Coach Rodo's Winning Regardless

Send us Fan Mail "The best players get better when nobody's watching or paying attention." School is out, the graduations are over, and summer is officially here. In this solo episode, Coach Rodo delivers a raw reality check to young athletes who think playing AAU tournaments or attending a couple of team practices a week is enough to guarantee a starting spot next season. Rodo brea...

Send us Fan Mail "Your biggest opponent is really just you." Coach Rodo is joined once again by his nephew, USC Trojans linebacker Jadyn Walker. Back in town and sporting his new number, the former Portage Northern standout pulls back the curtain on what it truly takes to transition from high school star to a Division I college football player in the Big Ten.  Jadyn gets transparent abou...

Send us Fan Mail "When you step on that court with hate and a thought of us versus them, there’s no way you’re going to have an outcome of joy." Coach Rodo welcomes a true pioneer to the podcast: current Kalamazoo City Commissioner, author, and retired Kalamazoo College Head Volleyball Coach, Jeanne Hess. Fresh out of the University of Michigan in the late 1970s, Jeanne lived through the...

Send us Fan Mail "Say your loved one's name every day. Keep their spirit alive. Because if you don't, they die twice." In this deeply moving solo episode, Coach Rodo opens up his heart and shares a raw, vulnerable look at processing grief, handling loss, and finding unexpected communities of healing. Coming up on the anniversary of his brilliant brother D'Aneo's passi...

Send us Fan Mail "Money ain't wealth—health is wealth. What good is money if you're not healthy enough to enjoy it?" Coach Rodo gets incredibly personal in this episode, tackling a massive issue in our community: the historical reluctance to get regular checkups, ask doctors tough questions, and prioritize medical healthcare. Drawing from his own background as a U.S. Marine and...

Send us Fan Mail "Ain't nobody coming to save you. You have to be the reason for your own success." Coach Rodo welcomes entrepreneur, coach, and "football extraordinaire" Markus Naves to the studio. Markus shares his powerful journey from hitting rock bottom—losing his job just two weeks after his youngest son was born—to becoming a successful digital entrepreneur and a pi...

Send us Fan Mail "Don't be a practice player. Don't be the kid who hasn't gotten better since sophomore year." As we transition into the spring and summer months, Coach Rodo breaks down the "Summer Trap" that many young athletes fall into. While AAU tournaments and 7-on-7 camps are great for exposure, Rodo argues that the real gains are made in the quiet hours of...

Send us Fan Mail "Being down 11 at the end of the third and losing by 30... that is softness." Coach Rodo is back from a brief hiatus with a message that many parents and players might not want to hear, but desperately need to. Following Kalamazoo Central’s exit from the regionals, Rodo breaks down why local talent continues to hit a ceiling when they face teams like East Lansing. In thi...

Send us Fan Mail "When you're old, it's going to be too late. Grind while you're young." Coach Rodo sits down with his nephew, Jadyn Walker (#31), linebacker for the USC Trojans. Jadyn takes us behind the scenes of what it's really like to play in the Los Angeles Coliseum and the reality of being a student-athlete at one of the biggest programs in the country. In this...

Send us Fan Mail "Leave it alone. Let the officials officiate and the kids play." Coach Rodo wears many hats—coach, business owner, and former high school and college basketball official. In this episode, he takes off the coach's whistle and puts on the referee's stripes to address the alarming crisis in sports officiating.  From parents riling up crowds to coaches chasing refs...

Send us Fan Mail Why is the coach always the first person to blame when a high school team struggles?  In this episode, Coach Rodo dives deep into the toxic culture of "bleacher coaching" and constant criticism. Using the current state of Kalamazoo high school basketball as a backdrop, Rodo defends coaches like Ramsey and the newly appointed Rodney Manning. He argues that things like mis...

Send us Fan Mail You're the leading scorer, the hardest worker, and a straight-A student... but the coach gave the Captain spot to a freshman? In this fiery episode, Coach Rodo tackles the politics of high school sports through the story of his cousin's daughter. Despite being a D1 prospect and the team leader, she was snubbed for the captaincy. Rodo breaks down why this happens and give...

Send us Fan Mail From coaching Western Michigan University Women's Basketball to becoming a pillar of the Kalamazoo real estate community, Jim Hess knows how to build winners. In this episode, Coach Rodo sits down with his longtime friend Jim Hess to discuss the legendary "Breakfast of Champions" mentoring program. Jim breaks down his philosophy on why we must stop labeling kids as...

Send us Fan Mail It's the season of giving, but as Coach Rodo explains, your time is worth far more than your money. In this heartwarming and challenging episode, Coach Rodo opens up about his company's work with the YMCA program at Lincoln Elementary—a school facing high poverty, homelessness, and 18 different spoken dialects. Rodo shares incredible stories of "sending the elevator...

Send us Fan Mail Are you living your missed dreams through your children? In this essential episode, Coach Rodo confronts parents who live "vicariously" through their kids' sports careers, especially as the high school basketball season begins. Rodo argues that this behavior is not just about love; it’s about a parent’s own need for success, which often leads to poor coaching advice...

Send us Fan Mail From getting kicked out of college twice to leading a school as a Principal, Darryl Blasingame is the definition of resilience. In this powerful episode, Coach Rodo sits down with his friend of 30 years, Detroit Principal Darryl Blasingame. Darryl shares his raw testimony of growing up on the West Side of Detroit, losing his father at 11, and the academic struggles that led to him...

Send us Fan Mail High school basketball season is here, and Coach Rodo has a direct message for parents: **Stay off the sidelines!** This episode tackles the massive issue of parents interfering during games, from sideline coaching to interrupting warmups for a hug or a dap. Rodo explains the damage this does, arguing that when an athlete prioritizes a parent's voice over the coach, they are...

Send us Fan Mail High school tryouts are over, and in this episode, Coach Rodo talks straight to the athletes who got cut. He unpacks the difference between disappointing your parents and disappointing yourself, arguing that the only real disappointment comes from a lack of effort. Rodo challenges the common parent response of comforting the child, insisting that the best response is to ask, &quot...

Send us Fan Mail Coach Rodo tackles the life-altering importance of **Respect**—a cornerstone of his culture and coaching philosophy. Starting with a powerful personal story about being corrected for saying "What?" to his grandmother, Rodo discusses how respect has become dangerously transactional. He challenges parents and coaches: **Respect is earned, but it must also be given.** Rodo...

Send us Fan Mail Coach Rodo shares why simple words of motivation can be the difference between an athlete quitting and becoming a champion. This episode is built around a powerful story from Rodo’s paramilitary-style training for Kalamazoo Central High School athletes. He highlights a freshman girl who struggled with every drill but refused to quit. Rodo uses her resilience to discuss why coaches...

Send us Fan Mail In this raw and deeply personal episode—which Coach Rodo calls his own "therapy session"—he opens up about the 13-year anniversary of losing his best friend and brother, Lorenzo Donnell Marshall. Rodo challenges common clichés about grief, rejecting the idea that "time heals all wounds" or that a lost loved one is simply "in a better place." He offers...

Send us Fan Mail Coach Rodo discusses the incredible resolution to the Kalamazoo Central (KC) football incident that captured national attention. He first commends the KC community and students who organized a massive protest and walk-out—forcing the Superintendent to reinstate the suspended player after the Principal's decision was overridden. Rodo then details the powerful, unpublicized mee...

Send us Fan Mail Coach Rodo travels to California to watch his nephew, USC Redshirt Freshman Jadyn Walker (#31, Portage Northern), play against Michigan State. Despite getting meaningful time on special teams, Jaydn was disappointed after being promised a lot more playing time in defensive packages all week. Rodo uses this experience to deliver a critical message to all student-athletes facing dis...

Send us Fan Mail Coach Rodo sits down with his friend, Kalamazoo Central alumnus, Super Bowl Champion, and Fox Sports Analyst Greg Jennings for an explosive conversation. Jennings offers his expert football perspective on the controversial Kalamazoo Central incident, affirming Rodo's stance that the play was a non-malicious act misinterpreted by social media. He then dives into NFL analysis,...

Send us Fan Mail Coach Rodo delivers a raw, passionate, and essential defense of the 15-year-old Kalamazoo Central football player involved in the viral incident that seriously injured an opponent from Lakeshore High School. Rodo speaks directly to the national outrage, death threats, and wave of racial slurs and attacks the young man faced, arguing that the public has failed to show grace and com...