We are taking a break during the women's college basketball season.

Athletes + parents:
I’ve been working on something over the past few months that will add a ton of value to your recruiting process. It’s going to be an all-in-one place to track recruiting questions, keep track of important information and dates, and serve as an overall resource hub. Stay tuned!

Coaches + administrators:
Part of what I do is helping coaches understand how different brains communicate, learn, regulate, and perform so they can coach every athlete on their team; neurodivergent and neurotypical alike. I’m starting a new podcast with episodes dropping the first Wednesday of November, and every Wednesday after that. It's called Every Brain on The Team. I encourage you to check it out. I also host no-cost neurodiversity-informed coaching workshops every month. In those workshops, I teach what neurodiversity is and is not, common misconceptions, and we go over your real coaching situations so you can learn what this actually looks like for you and in your practice environment. It’s open to any athletic coach and is capped at 10 participants per workshop. If you or someone on your staff is interested, visit elsebethbirman.com/workshops and sign up today.

As always, if there are any questions, feel free to reach out.

On today’s episode, we have Shellee Howard. Shellee is the founder of College Ready, a company built on a simple belief: every student deserves a plan, a champion, and a path to the right fit. With over 18 years of experience, she has supported over 2,700 students through the college process.

On this episode, we discuss:

• How she sent all of her children to college with no debt and zero money out of her pocket!
• Shellee’s discover, plan, prepare, and achieve approach to the college process
• How to go through the college process doing more than checking a box
• How to think about AI during the college process
• Why it’s important to start the process early
• Two common misconceptions about the college process

And much more!

Parents: Is your teen College Ready? Podcast

Shellee's Books on Amazon

Sign up for a clarity call with Shellee here

If you have any questions for me or our future guests email hoopsthroughlife@gmail.com

If you're interested in connecting or working together, let's have a conversation - send me an email today - hoopsthroughlife@gmail.com

Check out Hoops Through Life on:
Hoops Through Life Website
X
Instagram
Facebook

The views and opinions shared by coaches and other professionals on this podcast are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Hoops Through Life. Hoops Through Life is an independent entity, not affiliated with any school or coach, and is not responsible for the opinions expressed by these individuals.

On today’s BEST OF episode, we have our most-listened-to episode ever with Coach Artina Trader. Artina has experience as an assistant coach at Allegheny College and John Carroll University. She also served as head coach at Thiel College. She is currently heading into her 16th season as the head coach at North Carolina Wesleyan University.

On this episode, we discuss:

• Athleticism, Basketball IQ, and potential
• Recruiting Twins
• Confidence while playing
• How Coach Trader and her staff use the transfer portal
• How student-athletes get on their radar
• Time management in college

And much more!

NC Wesleyan WBB X
NC Wesleyan WBB Instagram
NC Wesleyan WBB Recruiting Questionnaire

If you have any questions for me or our future guests email hoopsthroughlife@gmail.com

If you're interested in connecting or working together, let's have a conversation - send me an email today - hoopsthroughlife@gmail.com

Check out Hoops Through Life on:
Hoops Through Life Website
X
Instagram
Facebook

The views and opinions shared by coaches and other professionals on this podcast are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Hoops Through Life. Hoops Through Life is an independent entity, not affiliated with any school or coach, and is not responsible for the opinions expressed by these individuals.

On today’s episode, we have Coach Torie Eggers. Torie was a 3-sport athlete at Nyack College (basketball, lacrosse, and track and field). She has experience in AAU and high school girls’ basketball and has coached since 2020. Torie started her college coaching career as an assistant at Rowan University, where she spent the past 3 seasons. In 2026-2027, she enters her first season as an assistant at Shenandoah University.

On this episode, we discuss:

• The one question Coach Torie asks when she's scouting a recruit, and why she's watching the bench too
• What "pace" really means at the college level
• What to do when you're sending emails and hearing nothing back
• How coaches can spot a ChatGPT recruiting email right away, and what to write instead
• What great communication looks like to a college coach

And much more!

Shenandoah University WBB Instagram

Shenandoah University WBB Recruiting Questionnaire

If you have any questions for me or our future guests email hoopsthroughlife@gmail.com

If you're interested in connecting or working together, let's have a conversation - send me an email today - hoopsthroughlife@gmail.com

Check out Hoops Through Life on:
Hoops Through Life Website
X
Instagram
Facebook

The views and opinions shared by coaches and other professionals on this podcast are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Hoops Through Life. Hoops Through Life is an independent entity, not affiliated with any school or coach, and is not responsible for the opinions expressed by these individuals.

