Coach Trent Lankford: Gruver High School

2019-2020 6A State Champ Coach LaJeanna Howard joins the #RAPP to discuss her 40-3 Championship season and how she and her assistant coaches cultivate a family driven program at Duncanville High School! Playing in the largest division in Texas HS sports is a daunting task and Coach Howard has enjoyed great success in year 1 at Duncanville HS (Coach also took Lincoln HS to the state finals in 2018-2019 and won a championship as a HS player). Being a former Collge Player and Pantherette alumni, she brings unique knowledge and perspective to the position and to the #RAPP! Contact Info: [email protected]

Coach Kyle Spitzer has been a teacher and coach for 11 years. He has made stops at Keene, De Leon, and is now about to enter his 7th year at Nocona. He graduated from Peaster High School in 2008, where he played for the legendary Coach, Danny Henderson. He graduated from Texas Tech in 2013. He has been married to his wife Courtney for 10+ years and they have 3 beautiful children; Lakyn (7), Kye (4), Parker (2). While at Nocona, Coach Spitzer has been a part of 6 District Championships, 2 Regional Finals appearances, and a State Finals appearance. In this loaded episode we dive into Coach Spitzer’s state finals run in the s 23-24 season, his transition philosophies, his vaunted half court offense, and his half court pack line defense! What an episode! Coach Spitzer can be found on X @KSpitzer32 and I can be found @CoachRichardsSR. Be sure to like subscribe and share the Race and Pace Podcast! #RAPP

Coach Ryan Dollar, Head Girls Basketball Coach at Newcastle High School, joins the show to talk all things hoops! He just won the Class A Girls State Championship and brings a ton of knowledge (over two decades as a Teacher/Coach) to the RAPP! He went 35-1 in the 23-24 season and won the state title game by 16 points! On this episode, he talks about his awesome run to the state title, his elite defense, and how they approach the game, defensively speaking, what it was like coaching his very talented daughter, and other ins and outs of his Lady Cats Girls basketball program! Be sure to like and follow the podcast. I can be reached on Twitter @CoachRichardsSR and Coach Dollar can be reached on twitter @2Swish2 Thanks for tuning in and let’s grow the game! #RAPP

Coach Stephenson’s new episode on the RAPP was fire! Coach Stephenson has won 269 games already as a young coach including a state title, 7 regional tournament appearances , and 4 State tournament appearances! His episode centers on Grit, culture, practices habits, and the evolution of him as a Head Coach leading his new program at Brock! Be sure to follow him on twitter for questions @Stephensonad15 and be sure to like, and subscribe to the Podcast! He will be speaking on June 22, 2022 in Glen Rose Tx so be sure to reach out to him on Twitter with questions! @CoachRichardsSR is my twitter link with the Race and Pace pod link in my bio!

Gruver’s Head Girls Coach Trent Lankford joins the RAPP to discuss his phenomenal 33-0 2A Texas State Championship basketball season! We discuss his season, program, and his philosophies! Thanks Coach! Be sure to like and subscribe to the Race and Pace Podcast and follow @CoachRichardsSr on Twitter for episode drop dates!

It’s the spring/summer podcasting season and the R&S podcast is back! I was blessed to talk hoops with the 2022 Texas UIL 1A Girls Basketball State Champion Ben Connell! What an honor! Coach was very gracious with his time and shared tons for our Texas Coaches and listeners! Bio Below. Thanks Coach! Head Coach Sands Lady Mustangs (2015-current) 2022 1A Basketball State Champions Head Basketball Coach 24 years Coaching Stints: Ector HS, Lubbock Roosevelt HS Family: wife Laurie Connell, 4 Children Landry, Niall, Hayley, Mia Graduate: East Texas Baptist University Classroom: Math Teacher 6th grade-Algebra 1 Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter for more info @CoachRichardsSR

Coach Gaudette coaches football, boys basketball, and the throwers at Nashua South HS in New Hampshire! She has overcome many obstacles in her life and nothing has stopped her in becoming an excellent Teacher and Coach (see her bio here: https://youtu.be/jyrRSV8EWKw). She incorporates a Jay Wright/ Bobby Knight style motion offense blended with some flex cut actions for a modern offensive attack!

