Coach K: On Impossible Dreams, Duke, ALS, and Always Becoming | Episode 27

Aaron Lazar (0:08)

Hi, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Impossible Dreams. I'm your host, Aaron Lazar, and you can see if you're watching and hear, regardless of whether you're watching or just listening, that I am speaking with a very nasal tone because I am wearing a bipap. For some of you folks out there who snore like crazy, you might wear a CPAP at night. This is called a bipap, and it helps people with ALS when their breathing becomes challenged. So here we are, not thrilled that I have to wear it, but grateful that it exists to help me add the many people suffering with ALS who need it. And today's episode is just incredible. I think it's a signature episode for me as a young podcast host and a signature episode for the show.

It took place live just a few weeks ago on the campus of my alma mater, Duke University. And our guest is one of the greatest coaches and one of the greatest leaders in sports history. The one, the only coach, Mike Krzyzewski.

Coach K, if you don't know of him, he coached Duke basketball for 42 years. I know that is not great news for my podcasting producer, Robbie Shaw, who went to UNC and played hoops there. But it is great news for my other producing partner, Brett Goldberg, who is my buddy from Duke. And in addition to being one of the all-time winningest coaches in Division I men's basketball history, winning 5 national championships, reaching 13 Final Fours, Coach K also helped Team USA win not one, not two, but three gold medals, Olympic gold medals. Before I get into this episode with Coach, which is one of the most inspiring conversations I've ever had, I wanted to take a moment to say thank you. Any of you listening have not only heard about, but you've donated to a GoFundMe that my family and dear friends started for me at this point, this episode is airing. They started to GoFundMe about two and a half, three weeks ago.

ALS is expensive, medical care is expensive, finding the right caregiver is difficult and challenging, and caregivers work incredibly hard. I have a fantastic caregiver, Henry Colanzo, very grateful to him. He used to play basketball at the Philippines, actually. And now he helps rebound for my kids, because I can't. But care costs, medical costs, are astronomical. And this GoFundMe is helping me to pay my medical costs and expenses. And it would not be possible without your love and your support. We, I'm just blown away, frankly, at everyone that's donated. At the moment that I'm recording this, there's over 1,400 people that have donated. And whether it's a big donation or a small one, every dollar of that will go to helping me because my ability to make a living has been obviously severely affected.

On that note, if you're interested in the GoFundMe, you can find the link on the YouTube page for the podcast. You can also find the link online, People Magazine and various Broadway sites like Broadway World and Theater Media have posted it to help promote it, to help me. I am beyond grateful to all of you. I think if anything has got me through the last five plus years, it's been love, takes a lot of love.

So thank you, and I love you.

Speaking about love and support, today's episode is sponsored by and supported by a number of donations that made this episode possible so that we could have a crew at Duke recording coach and cut it all together.

It cost money to make a good show. I am super grateful to my podcasting team, Brett Goldberg, Robbie Shaw, EVRYBDY Studios. I'm super grateful to the team of folks behind the scenes that came together to help this conversation happen. This episode is dedicated to all ALS patients and their families, the Warriors. And I want to give a special thanks to these folks who made this episode possible. I'll talk about them in more detail throughout the episode. I'd appreciate it if you would listen, tune in, click to subscribe, comment, tell us what you like, what you don't like, so that we can bring more episodes of the show to you and your family and your friends. And keep inspiring us all to live not just dreams that we think are impossible, but we make them possible, to make impossible possible. Special thanks for today's episode. Go to the ALS Network, our charity champion, Steiner Family Foundation, the Peter Frates ALS Foundation, Tavros Capital, and Arosa Care. Without the support of these just kind and generous folks, the leaders at these organizations, many of whom are proud to call friends, today's episode doesn't happen. So thank you all. And without further ado, please enjoy my conversation with Coach K.