From the Coach's Mouth

Motor Preferences Experts co-Founder David Genest joins Jay and Ken to talk about his background in baseball coaching and sports science, and what led him to start his company along with Maryland head baseball coach Matt Swope to bring motor preferences to North America. He then explains what motor preferences are, how they are being applied in top collegiate softball programs such as Oklahoma, an...

On this week's podcast Jay and Ken are joined by pitching instructor Darren Dubsky. While he is a Hall of Fame pitcher in his own right, with more than 1,000 wins and 12,000+ strikeouts in his playing career, he also has the distinction of his most famous student being a name most women's fastpitch enthusiasts will recognize - Jordy Bahl. Darren shares his thoughts on what it takes to beco...

NFCA Hall of Famer and Master Coach program instructor Cindy Bristow joins Jay and Ken for a lively conversation about how she got started in fastpitch softball, her coaching journey, and her thoughts on a variety of topics related to coaching softball. She talks about how her natural curiosity keeps her pursuing and learning new information, her time building instructional programs for USA Softba...

Emory University Head Coach and former Tennessee Lady Vols star India Chiles joins Jay and Ken to talk about how she got started in softball, playing for the NCAA Division I National Championship, how she came into coaching after a career as a Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurse and later a salesperson, and what she did to create a winning culture at Emory. She also shares her thoughts abou...

Private instructor and former Detroit Mercy pitching coach Pam Savich joins Jay and Ken to talk about how she made the transition from player to coach, what players and parents can do to help their chances of playing in college, why the leap from standout high school player to college player is so challenging, and the importance of good mechanics to avoid injuries. She also shares her experiences...

University of Toledo pitching coach Kyle Brady joins Jay and Ken to talk about his days as a collegiate and minor league baseball pitcher, how he became involved with fastpitch softball designing arm care and overhand throwing programs, which led him down the pitching path, and his work in support services as Duke University and later a coach at UConn and Chattanooga State Community College, He al...

This week Jay and Ken talk about a wide variety of topics related to recruiting. It begins with a discussion about the D1 Transfer Portal - why players go into it (sometimes against their preference), whether it's a good thing, what the risks are, how it affects recruiting of incoming freshmen, and more. They then get into how college coaches approach recruiting at tournaments, as well as the...

University of Wisconsin - River Falls Head Coach Ethan Giese joins Jay and Ken to talk about his coaching journey, from being a high school coach in La Crosse, Wisconsin to a DIII and DI college pitching coach to his current position. He then shares his thoughts on the importance of continuing education no matter what field you go into, how he's built a winning culture, the importance of honesty w...

Jay and Ken keep it in-house to share some advice on coaching issues. Included is a discussion about the importance of giving young players experience at "higher skill" positions (such as pitching), even if it might cause a few extra losses today, in order to help them develop for the future. They also talk about building a team culture, how to run more efficient practices, working conditioning in...

USA Softball of New Jersey Hall of Famer Linda Lensch joins Jay and Ken to share stories about the glory days of Women's Majors softball, including her time as a player and later player/coach with the renowned Linden Arians and how she came to form the New Jersey Divas. She also talks about her time participating at the national and international levels of paddlesports before shifting into a d...

The importance of continuing education for coaches cannot be emphasized enough, so Jay and Ken were thrilled to speak with none other than Dr. Joanna Lane, Director of Education and Program Development for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and the host of the organization's popular podcast, The Dirt . Joanna talks about her early history as a player and then a college coach at...

Jay and Ken speak with Kate Wheeler, Sports Development Representative for OnForm, about her playing career at Wagner College, a D1 school on Staten Island in New York, and her coaching journey, primarily at the D1 level including six years as head coach at Brown University. She shares what's different about coaching athletes in the Ivy League and how she established winning cultures everywher...

Hillsdale College head coach Kyle Gross joins Jay and Ken to talk about what it's like to coach softball at one of the top academic schools in Division II of the NCAA. He shares his journey from being a law enforcement officer to coaching travel ball and high school softball in Ohio, how he came to become a college coach, and some of the things he's learned along the way. He also talks about his e...

Hitting and mental game guru Rob Crews, owner and CEO of Complete Game, shares his approach to high-level hitting and philosophies about how to build hitters (and players generally) who can produce under pressure. Rob talks about the importance of going beyond mechanics to integrate the visual, mental, and emotional elements so hitters can make adjustments from swing to swing. He also shares his b...

Virginia Tech pitching coach Dr. Josh Johnson, one of the rising stars of NCAA Division 1 coaching, joins Jay and Ken to talk about his career as pitching coach, private instructor, and former player with the US Men's National Team. Josh also branches off into topics such as his philosophy for pitch development, how many pitches he believes a pitcher should have (or at least try), the evolution of...

Jay and Ken have a lively discussion on a variety of topics. Included are some thoughts on whether school teams should seniors after three years in the program, coaches insisting pitchers learn new pitches instead of improving what they have, whether team coaches would be better served by working with the 4-5 hitters at the bottom of the lineup instead of fiddling with their top one or two, and mo...

Jay and Ken speak with Jon Gwizdala, a member of the US Men's National Team and head coach at Jackson College in Jackson, Michigan. They talk about Jon's career as both a fastpitch softball and collegiate baseball player, his experiences in men's fastpitch (including winning a Bronze medal at the 2022 WBSC World Cup, the first time the US Men's team earned a medal in 22 years), his...

Jay and Ken are joined in this episode by 2015 WCWS champion pitcher, two-time NFCA All American, and former professional fastpitch player Lauren Haeger. Lauren describes her early years and the challenges she faced to get pitching time, her highly successful high school and college careers, her four years in the National Pro Fastpitch League, and her transition to coaching. She then offers her th...

Mental toughness is something every coach and athlete will say is essential to being a top performer. But there are far fewer who work at it actively - or even know how to. In this episode Jay and Ken speak with Shawnee Harle (www.shawneeharle.com), a 2X Olympian and Mental Toughness Coach who has her own business, Winning Matters, about how she helps athletes from across the sporting world, inclu...

JD Koziarski, head varsity softball coach and athletic director at Horizon Science Academy McKinley Park in Chicago, joins Jay and Ken to talk about how he and his wife Wendy launched their softball program from scratch. He describes how the program has expanded from one JV level high school team to a program encompassing players from the 10U through high school level. JD talks about the steps the...

Jay and Ken are joined by Anna Nickel, pitching coach at Pacific Lutheran University and senior marketing manager at GameChanger. Anna talks about her playing days in rec and travel ball, her journey from Juco pitcher to the D1 level at USC Upstate to the National Pro Fastpitch League and how and why she transitioned into coaching. She also shares some inspirational thoughts about the game, what i...

Morgan Gerak, head coach at Northern Kentucky University, joins Jay and Ken to talk about her journey from travel ball to a 5-year career as a pitcher and outfielder at Northwestern University to becoming an assistant then head coach. She also discusses the culture at NKU and her approach to working with each athlete as an individual.

Georgia Gwinnett head baseball Coach Sheets joins Jay and Ken to talk about why coaching at GGC is his dream job, why he loves coaching at the NAIA level, how he built his program into a powerhouse that won a National Championship and competes for it every year, and his philosophy about coaching the person, then the student, and then the athlete. Coach Sheets shares his journey, some of the mentor...

Jay and Ken interview Rick Pauly of PaulyGirl Fastpitch about his career as a men's player, how he got started in coaching, his coaching experience at the rec, travel, high school, and college level, and his High Performance Pitching certification program. We also go into his thoughts about working with pitchers and which teams he thinks listeners should keep an eye on for the 2025 college season...