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Everyone belongs, and some people join: The Tucson J proudly serves as the town square of the Southern Arizona Jewish community, and a premier destination for thousands of Tucsonans of all ages and identities. Whether seeking our award-winning fitness and childcare programs, arts and culture events, or simply a new friend or connection, our community members come to the J with a shared goal: to be well. When individuals thrive, communities thrive–so, the Tucson J has made it its mission to cultivate and enrich Jewish identity, ensure Jewish continuity, foster wellness, and broaden communal harmony. As a distinguished thought leader and veteran of the JCC movement with more than 36 years of experience, Tucson J President + CEO, Todd Rockoff, knows achieving that mission begins with the culture he cultivates within the workplace and the role the organization takes in its local and global community as a connector, convener, facilitator, and innovator. Listen in as Todd explores the intersections of the wellness industry, non-profit sector, good business practices, community building, and leadership with the best of experts and thinkers from Tucson and beyond.
Hi, everyone, and welcome to another edition of Total Wellness at the j. It's really a pleasure to be here today with Sam Thomas. Sam, I'm gonna let you introduce yourself in a moment, but we're really excited to have a conversation with you today, specifically around the hoop group and what you'll be doing here at the j, but also around the value in terms of wellness of youth sports and teamwork and self esteem and all those good things. So we'll explore that together. But in the meantime, Sam, why don't you, introduce yourself, to our audience and tell us a little bit about you and what you've been doing and all of the good things about, your time since you left the University of Arizona.
Todd:We may even talk a little bit about the remarkable teams that you had the ability to play for here.
Sam Thomas:Yeah. So my name is Sam Thomas. I played for the University of Arizona women's basketball team from 2017 to 2022, which seems not that far away, but to me, I'm like, I can't believe it's been that long already since I've been removed from the team. But, no, it's been amazing. I loved my time there.
Sam Thomas:I was grew or I spent my time, my high school time in Las Vegas, so I kinda wanted to be close, but still far away from my parents. And so I felt like Tucson was the best choice when I walked on campus. I fell in love. So spent five years there, got my COVID year, which I was very grateful for, and we were able to do a lot of things with that extra year. My first year, we only won six games, but we turned it around and made it to the WNIT, and we made it to the national championship game, and we kinda made going to the NCAA tournament like a standard, which I was super proud of.
Sam Thomas:But, yep, after college, I went on to play with the Phoenix Mercury. So just did a quick little hour forty five drive up north, got to stay in the great state of Arizona, and loved my time there. And of course or I guess now it's a little bit more different, but usually you go play overseas. It's like a must after the WNBA season. So did that, played in Italy, came back and tried out for the team again, went on and off for hardship contracts until I decided it was time for me to retire.
Sam Thomas:And now I'm living in Kansas City, the heart of America, And I work for a sports agency now. So still involved in sports, but just not playing.
Todd:Oh, we are really grateful that during your time at the University of Arizona, we we started working together to do this camp in the summertime, and we're now coming into the fourth annual Sam Thomas Hoop Group camp that we'll be doing here on August, and we'll talk a little bit more about that. But before we do, I do wanna say that while your time at the University of Arizona is over, your legacy continues. The the record book and the impact that you made on our community is is laced with your name. And we're really grateful that you continue to try to remain tethered, to Tucson and are a proud U of A women's basketball, star who who has continued to be looked upon that way.
Sam Thomas:Thank you. I appreciate it. Always love the fans. You have a special place in my heart, so does the city.
Todd:So, you know, we've been doing this podcast. I've been thinking about wellness at the Jay. And when we think about wellness, we we really like to take a holistic look at, at wellness beyond just diet and exercise or being physically active, but it's the it's the mental aspect. It's the social aspect, and artistic and intellectual. And all the things that make us a whole person is what makes us well.
Todd:And, you know, having having had the opportunity to participate myself in youth sports, and I know you did as well, and then you elevated that to a new level. Why why are youth sports so important?
Sam Thomas:I just think it's a great way to one for the kids to get a little bit level of physical activity, especially at that age, but also just to be able to create skills that you might not be taught in school, but sports will definitely teach it that will help pursue you in life and your adulthood life such as like teamwork, perseverance. You learn how to succeed and also fail in sports whether you want to play throughout high school or whether you're done playing in middle school, but sports can give you so many good traits and characteristics that you can just learn by being in that atmosphere.
