The #beBetter Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Trina Comerford’s journey from mom to division 1 softball umpire has forced her to make some sacrifices, but she is well aware of the sacrifices her family has had to make as well. She believes that anything worth doing is worth doing well which is why she works so hard to be a great umpire, not just a good one. Her key to being great is simple, communication. Trina is so gracious...

Send us Fan Mail Lt. Col. Seth Barrett was a senior in high school in 1997 on the Santa Rosa High School basketball team where previous guest, Pat Kennedy (Episode #5), coached him and helped shape him into the incredible person he is now. Seth has traveled the world, moving more times than you can possibly imagine, sacrificing his personal life to protect America as well those unable to protect t...

Send us Fan Mail Amy Christensen is the first guest that Jared recruited for the podcast and he could not have picked a better one. Amy was a first generation college student, but she also had some great examples as parents. Amy gives her perspective on family dynamics and the fact that parents don't need to understand their kids to support them. Home is supposed to be a place to recover from...

Send us Fan Mail Justin Clymo graduated from Stevenson School in Pebble Beach California, won a national championship while coaching at UC Davis, but he knew he belonged at the high school level and he’s now back at his alma mater impacting the next generation. Coach Clymo has coached a variety of sports at different schools over his 24 years in education, but if you want to connect with him you b...

Send us Fan Mail Coach Cheryl Holden talks about her journey from a small town in Washington to Vice-President at Columbia Basin College. We discuss the importance of the process and not the outcome as well as what a “normal coach” should look like. If we expect others to act or perform in a certain way, we better provide the appropriate opportunities. If we want more women to coach, then we need...

Send us Fan Mail Courtney Jackson learned to love the game of basketball as a young kid and his passion for the game took him to Sonoma State University, then to the Napa Valley where he coached the boy’s basketball team at the Hanna Academy. Eventually this led to his current position at Principal, but his true impact is in the daily lives of those who need him most. Courtney is exactly what we h...

Send us Fan Mail Rich Shayewitz is and will always be associated with Sonoma State University, but a few short months ago, in the middle of the season as the head men’s basketball coach he was told the college was going to cut all athletics at the end of the season. Listen to how Coach Shayewitz attempted to handle the rest of the season and he is still hard on himself for maybe not doing things p...

Send us Fan Mail Coach Reynolds grew up in Humboldt county and always wanted to be a football coach. His time as an assistant coach under a legend helped him to grow and develop, but as most coaches will tell you, there were some bumps along the way. Coach Reynolds talks about team culture, developing assistant coaches and balancing family along the way. Once again, the key is to surround yourself...

Send us Fan Mail  Coach Woods is a coach, teacher and mentor and although is retired, she continues to teach and connect with her former student-athletes. She enjoys every day and her energy is infectious. She regrets nothing because she learned from all of her experiences whether they were championships or failures along the way. In retirement she continues to build her relationships with former...

Send us Fan Mail Joseph ("Joe") Herbert is the oldest son of one of our hosts, Mike Herbert, and his story will hopefully inspire other young student-athletes to keep moving forward. This young man has not always known exactly what his path is, but he has always put himself in a position to have as many doors open for himself as he would like. Joseph was a high school state champion in t...

Send us Fan Mail A reflection episode to say the least, this episode is a look back at what we have done so far. Not many people know that we recorded the first 12 episodes in a very short period of time and then put them in the bank and took a break. Not really knowing how this passion project was going to roll out we thought we should record a few and then sit back and watch how it all played ou...

Send us Fan Mail Tiffany Cotter shares her family's story about losing her husband, Gene Cotter, and how she continues to get up every morning for her kids. The love for her children is her driving force each day as well as her passion as a school counselor at Hollister HS, but that’s not all. She does all of this while also balancing the Live Like Geno Foundation ( www.livelikegeno.org ) whi...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Tom is a quitter, but hear me out, it is a good thing. Listen to Dr. Tom discuss how her decision to quit really opened her eyes to how good it feels to help others by simply doing something for someone else. As a teenager she came to love the game of basketball where she was coached by both Mike Story and Dr. Herbert, but her love for four legged animals really motivates her...

Send us Fan Mail Megan Hankins-Maldonado has spent her life coaching and helping others. Now she is focused directly on helping coaches be better so they can ultimately help others achieve things they didn’t know they could. Megan has many different experiences as a mom and coach, but along with her degrees and certifications she is truly a unicorn in the industry. Listen to her discuss many topic...

Send us Fan Mail Growing up you might think that wrestling was the only thing talked about in the Zalesky house for the all-american and hall of fame wrestlers Jim and Lennie Zalesky, but you would be wrong. Jim only competed in 1 event when was in the 7th grade and neither of them really got into the sport until high school. A very modest start for these 2 gentlemen who are now coaching together...

Send us Fan Mail Coach Clink is known in the coaching industry as a guy who was always doing it the right way. Listen to him talk about how his past experiences shaped him and why his decision to retire was a family decision. Coach Clink’s first coaching job was at 12 years old and he never wanted to do anything else. There is no doubt he is a great coach, but he is also a great teacher and is con...

Send us Fan Mail Warwick Schiller is THE Attuned Horseman and you may wonder why he would want to talk with us. He is a world renowned horse trainer, but he would say the horse is not the problem, he is helping to retrain their owners. Our conversation covers his 500 km race in Patagonia and his passion for helping people think about how their lives have impacted them along their Journey. Warwick...

Send us Fan Mail Coach Truesdale has spent her life and career dedicated to students and the game of softball. Although she started off as a basketball player, her love for softball grew from her high school coach and mentor into a hall of fame career. One of only 2 high school softball coaches to be inducted into the NFCA Hall of Fame, coach talks about the 833 career wins, but is more focused on...

Send us Fan Mail Ashley is a 3rd year nursing student at Loyola University Chicago, but before she decided to move to the midwest she was a starting high school basketball student-athlete. She decided to step away from the game she loved just before her senior season due to abusive language and treatment from her coach. Now looking back she realizes that she needed to focus on her own mental healt...

Send us Fan Mail Over 30 years in education, Pat Kennedy has been a parent, teacher, coach, administrator and official. He tried to retire, but is back coaching again and doesn’t look like he is going to stop helping people be better any time soon. Coach spends some time with the guys talking about all of the different relationships he has been fortunate to cultivate over the years and why he is d...

Send us Fan Mail Stanford University Associate Head Coach of Men's Basketball, Eric Reveno, discusses his coaching stops from Palo Alto to Portland to Atlanta and back again. Some great advice from someone who has made a career in coaching, but has never forgotten the true mission of athletics. Coach discusses his focus on helping his student-athletes be better people both on and off the cour...

Send us Fan Mail Mike Story was born and raised in Orland, California. After graduating high school he attended Sonoma State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Physical Education. He went on to earn a Teaching Credential in Mathematics and Physical Education. Mike taught and coached at the high school level for more than 14 years. During that...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Gardner is a native of Eastern Idaho.  After earning a bachelor's degree from Utah State University, Jared continued his pursuit of higher education.  He holds a masters in counseling and a doctorate of education from Idaho State University.  Jared has spent the last fifteen years in higher education administration at various institutions at all levels of higher ed and in...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Herbert grew up in Hollister, CA and played multiple sports through high school including cross country, water polo and swimming but basketball was his passion. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from Sonoma State University in 1998 and then his master’s degree from Humboldt State in 2002. Both degrees were in Kinesiology with an emphasis on teaching and coaching. After...