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Meet Coach John Carroll, the Head Coach for the Boys’ Basketball team at Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts. He was a NMH student-athlete before joining them as the head basketball coach in 2001, making this his 20th year with NMH.
In this episode, he describes Northfield Mount Hermon as a prep school where kids achieve highly in basketball and academics, with many making it to Ivy League basketball. He talks about the success of the 2 teams model he adopted in 2020 and why he plans on keeping it going forth.
Listen in to learn why he thinks “Go where you are wanted” is not the way to pick a college and other insightful gems.
What You Will Learn:
- [1:32] Coach Carroll explains the benefits of a prep school basketball podcast in helping families figure out the process better.
- [4:20] He describes growing up playing basketball and other sports in New York before becoming aggressive with basketball in high school.
- [10:02] The advantage of younger kids playing multiple sports before specializing in one.
- [11:59] He describes Northfield Mount Hermon as more than a high school. It’s among the best academic and basketball schools in the country.
- [15:53] Coach Carroll explains how he created terms of their own to chase academic and basketball combination.
- [17:53] The admission requirements they demand from kids to be part of the Northfield Mount Hermon basketball team.
- [20:33] Why they decided to create a second team and how that has worked out to their advantage during the pandemic.
- [26:01] He explains why he plans on continuing with the second team going forward even after the pandemic.
- [27:07] Coach Carroll talks about the placements for this year and how having a network came in handy for collaborations.
- [30:57] Why kids should be wary when choosing college teams where they are wanted versus where the facts are.
- [35:21] How kids from 20 years ago handled resiliency better than today’s kids.
- [38:14] Coach Carroll describes humility as the top quality he looks for in kids beyond academic excellence, plus the ones he avoids.
- [42:19] He names the kid that was his biggest surprise (Spike Albrecht) and the entitled kids who lost their opportunities.
- [47:15] Coach Carroll describes things he does when he’s not coaching.