The Coaching Life Podcast

Rick Dobnak is the father of Minnesota Twins pitcher, Randy Dobnak. The Dobnak family has had a whirlwind of a summer in 2019, as Randy made the improbable journey from Class-A ball to pitching for the Minnesota Twins in the American League Division Series. What an incredible ride! Rick has some really fun stories to tell about what it has been like to live every baseball dad's dream!  Be sur...

You hear them at every game, it seems. Someone yells a coaching cue from the bleachers. A coach or parent gets on an umpire about a rule violation they think the official missed. But do we all really know the truth about what we are arguing regarding the rules? Are we really sure that the coaching cues we are shouting are actually the best advice for the players?  In this episode, Pat and Chr...

This BONUS episode is from a keynote Chris gave for an assembly of the student body and staff at Meigs High School in Ohio during Homecoming Week. The audio is extracted from video recorded on an audience member's phone (which means the sound quality is low). We believe the principles and lessons shared in this talk are relevant to the many conversations we are having on The Coaching Life Podcast....

In the studio for Episode 11 is Kenzie Roark, head softball coach for the Ohio University Bobcats. At the time of this recording, Coach Roark is in her second season as Head Softball Coach for the Ohio University Bobcats. In her first season, she put up a very impressive record of 34-21 (12-8 in the Mid American Conference), and entered the MAC post-season tournament as the 3 seed and went on to w...

For our 10th episode of The Coaching Life Podcast, the guys respond to some questions and comments they have received from listeners. If you have any questions or topics that you would like to hear Chris and Pat address on the show, please reach out to us at TheCoachingLifePodcast@gmail.com . You can also comment or direct message us on Twitter @TheCoachingLife .  Also, be sure to hit the SUB...

Joining us for Episode 9 is Austin Dunfee. Austin comes on the show to speak as one who fully understands the value of "development." Austin attended Shawnee State University. As a pitcher for the Bears, he still holds the University’s records for career wins (27), strikeouts in a season (82), and complete games in a season (13). During his time playing at Shawnee, his teams brought home one confe...

Our second BONUS episode comes from receiving several requests to go into more detail about strength and conditioning. So, Chris and Pat sat down and discussed their thoughts on strength training young male and female athletes. The guys talk about everything from training 7 and 8 year olds to outlining a sample high school softball and baseball strength program.   Please reach out to us at Th...

Our first guest on The Coaching Life Podcast is Brock Stewart, the son of co-host Chris Stewart. Brock is a college baseball player at Alderson Broaddus University, an NCAA DII school in Philippi, WV. Some of the conversation topics Pat and Chris discuss with Brock are:  Recruiting and what are the most important things a high school athlete can do to get recruited to play college ball Some o...

BONUS EPISODE: This is Part Two of mapping out a sample year in the life of a Player Development Program. In this episode Chris and Pat continue walking through the calendar months of November through July, discussing the various things that might be occurring organizationally in a Player Development Program.  Please SUBSCRIBE and please SHARE the show with others. You can do so through socia...

This is Part One of a two-part episode in which Chris and Pat map out a sample year in the life of a Player Development Program. In this episode the guys begin in the month of August and walk us through various activities that would be offered through October. Be sure to look for Part 2 (Episode 7) for discussion on what would happen in the months of November through July.  Please SUBSCRIBE a...

Chris and Pat join in a remote conversation about how teams, families, businesses, etc. can tend to create a culture of mistake avoidance. This idea for a quick, raw BONUS episode came after watching an interview on WOUB Bobcat Sports Showcase. To see the full interview and a lot of other great coverage of the Ohio University Bobcats athletic teams, visit @BobcatShowcase on Twitter.  Also, in...

Pat shares a theory that may help explain part of the problem with today's youth ball structures. Something is missing, an important piece of the natural maturation process as kids are learning to play sports. The guys discuss some ideas for how to help bring some of those missing dynamics back into today's practices and team activities.  If you are enjoying listening to the show, please be s...

Chris and Pat discuss the value of coaches working together in a Player Development Program in order to train themselves to be the best they can be... for the kids' sake. Whenever we keep in the forefront of our minds that everything we do is to help the kids have the most meaningful and memorable experience playing youth sports that they can possibly have, then we are living out the mission of PD...

Chris and Pat continue the conversation about the Player Development Program by emphasizing a major component of the motivation behind PDP: LOVING PRACTICE. Being energized by practice. Coaching practice well. But this one is not just conceptual. In this episode Chris and Pat describe a very specific way to make a common part of practice more effective and engaging. 

PDP = Player Development Program. Chris and Pat begin laying the foundation for a Player Development Program model for youth baseball and softball. 

Pilot episode for The Coaching Life Podcast. Chris Stewart and Pat Martin discuss a plan for helping to improve the landscape of youth sports, especially youth baseball and softball. It starts with providing support and training for coaches as well as parents, and it continues with generating an energy and love for the development of young players. This is just the beginning. Come join the convers...