Todd:And that's great. And and the friendships you make and the ability to learn to both win and lose. We we don't always win. You know, we talked you talked about that first team you were on that won six games, but there were likely a lot of lessons in those losses, that carried you forward and gave you and the team, an opportunity to to grow together.
Sam Thomas:Yes. Definitely. I always tell everyone that first year might not have been the best year, but it was honestly one of my top two, three, maybe years that I've had at the U of A just from the memories and everything that I learned through that.
Todd:So what is the hoop group, and how did this come to be?
Sam Thomas:Yeah. So the hoop group is the camp that I like to call Sam Thomas Hoop Group to kind of give back to the community. I always wanna come back to Tucson as much as I can, and I know life gets in the way. So, you know, I can't come as much as I want to, but with the hoop group, I know that I can prioritize all my time and then choose that one date to really make an effort to come back. And it got started pretty much when NIL was becoming a thing, And I spoke to Jordan Emerson, and he reached out to me and kind of mentioned about, you know, kind of using the Tucson JCC and what great opportunities you guys have and the great people and obviously got to meet you as well.
Sam Thomas:And so just being around great people, I figured it was the best, you know, partnership, the best way that we could help build community in Tucson. And so, yeah, we just kind of took off four years ago and now here we are today and it's still thriving and going. The kids still wanna show up. We have wonderful supporters that wanna help us. So it's been truly an amazing thing to be a part of.
Todd:Well, it's a great thing to watch. What's the what would you say is the mission of your philosophy in in helping, kids find their way in in basketball? And and how do our two missions align with each other to come together to create this one day special experience?
Sam Thomas:Yeah. I think most important is just to have a welcoming community. I know sports can be scary. Going to a new camp can be scary, whether that's, you know, with basketball or just in life being in a new scenario is scary. So just having that warm welcoming environment knowing that all kids are welcome and that we're just going to learn.
Sam Thomas:You don't have to be the best. You could be the worst, but we're going to treat everybody the same and you're going to get something and learn something out of this experience. And I just think being able to learn and connect everyone. I always am big on having a loud jib, a talkative gym, cheering on your teammates. And I think that's important, obviously, on the court, but also off the court, whether you're in school, work, and really giving these kids their voices and letting them know that they're able to speak up.
Todd:That's great. So if I came for the day, if I could go back to being 12 years old, I I signed up and came to the hoop group. What can I expect that day? What am I gonna get? How am I gonna I'm not very good at basketball.
Todd:So so how how is this gonna be relevant for me, and how's this gonna help my own level of wellness and self esteem?
Sam Thomas:Well, you will definitely get better at basketball. I will tell you that whether it's just today, we'll be able to get those skills of just a tad bit, which we're very excited for, but also just creating you're gonna make new friends. You're gonna get an awesome t shirt as well, And we're just going to be able to have a lot of fun and learn about not only the sport, but what it is to be a good teammate. And I just want everyone to feel like this is a place and this is where they belong. So we're going to have food, drinks, and snacks to keep everyone energized.
Sam Thomas:We're gonna break a sweat, so everyone's gotta be prepared to that. But more importantly, we're gonna have some competition, and we're gonna have a lot of fun. And no quietness is allowed.
Todd:That's all while you know, then I'm sure we'll bring the loud the loud. And How does sports create a an atmosphere of inclusion and belonging?
Sam Thomas:Yeah. That's a great question, and it doesn't only come from rooting from the same team. I think just sports is a great way to have everybody come together and you're cheering for, you know, the main thing, but everything you want everyone to be healthy, but also, you know, you're rooting and it's just nice to come in a space where it's judgment free. Everyone's focused on what's going on. It doesn't matter who's next to you what they look like what they do.
Sam Thomas:We're all just coming together for one thing, and I think that's what's so special about sports in general.
Todd:You know, I I really wanna encourage people to come on August 10 to the hoop group. I think that's gonna be a lot of fun and super important. But but the longevity, of people then saying, I'm gonna use this opportunity to find other opportunities, to continue my sports journey, I think is really important because I think the discipline that, sports provides, for practice, for games, for working with people is so incredibly valuable. What would you point to as, like, the most important lesson that you got out of your time, when you were playing?
