From three-pointers to podcasts, the basketball community in Marin stretches much farther than on the court. For Dave Levine and Dustin (Duffy) Ballard, the two hosts of the Run TMC basketball podcast, basketball is bigger than a game. The pair are coaches, players and avid fans of the sport who sit down with coaches and insiders from around Marin County to talk through game, strategy, experience and more.
“It was a project that Dave and I had sort of swirling in our heads, at least for [the] last couple years,” Ballard said when talking about creating the now-successful Run TMC podcast. “We joke in our first episode that [it is] probably both of our parents and maybe our dogs were listening. Now we have over 4000 downloads and get emails from people showing their support.”
The two aired their first podcast episode on September 22, 2023, interviewing Mike Fulton, head coach of the girls Varsity and basketball director at San Domenico and since then they have released 12 more episodes interviewing coaches, players and even officials.
Entertaining and informative, the guests who air on the podcast never disappoint.
“I can’t think of one interview, where at the end of the interview, Duffy and I looked at each other like, alright, that one wasn’t that good,” said Levine.
Levine also mentioned the variety of guests they’ve been able to meet.
“We’ve had Chris Ballard, who’s a Sports Illustrated writer, a national name and he’s even written books. He’s incredible [and has] covered everybody in the NBA. He told these unbelievable stories about spending time with Steve Kerr, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.”
However not every guest is one with national clout, some are local celebrities like Tom Poser. Local Marin dad and coach, Poser is the athletic director of the Saint Sebastian CYO program and former pro athlete. He also, coincidentally, is credited for the name of the podcast itself.
“[Poser] started a club basketball program a couple years ago during COVID-19 that Duffy and I were a part of and he called it Run TMC to [pay tribute] to the Warriors, but also for ‘Run The Marin County.’ And [Poser] generously let us use that name.”
The two are local trailblazers, creating one of the only local podcasts about basketball in our area.
“[The podcast] started out as a cool thing and I was excited for it. But it has become the ultimate and only spoken word history of Marin County basketball and I’m in love with it. I get to hear interviews from my heroes in my age group and the players that we coached and what they went through,” Poser said.
However, the topics of the podcasts aren’t just interesting, they are filled with tips and tricks from professionals that bring coaches and players together.
“I do think there’s useful information in [the podcast], even if you’re not a basketball player, but if you’re an athlete or if you’re involved at all in athletics or competition. We’re talking to some really smart, experienced, thoughtful people who have coached or played at really high levels and they have really cool things to say,” Levine said.
While the podcast stays mainly basketball related, their conversations inspire grit, determination and tiresome tactics to achieve goals.
“I’m taking notes, myself. I’m coaching my daughter Lulu’s practice last night, 7th grade girls and I’m running drills that I learned from Ashley Saia, who’s the Marin Catholic head girls coach on the podcast. So it’s fascinating to me, I’ve never been a part of something so cool and interesting. The feedback has been tremendous. And half the feedback is just how cool those guys are and what they’re doing and how special it is,” Poser said.
The podcast is a great opportunity for all basketball fanatics in Marin to keep in touch with the sport and hear great stories from the esteemed guests. Ballard and Levine have quickly grown the operation in the last 3 months and continue with their high hopes for the future.
“Could we extend this? Or could this start something where it goes beyond basketball? Maybe,” Levine said.
The podcast pair both grew up in Marin, both have kids playing basketball and both coach high school basketball teams. They are very integrated in the culture of Marin basketball and chose to take their strong interest in the sport to create something that entertains and teaches people in the community.