Coach Laudig, the Head Girls Basketball Coach for the Sinton Lady Pirates, in South East Texas, won 22 games as a first year Head Girls Basketball Coach as well as a playoff game. Her knowledge of the game and players first program is what teaching and coaching is all about in the Lone Star State. Be sure to check out her defensive philosophies and how she implemented her systems into her program for year one! She may be reached at [email protected]

Coach Steven Gilbert is passionate about developing athletes and preparing them for future endeavors. He is committed to excellence and believes in building character through his program. He is both defensive and offensive minded, and emphasizes defense. In Gilbert's first year as a first chair Women's Basketball assistant coach at Neosho County Community College, Gilbert managed team and individual skill development. He also marketed players, helping to get 100% of the Sophomore players offers to four year universities. In addition to this, Gilbert helped manage the team's grades- leading the team to finish their Fall semester with the best GPA in team history at a 3.48 GPA. Gilbert helped to manage the team's website, social media, community service, and fundraiser events. Prior to coaching at Neosho County Community College, Coach Gilbert coached at Miyamura High School as a Head Girls Basketball Coach. Gilbert guided the Lady Patriots to their first ever playoff birth and upset the defending state champions in the first round. He beat their rival team for the first time in school history and lost in the quarter finals of the state tourney. Leading his team to success with a 3.5 team GPA and a new school record, Gilbert was again named NM All-Star Game head coach, and he coached in the New Mexico - Arizona All-Star Classic. In this year, Gilbert sent 6 players to college, and secured three additional future scholarships for his younger athletes. Before his work at Miyamura High School, Gilbert moved to New Mexico where he accepted a position as a Head Girls Coach of Laguna Acoma High School. In his time at this school, he guided his team to a 24-6 record while maintaining an 18 game winning streak that broke the school record. The program made it to the state semifinals before losing a nail biter to the #1 team in the state. The program finished the year with a team GPA of 3.3. Gilbert also sent three players to college that year. Coach GIlbert was named coach of the year for his district, honorable mention for coach of the year for state, and head coach for the all-star game. Coach Gilbert began his head coaching career at South Walton high school as the Head Boys Basketball Coach. Here, he developed a young team with beginners knowledge and skill to place second in district. Understanding the importance of being students before athletes, Coach Gilbert motivated his athletes to finish second in academics in the state. Before becoming a head coach, Gilbert was an assistant high school girls basketball at Chiles High School for two years where he helped the program reach state for the first time in over five years. He also helped to develop the skill of players, leading a player to continue her basketball career at Daytona Beach Community College. Coach Gilbert then moved to Panama City, Florida where he was the assistant Boys Basketball Coach at Mosley High school for one year. Here, he also assisted with skill development leading several students to college success. Gilbert earned his B.S. degree in biological science from Florida State University and also has a M.S. in secondary education. Coach Gilbert has been coaching for 10 years. Within these 10 years, he has coached college, high school, and AAU.

Coach Rainbolt joins the RAPP for Episode 21 to discuss his Women's Basketball Program at ETBU! He enters his fourth season as the head coach for the women’s basketball team and is the fastest coach to 60 wins at ETBU in the NCAA Division III era. He has put ETBU on the map for women's basketball in three years building a program from scratch producing three straight 20-win seasons for the first time since the late 1990s. He also won the program’s first American Southwest Conference Tournament Championship in 2017-18 finishing in the NCAA Division III Elite Eight falling to #2 Wartburg College in Waverly, IA. Rainbolt is no stranger to the ASC as he has coached at Concordia University-Texas and McMurry University. Prior to coming back to NCAA Division III, he spent two years in his hometown of Sweetwater, Texas, as the Girls Athletic Coordinator and Head Girls Basketball Coach. He may be reached at [email protected]