Sam Thomas:Yeah. I would definitely say kind of tying it into one that teaches you when you're successful, kind of how to act, how to go about it, how to be keep yourself humble because then also you have your failures and you know that once you hit that failure point, can't quit. You have to keep getting better. So that's where that hard work comes in where it teaches you if you want to be good at something. If you want to succeed at something, if you want something to go your way, you can't just sit back and let the cards fold.
Sam Thomas:You have to actually work at it practice and really like learn the steps and research and get mentors and everything, whatever it takes to really get to that next level of success.
Todd:Yeah. And then having the discipline, I think, and willingness to practice. You can't just show up at the game and expect that between the last game and this game, something's gonna change if you don't work at it a little bit and and and seeing that progress in yourself build self esteem.
Sam Thomas:Exactly. Yeah. I think that's a big thing too is seeing that hard work pay off knowing that, oh, wow. Like, what I'm doing when no one's watching, when it's not a real game, or when there's not a big meeting or anything that it's actually the work is paying off, and I can see it.
Todd:That's great. So there's some new things this year with the hoop group. We've got a new age group or who we welcoming in.
Sam Thomas:Yes. So we did it about two years ago. Did high schoolers, but we did it in July everyone's on, you know, family vacation doing their high school or travel ball. So we took a break from it and this year we're bringing it back. I know a lot of the kids that were there when they were in the middle age group are now aged out of that group.
Sam Thomas:So they're high schoolers, and they were like, what what are we gonna do now? So we're bringing it back, and we're welcoming those high schoolers back. So I'm super excited to get a chance to work with them.
Todd:And you're bringing in another coach this year.
Sam Thomas:Yes. Back by popular demand. I'm bringing my former teammate and best friend Dominique McBride, who was played with me for three years, my first three years there. So still friends to this day. I'm actually gonna go visit her in a little bit here.
Sam Thomas:So very excited to have her back. She just brings the energy. She's hilarious, and I know the kids will really love to work with her.
Todd:Well, we're we're excited to to welcome welcome you all back. How'd you decide on basketball? What I know your family it's a family thing, but I can decide that that was gonna be your sport of choice. What else did you try?
Sam Thomas:Yes. It definitely helped with my dad being a coach. All my siblings played. So it was kind of a family thing. I did do, you know, softball, soccer, volleyball growing up, and then I kind of narrowed it down to basketball and volleyball.
Sam Thomas:And I did I did the two up until high school. And then I went to a volleyball camp for the high school that I was going to, and they told us we had to do 1,000 pepper passes like the little volleyball passes against the law. And I said, nope. I'd rather take a thousand shots. So that's kinda when I knew it was gonna be basketball.
Sam Thomas:And then just seeing my sister play and progress to the next level in college, I knew that that was one thing that I wanted to do is to continue it on to college basketball, so I had to put the work in.
Todd:That's great. Well, and I know I mean, all of you played played college ball. Right?
Sam Thomas:Yes. Yes. The last one, my youngest brother's still at Creighton, so he's he gets all the attention from the family now.
Todd:It's all on him.
Sam Thomas:Yep. Yep. We're all watching them all the time.
Todd:They've got a nice program there.
Sam Thomas:Yes. They do. Hopefully, they'll never see Arizona because I think I gotta go with my wildcats.
Todd:I I I agree with you on that. It's hard hard not to. But
Sam Thomas:Exactly. Exactly.
Todd:So how do you sports, promote wellness beyond what is physical? What what role does it play, or have you seen it play in social or emotional wellness and being able to, manage those those different aspects of people's lives?
Sam Thomas:Yeah. I think sports is a great thing for mental health. I mean, it's a great stress reliever for one thing. You're out there. Your mind is only focused on what the coach is giving to you.
Sam Thomas:And a lot of the times it can be an escape for kids whether they have a tough time in school or a tough family life or they struggle with making friends. Sports is kind of that built in family, and everyone there is gonna look out for you. So it's nice to kind of get away and separate yourself from everything that's going back over there and just have that one team with y'all got the same jersey on.
Todd:I think that's, that's so important. And, you know, we in our busy world today, especially where kids are, you know, on devices and doing, all the things that they do, playing games, play, doing social media, or whatever it is, that human connection that sports makes you have. Right? Because we're gonna be on the court. We're gonna be on the field.
Todd:We're gonna be doing these things together, and we're gonna put our phones away or put our iPads away and, and just be people together is is so important.
