The Passing Game with Fletcher Arritt
The Passing Game with Fletcher Arritt is broadcast on sports radio stations in Virginia and features Coach Fletcher Arritt of Fork Union Military Academy and co-host Brooks Berry.
Archived Shows
December 10, 2011
Show 060
(Recorded October 25, 2011)
Former coach, FUMA camp counselor, and TPG superfan Rick Burby is the featured guest in this episode of The Passing Game with Fletcher Arritt. For the last 20 years Burby has been in business, coached youth and travel basketball teams, and helped at the high school and collegiate levels.
From 1988-1991, Burby served as athletic director and head basketball coach at Bryan College in Dayton, TN. In 1989, Coach Burby was named the NAIA District 24 (state of TN) Coach of Year after leading his team to a school-record 21 wins. A prestigious honor especially considering that there were 23 NAIA teams in TN at the time--competition included coaching legends Rick Byrd (Belmont) and Don Meyer (Lipscomb).
Burby started his coaching career in 1983 as head coach at Worthington Christian (OH), and then moved to the collegiate ranks by joining the staff at Samford University (AL) in 1985. From 1986-1988, Coach Burby served as an assistant at Liberty University (VA) prior to becoming head coach at Bryan. In 1992, Burby became athletic director and basketball coach at Tennessee Temple University, where he stayed for one season. He currently runs a successful insurance business in Ohio, and continues to stay involved with the game. We are honored to have him as our guest.
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August 27, 2011
Show 059
Oak Hill Academy head coach Steve Smith is our featured guest in this edition of The Passing Game with Fletcher Arritt. Coach Smith, who has been coaching at the high school level for over 25 years, has over 750 wins to his credit. At Oak Hill, Smith has coached a number of collegiate stars and, as he mentions in his interview, over 20 NBA players.
He has been named USA Today National Coach of the Year on three occasions (1994, 1999, 2004). The Warriors have been honored as "national champions" by USA Today seven times during Smith's tenure. He has personally coached seventeen NBA draft picks and twenty-three McDonald's All-Americans.
Notable players include, Rajon Rondo, Jerry Stackhouse, Josh Smith, Carmelo Anthony, and Ron Mercer. He joins Coach Arritt and Brooks Berry to talk about his experiences coaching high-level talent at an academically rigorous prep-school located in a rural area, the history of the program, and some players he has enjoyed working with. You can follow Coach Smith on Twitter (@OHACoachSmithz). It is an honor to have him as our guest.
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August 14, 2011
Show 058
St. Francis (PA) head coach Don Friday is our featured guest in this edition of The Passing Game with Fletcher Arritt. Friday, who is entering his third season with the Red Flash, started his collegiate coaching career at his alma mater, Lebanon Valley College as an assistant on Pat Flannery's staff.
After winning the 1994 NCAA D-III National Championship, Coach Friday joined Flannery in a move to Bucknell. Friday was the top assistant at Bucknell for nine seasons and helped the Bison to two NCAA Tournament first-round victories (2005 vs. Kansas, and 2006 vs. Arkansas).
In 2003, Friday returned to the D-III ranks, but this time as the head coach at Lycoming College (PA). Friday garnered a record of 83-49 in five seasons with the Warriors and was named the MAC Coach of the Year in 2007.
In the spring of 2008, Coach Friday was named the head coach at St. Francis College (PA). His Red Flash program has shown steady improvement, going from 6 wins in 2009-10 to 9 wins in 2010-11. He joins Coach Arritt and Brooks to talk about building a program, recruiting character, and playing Coach Arritt's teams at Bucknell.
Third Segment: Coach Arritt discusses the origins of his "Passing Game" offense and why it has worked for his program for over 40 years.
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July 24, 2011
Show 057
West Point head coach Zach Spiker is our featured guest in this edition of The Passing Game with Fletcher Arritt. Spiker, who is entering his third season with Army, took over the Black Knight's program in October of 2009, just 10 days before the start of practice. He got started quickly amassing a record of 14-15, which tied for the second best season the program had enjoyed in 23 seasons and the most wins garnered by a first-year head coach since Bob Knight won 18 games in 1965-66.
Prior to landing at West Point, Coach Spiker played an instrumental role on Steve Donahue's (Show 016) Cornell staff, where he helped the Big Red to two straight Ivy League titles and subsequent NCAA Tournament appearances.
From 2002-2004, Spiker was an administrative assistant on John Beilein's West Virginia staff. A native of Morgantown, the position was a bit of a homecoming for Spiker, and also afforded him the opportunity to work at the major collegiate level. He was a graduate assistant at Winthrop under Gregg Marshall (currently the head coach at Wichita State) and played collegiately at Ithaca, where he graduated in 2000.
In this episode, Coach Spiker joins Brooks and Coach Arritt to talk about the unique opportunity he has to coach at West Point, prepping his guys for Patriot League play, and how he hopes to continue to grow with his Black Knight program. It is an honor to have him as our guest.
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July 18, 2011
Show 056
Southern Methodist University head basketball coach Matt Doherty is the featured guest in the 56th episode of The Passing Game with Fletcher Arritt. Doherty, who is entering his sixth season with the Mustangs, has ten seasons under his belt as a collegiate head coach.
Born in East Meadow, NY, Doherty played his collegiate ball under Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina. As a four-year starter, Doherty helped the Tarheels to a record of 117-21 and the 1982 National Championship. He played briefly in the NBA and worked on Wall Street for several years prior to taking his first collegiate assitant job at Davidson College in 1989. There he coached with his former high school coach, Bob McKillopp.
In 1992, he moved from Davidson to Kansas, where he stayed on staff for seven seasons. Coach Doherty landed his first head coaching job by taking over at Notre Dame in 1999. In just one season, he helped the Irish to a 22-15 record and an NIT Championship appearance. After one season at ND, he moved back to Chapel Hill, NC, where he took over the Tarheel program following the retirement of Bill Guthridge. Doherty garnered a record of 53-43 (23-25 in the ACC) in three seasons with the Heels and resigned his position in the spring of 2003.
He returned to coaching in 2005 by being named head coach at Florida Atlantic (Atlantic Sun Conference). After only one season, he was named head coach at Southern Methodist University (Conference USA), and has been with the Mustangs for the past five seasons.
He had an immediate impact on the program. Off the court he helped generate funds for a new practice facility and renovations to the basketball arena. On the floor, the Mustangs have enjoyed steady improvement, reaching the 20-win plateau in the 2010-2011 season.
Coach Doherty joins Coach Arritt and Brooks Berry in this episode to talk about his experiences playing and coaching at the elite college level. He shares stories from his days with Dean Smith and previews his SMU team. It is an honor to have him as our guest.
Doherty Interview: 12:40 - 30:00
Third Segment: Coach Arritt discusses the importance of "balance."
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