The Journey of My Mother's Son

In this week's episode of "The Journey of My Mother's Son" podcast, I talk with another PCA trainer, Cameron Campbell of Houston, Texas. Affectionately known as Coach Cam, he is a servant, sports enthusiast, and social entrepreneur who has spoken more than a thousand times for various sports and philanthropic organizations including the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Associati...

In this week's episode of the Journey of My Mother's Son podcast, I sit down with Anthony Henderson, South Florida's biggest Hope Dealer. That's right, Anthony feels that we have way too many dope dealers, so he has chosen to go out and deal some hope to our society. Anthony is also a former athlete, coach and a fellow trainer for Positive Coaching Alliance. His optimistic attitude can be felt in...

Have you ever gotten that pit inside your stomach when your spouse or a good friend walks into the room and says to you, "Hey, sit down a second, we need to talk?" We've all been there. The uncomfortable conversation that we all try to avoid and hope that it will take care of itself with no effort from us. Well America, that's where we are today. As a society, we need to talk, and what we need to...

In this week's episode of The Journey of My Mother's Son, I talked to Stacy Piagno and Isaac Wenrich who made history on July 15, 2017 when Piagno recorded a win against the Pittsburg Diamonds in her first start of the 2017 season. In doing so, she became only the third woman since the 1950s to win a game in an American men's professional league. Wenrich, who is a former player of mine from my Ber...

In this week's episode of The Journey of My Mother's Son podcast, I was fortunate to sit down with Ella Witman. Ella is only 12 years old, soon to be 13, but people of all ages should be inspired by her story. An avid softball player and horseback rider, Ella had her world come crashing down in late October of 2018 when she broke her hip in a freak accident a few days following injuring it on the...

In this episode of The Journey of My Mother's Son podcast, I continue the conversation with Homa Shafii. Born and raised in Iran for the first 11 years of her life, her father had the foresight to move to the United States in order to create more opportunities for both him and his family. Baseball wasn't the only male dominated endeavor that Homa took on and excelled at. She also became a Firefigh...

Another two part episode of The Journey of my Mother's Son podcast. I was able to talk to Homa Shafii. Homa came to the United States from Iran when she was only 11 years old. Once in the US, she fell in love with the games of baseball and softball. A late starter, only beginning to play softball at age 14, she was able to persevere and work hard to play high school softball. Not heavily recruited...

I've known Jeff Potter for over 12 years now. We first met when he published his first book, "Whatever Happened to Baseball." We share the same philosophy of teaching life lessons through the game of baseball. I was in the midst of writing my first book, "The Beauty of a Diamond, through the eyes of a Coach." when Jeff and I met. He was a big reason as to why I got it to the finish line and publis...

Following her season with the Silver Bullets in 1994, Michelle continued to understand the importance of being a positive role model for young women everywhere. She went onto be an author and speaker, work for sports apparel giants, Nike, Louisville Slugger and adidas to name a few and has her own consulting business, Red Rock Consultants, LLC. Most importantly though, she has what she calls her "...

Making connections is what life is all about. God works in mysterious ways. Following my podcast with Missy Coombes, who was an original Silver Bullet from 1994-1996, another door opened. My friend and another former guest on the show, Tina Whitlock reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in meeting a fellow South Carolina alumni, who was also a member of the Silver Bullets, Michelle...

In this episode, I sat down with longtime friend, Paul Johnson to talk about his 30 years of coaching baseball in the inner-city of Philadelphia. A recipient of the Quarter Century of Leadership & Dedication to Baseball Award from the ABCA (American Baseball Coaches Association) in 2014, Paul has dedicated his life to giving back and teaching leadership skills and life lessons through the game of...

On August 1, 1994, I had the opportunity to coach against the Colorado Silver Bullets, a women's professional baseball team that was sponsored by the Coors Brewing Company. The team existed from 1994 through 1997 barnstorming across the country playing minor league teams, men's semi-pro and amateur teams. A few years ago, I connected on social media with Missy Coombes, who was one of the original...

I had the opportunity to talk with Tina Whitlock, who is one of only five females to be coaching in professional baseball. She was hired as a fourth coach in the St. Louis Cardinals organization this past spring. Tina's story isn't just about being a trailblazer and breaking glass ceilings, more importantly, it's one of faith, grit, determination and resilience. Tina became a widow and a mother to...

This episode was originally recorded in mid-February and was planned to be released right before the MLB Trailblazer Series. The Trailblazer Series is a girl's baseball event that is conducted every year in Compton, CA right around the time that MLB celebrates Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier. The event has been postponed indefinitely due the COVID-19 pandemic. It was an honor to talk to...

In this episode, I had the opportunity to sit down with my good friend, Leah Amico and talk about Faith and Softball. We spoke about how we're dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Leah is a 3-time Olympic Gold Medalist in Women's Softball, so we also speak about the NCAA season getting cancelled as well as the postponement of the 2020 Olympics.

My wife, Sandy and I sit down at the kitchen table prior to a game of 500 Rummy to talk about how we're dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and being quarantined in our house for going on three weeks. We've found that balance, fresh air, sunshine, walking and most of all scripture and prayer have helped us find that "peace that passes all understanding" during these uncertain times.

Old friends reminisce about the past and look forward to the future. I recently sat down with two of my good friends, Phil Raccuglia and Chris Blum. Like me, each of them are starting a new life journey. Phil, who was a long-time coach at several local programs, Berkshire, Exeter and Muhlenberg stepped down this past season after 26 seasons of coaching. He led the Berkshire 30-Over team to a secon...

Keeping with the "new chapter" theme, I was able to sit down with long-time Exeter Fire Chief, Bob Jordan, who has recently retired after 24 years as Fire Chief and 47 years of service overall as a firefighter in both Reading and Exeter. Bob recalls some of his fondest memories, talks about the importance of his family and how he is looking forward to spending more time with his wife, Brenda.

In this episode, I sat down to talk with the Reverend Pastor Dennis Trout, who retired after 50 years in the ministry at Swamp Lutheran Church. He speaks about the importance of having the ability to make adjustments and change over the years and making the adjustment to his new normal as he and wife start this next chapter of their lives.

"The Journey of My Mother's Son" and as Michael Franti says in the opening verse of his song, "Gloria," "When many little people in many little places, Do many little things, then the whole world changes. Toni Reece talks to Dan Clouser about the power of changing one's life, setting out on an adventure with his wife, and meeting wonderful people along the way. This is the premiere episode of The...