The Modern Coach’s Compass Podcast

In this episode of the Forza Athletics Life and Coaching Podcast I discuss our first training session as a group at Alfred State.  Our first training session as a group took place on Tuesday, November 2nd, 2021.  In total we have 6 returning throwers and 5 new throwers.  Some of our new throwers threw in high school and some did not, which made for some interesting dynamics at pract...

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As a student-athlete I knew I had to maintain at least a 2.0gpa and could not participate in or indulge with drugs/alcohol for fear of either being kicked off the track and field team or expelled from school.  I had a few teammates over the years that stayed on campus for a fall semester and didn’t return for that spring semester.  The same for those that didn’t return in the fall of our...

First , when reflecting back on your season, it’s important to consider if you met and achieved the goals you set out to accomplish this season.  Nobody could have predicted the number of restrictions we would have faced and encountered this season.  With all the trials and obstacles in your way, how well do you think your season went?   Did you accomplish your goal(s) (yes, no, bot...

The suggestions I’ve shared in the past are quite universal.  Get sufficient sleep (7-9hrs a night) instead of staying up playing video games or scrolling through social media until 4am.  Take advantage of the recovery protocols offered to you (especially at the collegiate level and maybe as a post-collegiate athlete as well) by visiting the athletic trainer if something doesn’t feel rig...

In this week's episode of the Forza Athletics Life and Coaching Podcast I share my end of year thoughts about our awesome 2020-21 season.  I also share a little bit about our summer programming and the importance of training while off for 3 months.

In Episode 12 of the Forza Athletics Life and Coaching podcast I discuss a wide range of topics, such as; 1. Why I started this podcast three years ago 2. How to gauge your effort in competition 3. Do you compete like you practice 4. How my coaching philosophy has evolved over the past 16 years 5. Are you all gas no brakes or do you have a rhyme and reason for each throw in practice

In this week's episode of the Forza Athletics Life and Coaching Podcast I give a very detailed overview of our 2020-21 season at Alfred State.  We all overcame a lot of adversity as we traversed through this season.  I go into some detail about what that adversity was, how we overcame it, and what we will be working on as we prepare for the 2021-22 season.

Welcome back to another edition of the Forza Athletics Life and Coaching Podcast.  I'm your host Charles Infurna.  Episode 10 was recorded on Tuesday, May 11th, 2021.  In this episode I provide a brief recap of our 2020-21 track and field season.  We still have a few more athletes competing over the course of the next couple of weeks in the hopes of moving up the national's lis...

This week's episode of the Forza Athletics Life and Coaching Podcast speaks about life, regrets, and windows of excellence.  This episode was recorded on Friday, April 30th, 2021. As I reflect upon my time as a coach, I often think about the what if's that are associated with life in general.  As the athletes I coach approach graduation, I offer some type of life experiences and some sug...

In today's episode of the Forza Athletics Life and Coaching podcast I spent some time discussing the idea that pressure is a privilege.  I first heard this expression at a sports coaching conference in June 2018.  It was mentioned in a discussion about peak performance, mindset and how athletes' thoughts control their emotions.  These positive or negative emotions would in turn caus...

What’s the Difference? If you’ve attended enough track meets in your career much like I have, you may have heard coaches and athletes or coaches and coaches discussing the topic of improvement and proficiency.  I overheard the conversation take place at the lone indoor meet we had.  The conversation wasn’t between coach and athlete, but rather between two coaches from two different teams...

On Sunday our team competed at the Brockport Invitational meet.  Yes, the meet was held on a Sunday.  The week of practice and preparation leading up to the meet went pretty well.  Lots of good throws in practice, the throwers’ technical efficiency improved, and we had some strong performances in the weight room.  Then the competition began. As a whole, the competition went fai...

Welcome back to another episode of the Forza Athletics Life and Coaching Podcast.  In this week's episode I spend some time providing a recap of our first outdoor meet of the season.  I also spend some time discussing the process of picking events moving forward throughout the remainder of the season.  This past Friday our Alfred State throwers competed in their first meet of the 20...

Welcome back to another edition of the Forza Athletics Life and Coaching Podcast.  In today's episode I share some strategies and tips that coaches and athletes can easily implement that will lead to optimum performances during competition. This will be the first meet my athletes will be competing in about 13 months.  As a coach, I emphasize three different strategies with my athletes as...

In this episode I share some strategies for coaches who are practicing with their athletes later in the evening.  At Alfred State, for the time being we are practicing from 8:30pm-10:30pm three nights per week.  We'll be indoors through February and probably into the middle of March.  Without an indoor season to train for, a lot of our training time is going to be spent focusing on...

One night a week my oldest son plays recreation soccer through our parks and rec department.  The age group he plays with is 7-10.  He is one of the youngest (7) on the team, but physically stands head and shoulders over most of the other kids.  There are two teams of 7 kids and each coach on the indoor field at the same time.  They begin with about 15 minutes of drill work, an...

This week I got the chance to catch up with Kona and 70.3 World Championships Ginny Cataldi. By day Ginny is a middle school Art teacher. You can also say by day Ginny is a world class Triathlete. In this episode, Ginny and I discuss: 1. Her introduction to Triathlon 2. When Ginny realized she would have a bright future in Triathlon 3. Qualifying for her first Kona World Championships 4. Relations...

This week I had to catch up with world class Triathlete and super mom Kristen Lipscomb.  Kristen and I were teammates in high school (track and field).  We both competed in the throwing events, with some shorter races sprinkled in.  Since graduating from high school, Kristen has become a world class Triathlete, having qualified for the 70.3 world championships in 2020.  Besides...

This week I got the chance to catch up with Pan American Games Gold Medalist Olympic Weightlifter Alyssa Ritchey.  I was so pumped to conduct this interview that we just kept on talking!  Alyssa's weightlifting credentials are amazing:   2019 Pan American Championship 2019; 1st for snatch, Clean & jerk, and total   Strongest athlete pound for pound in the history of the USA...

This week I got the chance to catch up with USC graduate and all-round badass thrower Nick Ponzio.  It was great conversation, one in which I realized that we have more in common besides throwing.  Nick's family came to the United States from Italy shortly after the conclusion to World War I, settled on the East Coast before finally settling in Southern California.   In this episode...

This week I got the chance to catch up with master's world champion Olympic weightlifter Kristi Brewer. Besides being a world champion lifter, Kristi is also a world record holder and all world wife and mom. In this episode Kristi and I discussed: 1. Her introduction to Olympic weightlifting 2. When she realized she could be a "good" lifter 3. Qualifying for USA Nationals in her first competition...

In this episode I answered questions I received on Instagram.   1.  How did you end up at Alfred St.? 2.  How do you set up your practice schedule through COVID restrictions? 3.  Best ways to keep kids engaged 4.  Thoughts on missing the indoor season 5.  Keeping athletes motivated with the potential loss of the indoor and outdoor season

In this episode I discuss how I got back into collegiate coaching by becoming the throwing coach of the Alfred State Pioneers.  I also share my thoughts about coaching through restrictions, quarantine, and limited schedules.