Significant Coaching with Jeff Gard – UW-Platteville Head Men’s Basketball Coach

This week’s episode is a courtside seat to the coaching journey of Jeff Gard, the longtime Head Men’s Basketball Coach at UW-Platteville. We talk hoops, leadership, and the incredible influence of the legendary Coach Jerry Petitgoue, who helped shape Jeff's values both on and off the court.

Coach Gard opens up about:

• Competing in the always-loaded WIAC conference
• Recruiting without an offer???
• How he builds a program that develops great teammates and even better young men

It’s a real, refreshing look at coaching with intention — and just the right mix of basketball talk and bigger-picture wisdom.

🎧 Stick around — Part 2 drops next week with Coach Gard’s best advice on college recruiting.

📚 Check out resources at coachmattrogers.com:
Significant Recruiting, The Recruit’s Journal, the blog, and the Significant Recruiting Launchpad online course.

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Learn more and connect with Matt Rogers here: https://linktr.ee/coachmattrogers

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🎙️ This Week on the Significant Recruiting Podcast

What do college presidents really think about athletic recruiting?

In this short but powerful episode, Matt sits down with Dr. James Troha, President of Juniata College and Chair of the NCAA Division III Presidents Council, to discuss how colleges are rethinking the recruitment process—and why families, coaches, and administrators must lead with empathy, honesty, and accountability.

Matt also opens the episode with a deep dive into what true commitment looks like from student-athletes and parents in the recruiting journey, plus practical advice for coaches on how to handle communication with every recruit who reaches out.

🎯 Whether you're trying to understand your recruiting reality or build better habits in your outreach, this episode delivers high-impact insight in just a few minutes.

📍Learn more, grab the books, or schedule your free strategy session at coachmattrogers.com.

Send us a text

Support the show

Learn more and connect with Matt Rogers here: https://linktr.ee/coachmattrogers

Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and all your favorite podcast platforms.

Did you like what you heard and want more?
New Podcasts every week. Remember to subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.

Leading Through the Gray: A Candid Conversation with Dr. James Troha

In this powerful and wide-ranging episode, Dr. James Troha—President of Juniata College and Chair of the NCAA Division III Presidents Council—joins the show for a candid conversation about the state of higher education, college athletics, and student well-being. With honesty, humor, and deep empathy, Dr. Troha and Coach Rogers discuss the urgent challenges facing today’s campuses, including mental health, the national pushback on DEI, and the need to stop coddling students in favor of building real resilience.

They explore why failure is essential to growth, how accountability must be taught—not avoided—and why none of these issues are black and white. This episode will make you think, feel, and reflect on how we care for and lead the next generation.

If you’re a coach, educator, parent, or leader—you need to hear this one.

Stay tuned for Part 2 on Monday, where Dr. Troha dives into the realities of recruiting in Division III and what families need to understand when exploring the D3 path.

For more tools, books, blogs, and recruiting & coaching support, visit CoachMattRogers.com.

Send us a text

Support the show

Learn more and connect with Matt Rogers here: https://linktr.ee/coachmattrogers

Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and all your favorite podcast platforms.

Did you like what you heard and want more?
New Podcasts every week. Remember to subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.