‘Glue Guys’ Shane Battier and Alex Smith Offer Sage Advice on Coaching, Parenting, Reaching Full Potential

Former Duke and NBA player Shane Battier and former NFL quarterback Alex Smith, who host their own podcast called Glue Guys, joined Greg Olsen on the Youth Inc. flagship pod for a fascinating conversation that spanned the simplicity of good coaching to building good habits to today’s youth sports world.

Smith coaches youth football, while Battier is now an assistant high school basketball coach at Providence Day School in Charlotte, where his son Zeke is a 6’8” junior. Battier tries to channel his inner Coach K while on the sideline.

“Coach K was a madman, but he always said that when the pressure was the highest I want to be the calmest guy in the gym,” said Battier. “I took that to heart.

Watch the full episode on our YouTube channel.

Key Takeaways

Simplicity works at every level.

As a player, Battier was the ultimate team guy and always did the little things well. He now applies that to coaching. “I try and get them to get back to the basics,” he said. “I always tell the guys that this worked on Carmelo Anthony. And if it worked on Carmelo, it works.”

Added Olsen, “You win by being simple. It’s hard to get across to kids.”

Good coaching is good coaching, no matter where it is.

“In the NFL, people would be shocked if they heard the coaching that goes on,” said Smith. “If I threw a slant and it was behind the receiver, the coaching point was get it out in front. That didn’t help me.

“When I got to Kansas City and I missed a throw, Andy Reid would say, ‘Look at your stance, your hips.’ He would have been the ultimate gym teacher and could coach any sport. He would give the same type of coaching points that you would give to an 8 year old.”

Winning starts well before the game is played.

Olsen and his terrific middle school coaching staff at Charlotte Christian (featuring Luke Kuechly, Jonathan Stewart, Todd Blackledge and Olsen’s father, Chris) set the tone from the first team meeting and summer workout.

“We try and implement as many positive habits throughout the season that once it gets to the scoreboard 99% of the time the scoreboard is going to go in our favor if we do all the things that lead up to it,” said Olsen.

Added Smith, “It’s [the] Bill Walsh way: the score takes care of itself.

Taking good coaching can be very hard, but it pays to stick it out.

Smith told the story of when he went to the University of Utah and coach Urban Meyer rode him hard. But it ultimately helped him become a college star and play in the NFL for 16 seasons.

“I hated being in the same room with Urban Meyer for the first six months I was with him,” said Smith. “It was uncomfortable. He challenged you in every way. But I look back and it drastically changed my life. How lucky I was for it."