Recent graduate of Portland Adventist Academy, Dane Petersen, and incoming junior at Mile High Academy, Addy Dodds, join the show to talk about their experience at the first-ever AdventistHoops All-American Weekend. The group discusses their overall experience at the July 31-August 2 weekend, the specifics of the schedule on Thursday and Friday, and analyze the all-star festivities on Saturday night. The athletes share what it was like staying at La Sierra University, learning from our Adventist college coaches, uncovering strategies from sports psychologists, and playing with other high-level Adventist athletes. The two also talked about how important the event was to them personally and how supported they felt from the Adventist community during these historic national Adventist high school all-star games.

If you didn’t get a chance to watch the All-American Saturday night, you can watch on the AdventistHoops YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/live/GDHO86CEs40?feature=share

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After seeing how his Sabbath observance was honored in high school in Canada, and the potential he saw in Adventist youth around him as an adult, Aldin and his wife started the Basketball Factory in Calgary, Alberta. Their club teams play in high level tournaments across the country, maintain an Adventist code of conduct, and don’t play on the Sabbath.

Aldin talks about the logistics of running traveling teams, the openness of tournament organizers to schedule games around the Sabbath, and the opportunities he’s seen to witness. He explains the club’s annual schedule, and many Adventist families’ concern that playing basketball will eventually lead to compromising on the Sabbath. Aldin opens up about his university career, explaining why he ended up playing on the Sabbath, and why he quit basketball because of it after his second season. Now he encourages Adventist youth to give God the chance to honor their Sabbath decision.

The guys speculate on what it would be like for an Adventist to play in the NBA and how an Adventist Division 1 college would manage playing around the Sabbath. Aldin leaves listeners with advice on how more people could start their own Adventist clubs.

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Pastor Willis shares how he was inspired to create the Northeast Stingers basketball club through his church in North Carolina, and how it’s grown to include multiple age groups and out-of-state tournaments. Head Coach Reggie Todd shares how they fill their schedule, some of the challegnges of coaching a club, and how the experience has benefitted the kids as athletes and young men. They share their 2025 experience at the Newmyer Classic at Andrews University, how they’ve secured funding for their travels, and advice for others out there who see a need to give Adventist kids more experience.

Reggie also shares his experience as a top prospect in South Carolina as a Sabbath-observing Adventist. He went on to play Division 1 basketball for East Tennessee State University, in a program that was supportive of his beliefs.

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Carla shares her basketball journey, from her early days in Maryland playing at Beltsville Adventist School, to a storied high school career at Mesa Grande Academy in California, followed by a challenging college campaign at Pacific Union College. She recounts the horrific, seemingly random shooting she fell victim to while living in Florida that resulted in a spinal cord injury, leaving her in a wheelchair. She describes the feeling of loss, how her life changed, and her journey back to the court as an assistant for the Forest Lake Academy girls. She talks about the practical realities of coaching in a wheelchair, like teaching with words only, instead of being able to physically demonstrate skills. Carla concludes by talking about the 2024-2025 Forest Lake team that made it to the championship game of the Andrews tournament, including some of their leaders.

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The founder of a new company called “Advent Sports” talks about his basketball journey from a small Adventist school in Oregon to playing college ball at Union College (now Union Adventist University), coaching at Campion Academy in Colorado, and eventually serving as an assistant for the women’s team at Walla Walla University (WWU). The guys discuss the ideal number of weekly basketball activities for high school players and how that differs in college, and Caleb talks about how a growing number of Adventist colleges are prioritizing athletics by finding outside money and gaining community support. He explains how his love for Adventist basketball ties back to the common foundation of faith that allows us to have such unique experiences like our Adventist tournaments, and reflects on the leadership and mentorship of WWU head coach Tony Nakashima.

Caleb recalls the origins of Advent Sports, and the goal of equipping Adventist youth with more skill and providing connections to Adventist college coaches. The guys talk about how taking action in starting something can show people what is possible, how the denomination could invest in Adventist sports to grow our reach and brand, and how Adventist youth are demanding change by shooting for higher athletic achievement than past generations.

Check out Advent Sports at www.advent-sports.com.

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La Sierra University’s men’s head coach shares his college basketball coaching journey, which began at the age of 22 under the guidance of his dad at a community college in Southern California. He later joined the staff at Hope International, a top-ranked NAIA program where we worked for five years before getting the opportunity at LSU. Ethan talks about the lasting coaching wisdom from his father, his team's historic conference run in only his second year, and the value he puts on playing NCAA competition (at the time of this recording, LSU had played five D1 opponents in the 24-25 season).

Ethan also explains why he likes to put the decision-making in the players’ hands and allows them to play freely if they’ve proven themselves. He highlights some of the leaders on his roster, why LSU is moving to a new conference next season, and as a non-Adventist, what he has come to appreciate about the Seventh-day Adventist faith. He describes why he looks for maturity above all else in high school prospects, his 3-5 year goal for the program, and why he wears a suit to games when the basketball world is becoming more casually dressed.

Check out Advent Sports at https://www.advent-sports.com/

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Lucio is the athletic director and girls head coach at Loma Linda Academy in California, the largest Seventh-day Adventist school in North America. His career in education began at now-closed San Pasqual Academy, where he started their sports program. He spent 15 years at Mesa Grande Academy, and Loma Linda until today.

Lucio talks about the challenges of building a program at a boarding academy where kids leave for extended spans of time, and how he has supported and mentored his coaches throughout his career until today. The guys discuss some of the Mesa Grande Academy girls championship teams from the 2000s and 2010s, and Lucio breaks down things he’s been able to do at a large school like LLA that he always wanted to do at his previous stops.

Dustin asks Lucio his thoughts about the right balance between playing some Adventist schools versus playing an exclusively non-Adventist schedule, and Lucio talks about how the Adventist Church could become more cohesive and active in corporately evaluating Adventist athletics. The guys preview the 2024-2025 LLA girls team and how their style of play will change with losing a lot of size from last season.

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As a first-year head coach for Andrews University, Jared talks about his vision for the program, which he acknowledges has struggled recently. He talks about his experience with shifting culture and mentality at his prior stops at a Michigan junior college and high school. His father coached at Andrews as a kid, and Jared played for the Cardinals for one season in college, so taking this position is a full circle moment for him.

He talks about the differences of coaching at a junior college versus a four-year university, the challenges of recruiting for a rebuilding program without scholarships, and how he sees AU being a destination for the kids who fall through the cracks in the national recruiting process. He talks about this upcoming 2024-2025 season and who he’s looking to lead on his roster.

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