The Coaching Life Podcast

We are over a week into the High School baseball season and we reflect on our experiences and lessons learned so far this season.

Our old friend Lukas Moore joins us from his new homefront in Wrigleyville, Chicago. This is a very rich conversation about coaching, motivating people, and the value of being part of a team working together to accomplish a goal.

Today we revisit a question that comes up a lot. It's a topic that is always relevant because of the tension that is always felt by players, parents, and coaches. Should you play multiple sports or should you specialize? Should we always answer it the same way for every athlete? Is age a factor in the answer?

Pat and Chris definitely have strong opinions on the matter, but they also will provide data and real examples for why they hold the opinions they do, both as coaches and as fathers.

Today's episode discusses the difference between PRINCIPLES and METHODS, and challenges coaches to consider ways in which they might need to change when it comes to their coaching. Do you have "20 years experience," or do you have "1 year's experience of the same thing 20 times in a row?"

Nothing can stop The Coaching Life Podcast from being recorded! Pat is in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico on a Carnival cruise. Still, there are lessons learned from the experience to bring home and apply to our athletic programs.

Today the podcasters become the interviewees! Cami Seymore, a freshman Journalism student at Ohio University, interviews us for her column in The Post newspaper's Culture and Human Interest section. One of the biggest takeaways from the episode is our WHY – why do we continue recording The Coaching Life Podcast.

This week is one of our favorite times of the year. For high school baseball coaches in Ohio, it's the annual Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association clinic. 

We take some time to reflect on the value of coaches learning from one another and developing relationships with one another, and talk about some of the upcoming OHSBCA clinic session topics. 

The Coaching Life Podcast has gone through several changes and updates over our 9 seasons of recording, but the core of what we are about remains. We desire to be a useful resource for coaches, parents, and athletes. To have conversations about the values, challenges, and lessons we are provided by the world of youth, high school, college, and professional sports.

Season 9 begins in the newly renovated podcast studio in Schoonover Center at Scripps College of Communication on the campus of Ohio University. Whether you watch and listen or just listen, we hope you are blessed by another season of TCL.

Thanks for being part of our conversation!

Chris and Pat

It was surprising to see the behavior and response of the NFL's most elite and successful quarterbacks this past weekend. But, that event provides a big lesson for all of us.

This conversation topic was suggested to us by one of our young listeners of The Coaching Life Podcast. Thanks, Gavin for helping us with the conversation about sports and life.

Great coaches have some common qualities and attributes. Today we break out a Top 10 list of those things.

As we approach the season of gratitude and Thanksgiving, we take a moment to honor a man who selflessly gave more than 20 years of his life to make sure families, children, and even adults had a place to fulfill their dreams of playing baseball.

Upon hearing of a local Recreational League Director's passing, Dave Boyd of Middleport, Ohio, The Coaching Life Podcast has decided to honor Dave in our Thanksgiving episode. He is someone who embodied the very heart and soul of what this podcast is about.

God bless you, Dave.

As a coach, which focus do you have? A development-first focus, or a winning-first focus? How can the two approaches work together? Or is it always "development VS. winning?"

This conversation is a bit lengthy, but it is a pretty hot topic that you will undoubtedly agree with some and disagree with some. We'd love to hear your thoughts!

We chat with Morgan Rodgers, freshman on the Ohio University Bobcats Women's Golf Team.

This fall, Morgan has made an immediate impact preparing for her first regular season of golf this spring. Her success begins with understanding the mental game, and incorporating strategies to stay focused on what is most important – what is within her control.

This is a useful conversation and Morgan gives some really great golf tips to help improve Chris and Pat's golf game to score below 100!

Some experts say that pressure doesn't really exist. Rather, it is something that our minds create. If so, then why does it feel so real? And what does it mean when someone says they "perform best under pressure?"

We have another listener topic request. This conversation came from a coach who asked us about the extra time we spend maintaining our facility and playing field. Enjoy!

150 EPISODES!!!! Thanks for being part of our ongoing conversation! Whether you have listened since 2019 and all 150 episodes or you just found us, we APPRECIATE YOU. Thank you to everyone who sends comments, encouragement, and ideas for our show.

In honor of our listening audience for 150 episodes, this one is a recent conversation brought to us directly by a listener. It's an issue that is all too common in all amateur sports, regardless of age level.

As always, we hope to be useful and to help in some small way to make your athletic experience a little more meaningful.

Today we have a conversation with OHIO University grad student quarterback Parker Navarro.

Parker talks about the lessons he has learned through facing the adversity of a series of injuries, transferring, and finding himself in a backup role on a championship team. He provides invaluable advice and insight into how he has found strength and joy despite these setbacks and frustrations.

It's happening in every state; schools are having difficulty scheduling games for Varsity sports because it seems there are not enough officials to go around. What happened to them? How can we get them back?

Bad performances are a regular part of sports. If you play, coach, or have children who play, there will be bad days on the field and court. How we respond to these bad moments, bad games, and even sometimes bad seasons, can make or break future success. It's crucial that we understand the mindset strategies that we can adopt to be the best we can at responding to bad days.

We would like to present a challenge to all young people – AVOID ADOLESCENSE. Of course, we'll explain what we mean.

