🏀 MORE THAN X’S & O’S: LEADERSHIP & THE JOURNEY

What happens when we stop measuring a coach only by what he accomplishes and start looking at who he is becoming?

This week on Redeeming the Game, I’m joined by Zach Hopp, a Division I basketball coach whose journey has taken him through Kansas, Washburn, Ole Miss, Arkansas State, Athletes in Action, and The Basketball Tournament.

Zach has an incredible basketball mind and experience in scouting, analytics, strategy, and coaching. But this conversation goes beyond the X’s and O’s.

We’re talking about the journey behind the résumé.

The lessons learned along the way.

The difference between knowing the game and leading people.

And how our faith in Jesus shapes the way we approach our work, our leadership, and our identity.

Because it’s possible to spend your entire life pursuing success in basketball and never stop to ask the most important question:

Who am I becoming through the game I love?

This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. In Part 2, we’ll explore what it means to lead a team while also leading your family—and how to pursue excellence without losing sight of what matters most.

🎙️ Redeeming the Game Podcast

The game is a gift. Jesus is our identity. People are the mission.

If could go back and talk to my younger self as a coach, these are the 10 things I’d tell him first.

I put them all into a free guide called “10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Coach.”

No fluff. No playbooks. Just real lessons from years of coaching, leading, winning, losing, and learning.

If you’re early in your coaching journey, or you want to coach with more purpose and clarity, grab it for free below.

👇 Free download linked below 👇

www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

matt@redeemingthegame.com

More Than X’s & O’s: Leadership & the Journey | Zach Hopp — Part 1

What does it take to grow as a basketball coach, a leader, and a follower of Jesus?

In Part 1 of this two-part conversation on Redeeming the Game, Coach Sanders sits down with Zach Hopp, a Division I basketball coach whose journey has taken him through the University of Kansas, Washburn University, Ole Miss, Arkansas State, Athletes in Action, and The Basketball Tournament.

Zach has gained experience in scouting, analytics, strategy, preparation, and coaching at multiple levels of the game. But this conversation goes beyond X’s and O’s.

We explore the journey behind the résumé, the lessons learned through different seasons of coaching, and what separates simply knowing basketball from truly leading people.

Together, we discuss:

• The experiences and opportunities that shaped Zach’s coaching journey.
• How preparation, strategy, and basketball knowledge contribute to leadership.
• What coaches learn through seasons of growth, service, and change.
• How faith in Jesus influences the way we approach our work and the people we lead.
• Why our identity must be rooted in something deeper than our position, accomplishments, or success.

As coaches, it’s easy to become so focused on the next opportunity, the next win, or the next level that we forget to ask who we’re becoming along the way.

Basketball is a gift, but it was never meant to define our worth.

Our goal isn’t simply to become better coaches. It’s to become the kind of leaders who develop people, serve others, and reflect Jesus through the game we love.

The game is the vehicle. People are the mission.

Join us for Part 1 of this conversation with Zach Hopp on Redeeming the Game.

Part 2: Leading the Team, Leading the Family — continuing the conversation around faith, marriage, fatherhood, and leading well both on and off the court.

If could go back and talk to my younger self as a coach, these are the 10 things I’d tell him first.

I put them all into a free guide called “10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Coach.”

No fluff. No playbooks. Just real lessons from years of coaching, leading, winning, losing, and learning.

If you’re early in your coaching journey, or you want to coach with more purpose and clarity, grab it for free below.

👇 Free download linked below 👇

www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

matt@redeemingthegame.com

https://subsplash.com/u/-9XZ3X7/give?frequency=once&next_process_date=08/11/2025&fund_id=58054b9c-b5ff-4d59-bc26-24ad56c3193e

More Than Wins: The Heart of a Leader

What does it really mean to be a successful coach?

Is it championships? Winning seasons? Players moving on to the next level? Awards and recognition?

Or is there something more important happening every day inside the gym?

In this episode of Redeeming the Game, Coach Sanders sits down with a close coaching friend whose journey includes three consecutive state championships in Georgia, a successful college coaching career at Bob Jones University, multiple Coach of the Year honors, regional championships, and recognition as the 2024 National Coach of the Year. He now serves as Athletic Director at High Point Christian Academy in North Carolina.

Together, they discuss the responsibility coaches carry, the character developed through competition, and the role faith plays in shaping the way we lead.

They explore what it means to hold players accountable without reducing them to their mistakes, pursue excellence without tying identity to performance, and measure success by more than what appears on a scoreboard.

Because basketball gives us an opportunity to influence young people in ways that reach far beyond the game.

For coaches who follow Jesus, that influence also presents an opportunity to demonstrate His love, truth, grace, and character through the way we lead.

The question isn’t only, “What kind of team are we building?” It’s also, “What kind of people are we developing?”

The game is a gift. People are the mission.

Welcome to Redeeming the Game.

If could go back and talk to my younger self as a coach, these are the 10 things I’d tell him first.

I put them all into a free guide called “10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Coach.”

No fluff. No playbooks. Just real lessons from years of coaching, leading, winning, losing, and learning.

If you’re early in your coaching journey, or you want to coach with more purpose and clarity, grab it for free below.

👇 Free download linked below 👇

www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

matt@redeemingthegame.com

Books:
"IT'S YOUR SHIP": Captain D. Michael Abrashoff
"Hand Me Another BRICK" : Charles Swindoll