Tyler Medaris embodies the Coach To Lead philosophy of coaching players and building leaders. By no means can I take credit for the leader Tyler is, but have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of his basketball and leadership journey. Tyler has many on the court hard skills, but his leadership skills and characteristics are off the charts. He’s a loyal leader, something that’s done through example. He sets the tone with his consistent work ethic. He calls people up, not out. He’s confident and consistent. This is all a part of the player development process and is one of the main differences between skill and player dev. Skill development is technical and tactical. Player development is character and mindset coaching. Work ethic is taught, character is modified. It takes the player as a whole, as a human, into account. I’d go to battle with Tyler any day or night. It’s senior night tomorrow night, and although I’ve only coached him for a season, I feel like I’ve known him for many more, and that started day 1.

Tyler is averaging 13.6 points per game, and leads the 4A SIC conference in rebounding at 10.3 per game. He also averages 3 assists and 1.5 blocks per game. He’s the all-around best defender in the state, and is up for the 2022 Gatorade Player of the Year in Idaho. He’s expanded his game to playing more on the perimeter, attacking from different spots and hasn’t seen a decline in statistics. We’ve worked and continue to focus on his ball handling, footwork, shooting and pick and roll execution as the ball handler. Watch his highlight below!

https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12190497/61fad903a0223906ec6c76dc