The relationship of mutual respect and trust between coach and player is directly related to performance and success. Our relationship with our players is driven by our communication. The culture of our program is built on our communication and the behaviors that follow. As coaches, we need to be mindful of this, take ownership of this reality, and strategize how we will improve.

Here's a topic we have never before discussed on The Coaching Life Podcast, but it's an extremely relevant conversation for just about every youth sports team. On most teams, there will be at least one family, and perhaps many, who struggle whenever there conflict between the ball schedule and their church attendance.

As always, Chris and Pat take on the conversation head-on, discussing many of the variables associated with this and the people it impacts. We hope to provide insight and understanding to help us all navigate this issue with grace.

We continue our conversation for sports parents on some "do's and don'ts" that we recommend to help you and your kids have the best experience possible.

Chris and Pat discuss the recent news of the closing of Alderson Broaddus University. What can we learn from this event?

Chris and Pat are back together for a new episode, playing catch-up from taking some time off to coach their baseball teams this spring. They have lots of stories from the diamond to share.

Let's take a moment and really think about some of the things we say at games. 

Chris and Pat are back in the studio together and have a lot of catching up to do. Lots of good conversations to come! 

Our guest in this episode is Ohio University quarterback, Kurtis Rourke. At the end of a monumental season for the Bobcats –– winning the MAC East Championship, being the Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year and Vern Smith Leadership Award Winner as the MAC's Most Valuable Player –– Kurtis suffered a season-ending knee injury, and was unable to play the last regular season game, the MAC Championship game, or the upcoming Barstool Sports Bowl Game. Kurtis talks with us about all of the emotions this kind of roller coaster put him through and has a wealth of advice for young athletes and their families. 

We hear a lot about needing to get "buy-in" from players and teams, but let's go a little bit deeper and talk about "believe-in." What is it? How can you get it? 

Justin walked on at Ohio University and played 5 years (from 2000-2004). He was a prolific high school running back whose name is listed in many OHSAA (Ohio High School Athletic Association) record books. At OU, Justin played 12 games his sophomore season and earned his way into the starting position his junior year but suffered a serious knee injury in his first game and was limited to only 6 games his senior season, averaging over 5 yards a carry.

He is now a preacher, a substitute school teacher, and assistant varsity boys soccer Coach. He has coached youth soccer and basketball for the last few years for teams that his sons, daughter and nephews play on. Justin brings a ton of wisdom in this episode. Grab a notebook and enjoy! 

Before he was the Bengals quarterback, a Heisman winner, National Champion, and 2-time Ohio High School Gatorade Player of the Year... Joe Burrow was a youth player learning about the game and how he might contribute to it. He has thanked many people along the way, and one of the most common expressions of gratitude you will hear from Joe is his appreciation for his "pee-wee" football coach, Sam Smathers. 

From start to finish in this episode, Sam is pure gold... sharing stories not only about Joe Burrow, but about all of the kids who have been blessed to cross his path, and about his coaching philosophies and practices that helped to pave a pathway of many years of success for Athens High School football. 

* Sam has co-authored a book that is in the final editing stages at the time of this recording, and we will be sure to provide an update and link once it becomes published.  

How much do you think about all of the common things you say and words you use when you are coaching? 

It's always a hard conversation, but a necessary one. In this episode, we try to speak to all parties involved: coaches, players, and parents. 

There has been a lot of discussion around the sports world about athletes playing through injuries, and some that could potentially have serious consequences. How do we know when we should "play through it" or when it's time to "sit this one out?" 

Can you coach HEART? That's what we try to figure out in this conversation. 

What would you have to sacrifice to have what you REALLY WANT? 

What WILL you sacrifice to have what you really want? 

Do those two lists match up? 

As coaches of multiple-sport athletes, we need to be intentional about cooperating, coordinating, and corroborating with the other coaches in our school athletic programs in order to truly provide the best experience for our student-athletes without burning them out. 

We are back for a new season of Coaching Life conversations. As long as we can be useful to someone and serve a purpose with this podcast, we will keep recording episodes. Thanks to all of our listeners. Let us know who you are! Email Chris at cstewart1993@gmail.com and Pat at patrick_martin@yahoo.com. 

Voice-over introduction provided by www.yourvodude.com 

We're in the heart of the high school baseball season and haven't had as much opportunity to connect for conversation, but in anticipation of a couple of big games for both of our teams, we decided to get together and talk about it this week. 

It's been raining... and raining... and snowing... and raining... and sleeting... and raining. 

But we're choosing to prepare for the sunshine. 

We talk about a variety of topics on today's episode. This is the week that Pat and Chris's high school baseball teams meet up with each other on the diamond, and this episode was recorded the day before GAME DAY. 

It is a nationwide problem, and our student athletes are going to pay the consequences of it. It's no longer something that is "coming soon," it is here. It's a problem that has solutions, and we can all chip in and help. 

Should you define your team's core values? If so, how should you go about it and how should they be viewed in the grand scheme of things? 

Chris and Pat reflect after the first day of high school practice, and talk about the importance of expectations for everyone. 

Each one of us has a particular realm of ownership and influence in the culture and strategy of our team or organization. What will we do with it?