sideways
02:26 Takeaway 1: Under five minutes, win or lose
04:06 Takeaway 2: The three piece talk
06:16 Picking back up
06:33 Takeaway 3: Save the fixes for tomorrow
08:31 Mid roll: TeachHoops.com day after game practice plans
08:53 Takeaway 4: Check your own temperature
10:09 Finding the kid who is hurting
10:53 The challenge
11:03 Post roll
This week's challenge: Keep your postgame talk under five minutes, and save every correction for tomorrow's practice.
Format: Deep Dive, two parts.
Resources: Day after game practice plans, film review templates, correction drills, practice plans, and courses at https://teachhoops.com/
Recorded at the Fifth Quarter Studios in Madison, Wisconsin.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Win or lose, why the postgame talk should be short, and what to save for tomorrow's practice.
The longest talk Coach Steve Collins ever gave a team came after a win. Twenty two minutes in a hot locker room, kids still in their jerseys, parents waiting in the hallway. He could not remember one thing he said, and when he asked, neither could his players. That night became the starting point for how he learned to handle the first five minutes after the horn.
With openers right around the corner, this two part deep dive is about the postgame talk, win or lose. Steve explains why those minutes are a feeling moment instead of a teaching moment, the simple three piece structure that replaced his long speeches, and why the real corrections belong in tomorrow's practice, after the film and after a night of sleep. He also covers the part most coaches never plan for: their own temperature walking through that door, and the one kid who is hurting on the way out.
Part 1: Short on Purpose
The twenty two minute postgame speech after a win that nobody, including Steve, could remember
Why right after a game you have the most emotion and the least clarity, and so do your players
Keeping the talk under five minutes, because long talks steal joy after wins and become punishment after losses
Avoiding the staff pile on: one voice in the room, with assistants giving their thoughts in the hallway first
The three piece talk: one truth, one thing to be proud of, one thing for tomorrow
Ending every postgame talk with the same ritual, win or lose
The twenty point loss, the assistant who said "Three sentences," and the hungry practice that followed
Why clarity, not softness, is what earns a team's trust after a hard night
Part 2: What to Save, and Who to Find
Why you remember the game wrong right after it ends, and what the next morning's film usually shows
No individual call outs and no whiteboard breakdowns in the postgame locker room
Why the late night text to your team never teaches anything
The folded sheet of paper in the jacket pocket that turned postgame frustration into the next practice plan
Closing the loop by opening the next practice with the topic you named after the game
Checking your own temperature: the walk in, the clipboard, the door, and ninety seconds with your staff first
The kicked water cooler after a road loss, and what it really taught the team
Letting a big win be loud without promising the world, because practice is eighteen hours away
Finding the kid who is hurting on the way out with one steady sentence
Chapters
00:00 Coach Unplugged intro
00:16 Opening confession: the twenty two minute talk
00:51 Welcome from the Fifth Quarter Studios
01:19 Pre roll: TeachHoops.com day after game outlines
02:21 Why the postgame talk goes sideways
02:26 Takeaway 1: Under five minutes, win or lose
04:06 Takeaway 2: The three piece talk
06:16 Picking back up
06:33 Takeaway 3: Save the fixes for tomorrow
08:31 Mid roll: TeachHoops.com day after game practice plans
08:53 Takeaway 4: Check your own temperature
10:09 Finding the kid who is hurting
10:53 The challenge
11:03 Post roll
This week's challenge: Keep your postgame talk under five minutes, and save every correction for tomorrow's practice.
Format: Deep Dive, two parts.
Resources: Day after game practice plans, film review templates, correction drills, practice plans, and courses at https://teachhoops.com/
Recorded at the Fifth Quarter Studios in Madison, Wisconsin.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices