Contacts Coaching Podcast

On the Contacts Coaching Podcast, Justin interviews Jake Van Hofwegen, athletic director and assistant principal at Beaumont High School in Southern California, about his path into athletic administration and why Beaumont became a dream job after roles at Coachella Valley and Colton. Jake explains how the AD/AP structure streamlines discipline, hiring, and decision-making, and how supportive, spor...

On the Contacts coaching podcast, consultant and Coach Her Right founder Jerica Williams shares how basketball found her at age 10, her college path from a UCLA scholarship to San Diego State, and becoming a mom her senior year. She traces her move from assistant coaching (including Cal State Northridge) to head coaching at Detroit Country Day, where she rapidly rebuilt a struggling program and re...

On the Context Coaching Podcast, athletic administrator Dustin Mones (Monte Vista Christian) shares his journey from a multi-sport athlete in Connecticut to boarding school coach and athletic director roles at Eaglebrook and Stony Brook, then returning to Monte Vista as AD. He discusses early coaching insecurity, the importance of mentors for new athletic directors, and how small paperwork mistake...

In this Contacts Coaching Podcast episode, the host welcomes back Brett Cauchi to discuss his growth over nearly three years at Rancho Solano as the head girls basketball coach and a teacher. Brett explains how the job has confirmed his mission fit through long-term impact on kids, relationship building, and developing trust across age groups from middle school to high school. They explore balanci...

On the Contacts Coaching podcast, host Justin Clymo welcomes back Cal State East Bay men’s basketball coach Bryan Rooney to unpack the program’s dramatic turnaround from 11–17 to an undefeated run until a loss in the Elite Eight, finishing at 33-1. Rooney credits player commitment, continuity, the team mantra “just get better,” and this season’s theme “burn the boats,” emphasizing role definition,...

On the Contacts Coaching podcast, host interviews Melissa Fortenberry, founder of Heat Sense, about proactively monitoring heat strain in athletes to prevent heat illness. Fortenberry, a former Texas athlete and tech professional, describes being sick during a 107-degree football game and researching why existing guidelines focus on symptoms, meaning athletes are already ill once dizziness or naus...

In this Contacts Coaching podcast episode, former guest Bre Smedley, co-founder of Elite Competitor and a championship high school volleyball coach, shares how her mental performance framework has evolved into plug-and-play tools for coaches and resources for parents. She explains key skills—failure recovery (the “snapback routine”), self-talk, and visualization—and describes how the snapback rout...

On the Contacts Coaching Podcast, Josh Duke, Executive Director of Athletics and Operations at Grace Prep in the DFW Metroplex, shares his path from Grace Prep student to Abilene Christian student manager, then coaching at Fort Worth Christian (freshman, JV under Jeff Bell, and varsity head coach) before returning to Grace Prep in 2020 as athletic director and head boys basketball coach. He explai...

On the Contacts Coaching podcast, host Justin interviews Cody Bartlow, newly hired head men’s soccer coach at Kansas Wesleyan University, about his path from an unplanned start coaching a U6 co-ed team in high school to 25 years in coaching across club, high school, and NAIA college programs in Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Kansas. Bartlow explains why he now calls sessions “training” instead of...

On the Contacts Coaching podcast, Duarte High School athletic director and PE teacher Coach Perry Skaggs shares his path from LA Unified student and Fairfax High alumnus to coaching and athletic administration across private and public schools, including Pilgrim, Viewpoint, Flintridge Prep, Westmark, and LAUSD sites before landing at Duarte eight years ago. He explains why he moved between sectors...

Justin interviews Fonzo Martinez, boys basketball head coach at McKinney Christian Academy in the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, about his path from high school and college basketball—derailed by severe knee injuries—to working as a train engineer and in corporate sales before feeling called to coach. He details getting his start at Coram Deo Academy, rebuilding a losing program into a playoff and s...

On the Contacts Coaching Podcast, host interviews Drew Snelgrove, athletic director and men’s basketball coach at Big Valley Christian in Modesto, covering his 30-year journey from Humboldt County athlete and BMX racer to college player at College of the Redwoods and Bethany University, pro/overseas stops in Australia and a tryout in Germany, and a transition into coaching and administration. Snel...

On the Contacts Coaching Podcast, Half Moon Bay athletic director Mike Barragan shares his path from being an undersized multi-sport athlete to coaching Little League, high school baseball (including at South San Francisco High), and eventually becoming AD in his hometown. He discusses lessons from varied sports and jobs (restaurants, construction, special education), the value of sociology for em...

On the Contacts Coaching podcast, longtime Jesuit High School (Sacramento) history teacher and cross country coach Walt Lange recounts how getting cut from freshman baseball led him to running, being recruited by UCLA, and then coaching after training on his own at Loyola University of Los Angeles. He describes early coaching at St. Bernard’s near Playa del Rey, a move to Sacramento (including a b...

In this episode of the Contacts Coaching podcast, Athletic Director Chris Stevens from Immanuel High School returns to discuss his journey and the key elements of managing a high school sports program. Stevens, a 30-year veteran football coach now in his fourth year as an athletic director, was recently honored with the Rookie of the Year award by the Central Section. He shares his experiences tra...

In a special Contacts Coaching podcast episode, Stevenson alumna Danielle Koval—Director of Compliance for Financial Aid and revenue sharing at the University of Oklahoma—shares her path from being a swimmer and water polo player at Stevenson to swimming at Fresno State, working in student-athlete academic services, moving to UNLV, and then joining OU after taking a financial aid role just before...

Welcome to the Contacts Coaching podcast! In this episode, we sit down with Mike Luevano, host, and founder of the Between the Shots Show. Mike shares his extensive background in education, development work, and his latest venture that combines golf with deep, meaningful conversations about life, vulnerability, and masculinity. From his upbringing in San Jose to his work with nonprofit organizatio...

In this episode of the Contacts Coaching Podcast, we are joined by Paul Caffery, the Director of Athletics at LaHabra High School. Paul shares his extensive background in coaching and administration, highlighting his journey from growing up in an athletic family to becoming an athletic director. He discusses the vital role of community culture, the importance of multi-sport athletes, and shares in...

In this episode of Contacts Coaching Podcast, Jamie Wood, founder of Hyphenated Athletics Coach, joins Coach Clymo for an insightful discussion on the transformation from compliance roles to NIL Directorship at Texas A&M, and into independent NIL consultancy. Wood shares his journey, leveraging his extensive background to support athletes, families, institutions, and brands in the complex NIL spac...

Join us in this episode of the Contacts Coaching Podcast as we sit down with John Hoy, Athletic Director at the John Cooper School and President of the Southwest Preparatory Conference. John shares his journey from growing up in Wisconsin and coaching basketball at LSU to his current roles in Texas. He dives into the challenges and triumphs of leading at both high school and college levels, the im...

Welcome back to the Contacts Coaching podcast! In this episode, we sit down with JTO Sullivan, a UC Davis Legend and owner of the QB School YouTube channel. We dive deep into JT's journey from an all-around athlete in the 80s and 90s to an NFL quarterback, and now a successful content creator and coach. JT shares insights on his playing career, his pivot from aspiring college coach to YouTube...

In this episode of the Contacts Coaching Podcast, we've finally pinned down Earl Koberlein, the outgoing Athletic Director at Menlo School, after three years of persistent effort. Koberlein shares his extensive journey from a student-athlete at Bellarmine, through his college career at Stanford, to his professional life in Australia and eventual roles in athletic administration. He dives deep...

In this episode of the Contacts Coaching Podcast, we sit down with Ozzie Parente, head boys soccer coach at the Taft School and associate dean of students. Ozzie shares his journey from growing up in Connecticut to becoming a multifaceted leader in a boarding school environment. He discusses the importance of building team culture, forming meaningful relationships with players, and redefining adve...

In this episode of the Contacts Coaching Podcast, host Justin Clark interviews Charles Gordon Jr., the Athletic Director and Head Basketball Coach at Rutland High School in Macon, Georgia. Charles shares his journey from being a military kid with a passion for athletics to becoming an Athletic Director. He discusses the challenges of managing multiple roles, including coaching cross country and ba...

Welcome back to the Contacts Coaching Podcast! In this episode, we sit down with Coach Ryan Diew, head basketball coach at Head Royce Boys basketball and proud alum of the school. Coach Diew shares his journey from being an athlete at Head Royce to playing basketball at Colgate University, and eventually returning to his alma mater to coach. He discusses his experiences as a walk-on, the valuable...