Sam Thomas:Exactly. It's such a it's such a crazy thing to think about. You know, you can't have your phones, no TVs, nothing, but you don't even think about it when you're playing your sport because it's so fun, and you're just getting that physical activity and all all the fun things that come with playing a sport.
Todd:Well, I'm trying new things. Right? Like, you know, that that ability to say, even though I'm just on the basketball court and today I'll be the center and tomorrow, maybe I'll go back to my natural position, which is guard. That ability to push yourself beyond your comfort zone, I think sports can enable that.
Sam Thomas:Yes. You definitely get used to change where it just becomes second nature, and you have to just go with the flow and know that whatever's best for the team you're gonna do. So if you got to be point guard one day, post player the next day, you just do it with no questions asked, which obviously translates to the real world too. And you have a boss or a coworker that wants you to do something or your teacher, you just naturally just do it without even thinking like, oh, let me talk back or let me give attitude. It's like, no.
Sam Thomas:They told me to do something, so I'm gonna go do it.
Todd:Well, that's it. I was gonna ask you. So how does the the skills and and lessons that you learned in youth sports transfer, to adulthood today? So here you are. You're you're working within sports, but you're not playing anymore.
Todd:But there's lessons that you carry with you in your suitcase. So how's that how's that worked?
Sam Thomas:Yeah. I would say one of the big things which seems the most simple is just being on time for everything. As an athlete, you know, you're not on time. You have to do the running, the conditioning, which is, you know, just drills into your mind. Alright.
Sam Thomas:Let me be early. So I think that's that's the first thing and then just teamwork. You know, I was lucky enough to be a captain all my five years at Arizona, so I got to be able to adapt how to learn and talk with different people. Some people like it. If you're face to face with them, other people need a little bit more space and then you can come to them.
Sam Thomas:So just being able to work with a bunch of different athletes and people. Now in my real job, I know how to work with my coworkers who are all different ages. I work with men and women, little kids. So just being able to relate and kind of adapt myself to how I need to act around some of my coworkers and then discipline. Obviously, when I'm asked to do a task, I'm doing it.
Sam Thomas:Just like how in sports, I would just say those are the main things that really helped me translate, which some of those things you don't even learn in school. It just comes with sports or just going through life.
Todd:Well, and being a captain all five years, at some point, you were captaining over people who were older and maybe had more experience. So how did you have the humility to to give them the respect that they need, but also the, wherewithal to to say, and you're gonna follow me?
Sam Thomas:Yes. I would definitely say that was one of the biggest challenges, especially my freshman year, just learning how to, you know, govern all of that and how do I act. And I think one of the biggest things is we're all human beings. We're all people. It's hard to take criticism sometimes.
Sam Thomas:We all like to, you know, be told we're doing something well. So I think it just comes with you can't just critique someone and tell them what they're doing wrong and say, hey, you need to do this. You need to kind of be their friend first or, you know, ask them how their day was give them a compliment really build that relationship up. So then if you do have to, you know, ask them to do something or follow along, it's not like you're a drill sergeant. They know that it's coming from a caring place on your end.
Todd:And and leading by example, I think, is probably, you know, having watched you and known you all these years, you you do what you say, and you lead in a very authentic way. And I think that makes it easier for people to follow when you're authentic and you are who you are on the court, in the locker room, and in the community. You always set that example, and you can look at yourself in the mirror and say, I'm being true to myself, and I think people follow that.
Sam Thomas:Yeah. So thank you. I appreciate it. I definitely try and stick with what I say and everything that I preach to others, I wanna be able to do myself. So that's also a big thing is leading by example for sure.
Todd:Well, it comes through. So let's talk a little bit about August 10. And what can I expect? I I come here. Am I playing with kids my own age?
Todd:How do I what what do I expect from my experience?
Sam Thomas:Yes. So we have three different age groups. So whichever age group you come to, you will be playing with kids your age, your height, most likely your skill level. So you come into that. We're going to have music playing as soon as you enter.
Sam Thomas:You can check-in, you're going to get a shirt, and then you're free to shoot around until we get started. And then from there, we're just ready to have a bunch of fun. We're going to work on some defense, some ball handling, shooting. Of course, we have to play our fun competitions because who doesn't love those? And then, of course, we'll end with some five on five.
Sam Thomas:And at the end, we'll do a little section of q and a kind of just so I could help give advice to any kids who do either wanna pursue basketball or any sport at the next level to just get back to what I can.
