Welcome to the hardwood hustle powered by PGC basketball. We believe in the value of a coach. We're here to educate, empower, and encourage you to lead like never before. In today's episode, Sam and I interview Joni Taylor, head coach for Georgia women's basketball. She has almost 20 years of

coaching experience and is racking up the honors as a head coach. Just this season, she was named

Coach of the Year in the SEC Conference. Today, coaches can take away how Joni has set her team

apart on and off the court in terms of how they play and execute in late games, but also how she

empowers her players and staff. Before we start, a quick

word from Key 5 coaching. Most coaches don't know how to properly review and assess their season,

which is unfortunate, as you can't get better if you don't learn from the past. That's why we

created the postseason evaluation package to give you everything you need to close out the season

in the same way top coaches at every level do. If you're ready to make next season your best

season ever, go to key five coaching.com and become a member to get instant access to the postseason

evaluation package. All right, welcome back or welcome to the Hardwood Hustle, Sam and Lisa, with you today.

And we've got a special guest, Joni Taylor, head women's coach at University of Georgia.

Joni, really excited to have you on.

Thank you. I'm so excited to sharing this time and looking forward to the conversation.

I normally walk away having learned more than I give. So I'm excited about the opportunity this time and looking forward to the conversation. I normally walk away

having learned more than I give. So I'm excited about the opportunity to learn and grow.

Absolutely. Well, let's jump into it and let's start here. I was messaging with your

associate head coach, Karen Lang, and, you know, asked her a few things. And she said one thing you

do really well is player relationships

and building relationships with your players.

So I would love just to hear what do you do intentionally?

Is it natural for you or is there something you do intentionally to build those relationships?

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