Send us Fan Mail

On today's episode we are starting our skills breakdown series. Over the next few episodes we are going to break down different basketball skills. Today’s episode is all about ball handling.

On this episode we discuss:

• What it means to be an elite ball handler
• How to assess your ball handling skills
• How to improve your ball handling skills
• Some of my favorite ball handling activities

and much more!

If you have any questions for me or our future guests email hoopsthroughlife@gmail.com

If you're interested in connecting or working together, let's have a conversation - send me an email today - hoopsthroughlife@gmail.com

Check out Hoops Through Life on:
Hoops Through Life Website
X
Instagram
Facebook

The views and opinions shared by coaches and other professionals on this podcast are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Hoops Through Life. Hoops Through Life is an independent entity, not affiliated with any school or coach, and is not responsible for the opinions expressed by these individuals.

Send us Fan Mail

On today’s episode I sat down with Coach Alexa Tovella. Alexa has a wealth of knowledge about the recruiting process at the NCAA Division I and Division III levels. Alexa has coached at Edgewood College and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Alexa is currently the assistant at Western Illinois University. In this episode we discuss:

• The power of word of mouth recruiting
• The importance of grades in the recruiting process
• The importance of being interested in the program versus being interested in being recruited
• Why the competition you compete against in high school and AAU matter
• How to separate yourself with the intangibles
• Why it's important to be a good teammate

And much more!

If you've enjoyed this episode make sure you subscribe and leave us a review!

WIU WBB Instagram
WIU WBB Recruit Questionnaire
WIU WBB Camps

If you have any questions for me or our future guests email hoopsthroughlife@gmail.com

If you're interested in connecting or working together, let's have a conversation - send me an email today - hoopsthroughlife@gmail.com

Check out Hoops Through Life on:
Hoops Through Life Website
X
Instagram
Facebook

The views and opinions shared by coaches and other professionals on this podcast are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Hoops Through Life. Hoops Through Life is an independent entity, not affiliated with any school or coach, and is not responsible for the opinions expressed by these individuals.

Send us Fan Mail

On today’s episode we have Iuri Melo. Iuri is a licensed clinical social worker + therapist. He is the published author of "Mind Over Grey Matter," and "Know Thy Selfie," a national best seller for adolescents. Iuri specializes in treating Anxiety related disorders (Panic, OCD), Depression, & Trauma. His vision is to inspire youth and young adults everywhere to live deeply.

On this episode we discuss:

• The importance of how you interpret events
• The highs and lows of engaging in sports
• The virtuous cycle vs the downward spiral

And much more!

Video resources for adolescents

School pulse website

Know Thy Selfie - Book

Mind Over Grey Matter - Book

If you have any questions for me or our future guests email hoopsthroughlife@gmail.com

If you're interested in connecting or working together, let's have a conversation - send me an email today - hoopsthroughlife@gmail.com

Check out Hoops Through Life on:
Hoops Through Life Website
X
Instagram
Facebook

The views and opinions shared by coaches and other professionals on this podcast are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Hoops Through Life. Hoops Through Life is an independent entity, not affiliated with any school or coach, and is not responsible for the opinions expressed by these individuals.

Send us Fan Mail

On today’s episode, we have Coach Kate McCann. Coach Kate started her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Springfield College, where, over 2 years on staff, she helped the team notch 37 wins and one NCAA DIII tournament appearance. She just finished up her first year as an assistant at Bowdoin College, where the polar bears finished 25-3, advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, and finished the season ranked 11th in the final Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) poll. This year, Coach Kat earned a spot on the WBCA’s 30 under 30 team for the 25-26 season. The distinction celebrates not only on-court excellence, but also a coach's commitment to mentorship, community service, and their overall impact on student-athletes.

On this episode, we discuss:

• What Coach McCann would do differently if she were going through the recruiting process today
• How to stand out in your communication with coaches
• The timeline of communication with college coaches and what you can expect at each phase
• How current athletes at an institution are involved in the recruiting process
• How the conference and the institution can impact the recruiting process
• How to prepare for your first year of college

And much more!

Bowdoin Recruiting Questionnaire

Bowdoin WBB Instagram

Bowdoin Elite Camp Sign-Up

If you have any questions for me or our future guests email hoopsthroughlife@gmail.com

If you're interested in connecting or working together, let's have a conversation - send me an email today - hoopsthroughlife@gmail.com

Check out Hoops Through Life on:
Hoops Through Life Website
X
Instagram
Facebook

The views and opinions shared by coaches and other professionals on this podcast are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Hoops Through Life. Hoops Through Life is an independent entity, not affiliated with any school or coach, and is not responsible for the opinions expressed by these individuals.