Todd:Well, what I what I can say is I love that you start with defense. You know, that's that's where you start. The points will come, but we gotta stop them from scoring. So defense requires a whole other level of teamwork and and accountability. And I think that when I love that you put yourself out there, to be a role model and to to answer questions, and in a really authentic way.
Sam Thomas:Yes. Thank you. I just wanna share as much wisdom as I can because I know when I was their age and people were telling me, you gotta make 500 shots. I was like, yeah, right. Like, that's too much.
Sam Thomas:But, no, it really does matter. Like, you really have to work at your craft and get better. Say please and thank you. Be a good person because all of that will matter in the long run.
Todd:And I think that we learn that kids that are in sports, and go to practice and do the things that are required, athletically also then understand the discipline that's required to do their homework, and to do their chores. And you begin to build a schedule for yourself that makes space for recreation, school, family obligation, and yourself. So, I think that's that's really one of the many remarkable things. You know, people can go sign up. We're ready we're ready to have you all here.
Todd:So you can sign up at tucsonjcc.org. Sam will be here on August 10 with Dominique, and they're gonna coach you up, but they're also gonna have a lot of fun with the folks that are here. And, you know, at this point, we're now getting four year alum coming to the program. It's like
Sam Thomas:I know. Oh gosh. Making me feel old.
Todd:No. You're making people feel inspired. And, you know, the people that had the ability to watch you play when you were here and and to feel that excitement. And I really love seeing, you know, McHale getting filled up more and more for for women's basketball and the growth of the WNBA, which I know you had, the pleasure to play in and up up in Phoenix for a year or so. It really is an exciting time for for women's sports, and it starts with the youth.
Sam Thomas:It does. It does. The youth is very important, and they are gonna hopefully carry all of it on and help women's basketball grow, sports in general. So I'm super excited to say I had a little bit of piece of it.
Todd:You are absolutely part of part of the history. As we wrap up, what what what advice would you have to a young person who's looking to get involved in sports or starting to show some aptitude, to maybe be a a little bit more of the elite level or just the recreational level?
Sam Thomas:Yeah. I would definitely say, well, for what, just just go do it. Go do that camp. Go to that workout. Go go to that park that has the ball.
Sam Thomas:A lot of the times, it's you're just playing the mental game with yourself. Oh, should I go? Should I not go? What if I'm the best one? What if I'm not?
Sam Thomas:Like, just do it because the what's the worst that could happen? You're gonna get experience and you're gonna get better. So I would say that's the one thing. But also have fun. Sports is meant to be fun.
Sam Thomas:And I know there's a lot of pressure and the pressure just continues to grow as you get older. But never lose sight that it's your passion, it's what you love, and it's supposed to be fun. So that would be the main.
Todd:It's also an incredible, stress relief. You know, I know again, I was not a great basketball player, but but we had a we had a basket in my in my front yard on the driveway. And when I was stressed, I would just, like, go get a ball and go outside and shoot for a while and sort of recenter myself. And there's value in that.
Sam Thomas:Yes. That's one of the great things about sports is all you need is the ball, and you can pretty much play any sport that you need to.
Todd:You know? So we've been talking a lot about the Sam Thomas hoop group on August 10. And, again, people can sign up at tucsonjcc.org. And beyond that, we hope that people will get that bug and and join one of our youth basketball programs in the fall. We have a great youth basketball league here at the j, and we'll be promoting it, at the hoop group because we want people to play basketball more than one day a year.
Todd:And and if people decide that they wanna do basketball and something else, we have a lot of different options from swimming to tennis, to basketball and other things. You should experiment. Find the sport that's your passion, but start with the hoop group on on August 10.
Sam Thomas:Yes. That is right. Say that. We're gonna have a lot of fun this time.
Todd:Sam, I really appreciate your spending this time. I look forward to your time back in Tucson and look forward to seeing you on the tenth and appreciate all that you have done for this community, and for, for basketball. You're really an incredible role model, and I wish you nothing but but success moving forward.
Sam Thomas:Thank you so much. I appreciate it. I look forward to seeing you too.
Todd:Have a great day. And, again, this was another episode of total wellness at the j. I would look forward to seeing you all at at the Sam Thomas Hoop Group on August 10. At the Tucson j, everyone belongs and some people join. For more information about our work, go to tucsonjcc.org.