R-Jay Barsh is the head men’s basketball coach at Southeastern University. The 2017-18 season marks his sixth season at the helm of the Fire program. At the time of this episode being released, Barsh just won his 100th game moving the 7th ranked Fire program to 12-2 on the season.
In only his second season, he was a finalist for the Don Meyer National Coach of the Year Award as he guided the Fire to a 27-7 record and the program’s first-ever NAIA National Tournament appearance. Before coming to Southeastern, Barsh was the assistant coach at Tacoma Community College. While at Tacoma, he was considered one of the top recruiters on the West Coast and was even featured in The Bleacher Report for being a main catalyst for the Titans recruiting and developmental success. He also coached at Pugent Sound University, as well. Before he began his coaching career, he enjoyed a successful playing career at Tacoma Community College from 2001–2003. In his first season, he led the Titans to a NWAACC title and a 30–3 overall record. In 2003, Barsh was named Second Team All-Conference and found himself in a unique position, having won NWAACC titles as both a player (2002) and a coach (2012).
Off of the hardwood, Barsh has always felt the call of God on his life and has used basketball as the vehicle to deliver the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For over the past 10 years, he has been an integral part of Northwest Basketball Camps (NBC), which is a Christ-centered camp that utilizes basketball to impact the hearts and minds of young people through Jesus Christ. Through NBC, Barsh has led several camps around the world, including in Italy, the United Kingdom, and Alaska. He is also the founder of SkyMotivation, which is a ministry he uses to help young people grow in Christ. His website for the ministry has testimonies, devotionals, and even an area where viewers can ask questions about their faith.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
- How he defines and measures success as a college basketball coach
- What he is doing to help develop his players both on and off the court
- Advice he has for a coach (or leader) going through a losing streak
Lolly Daskal is the go-to executive leadership coach for Fortune 500 companies. She has been named by Inc. Magazine as a Top-50 Leadership and Management Expert. The Huffington Post honored Lolly with the title of “The Most Inspiring Woman in the World”. She regularly writes for the Harvard Business Review, Inc, Fast Company, Huffington Post, and Psycholgoy Today. Her newest book is called The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness. It has appeared on the New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller charts. Lolly is the founder of Lead from Within, a successful leadership firm that offers custom made programs in leadership and organizational development. Lolly also has more than 1 million followers on twitter.
Glenn “Shemy” Schembechler serves as the President of GES Advisory Company. Shemy has spent the majority of his life and professional career in the football industry, growing up as the son of legendary coach Glenn E. “Bo” Schembechler. He has evaluated talent for such high-level programs as the University of Michigan, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Chicago Bears, the Washington Redskins, and the Seattle Seahawks. In addition to his father, Shemy has studied under accomplished coaches Gary Moeller, Lloyd Carr, Marty Schottenheimer, and Joe Gibbs. They have all had an indelible impact on his career, and his ability to scout and recommend prospects. Shemy has been a part of many championship and playoff teams, and has been able to evaluate or recommend players that have gone on to Pro Bowl careers (Charles Woodson, Ian Gold and Tom Brady, respectively), as well as inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Joe Montana, Marcus Allen, and Derrick Thomas, respectively).