The Modern Coach’s Compass Podcast

This week I got the chance to catch up with All American thrower Megan Tomei. Megan is the current throwing coach at YSU. In her brief stint as throwing coach, Megan has already led one YSU thrower to compete on the international stage. Megan is a graduate of Ashland University where she threw under the watchful eye of Jud Logan. In this episode, Megan and I discussed: 1. How she first got involve...

What is holding you back from accomplishing your goals?

It took us about five years, but we finally scheduled this interview and got it recorded.  I've known Dom for over 10 years.  We competed against each other.  We also coached against each other.   In this episode, Dom and I discussed:   1. Competing at the collegiate level  2. Throwing in the SUNY Brockport system  3. Post-collegiate throwing  4. Coaching at...

This week I got the chance to catch up with Olympic Weightlifter Noel Leka.  Noel is a certified USAW-Level 2 coach as well as a CrossFit L1 coach.  He is also one of the top Olympic weightlifters in the United States, having competed at the previous two Arnold Classics.  In 2019, Noel earned the silver medal in the Snatch at the US Championships.   In this episode, Noel and I...

This week I got the chance to catch up with Hillsdale College throwing coach Jessica Bridenthal.  Jessica competed at Ashland University during her throwing career, racking up an incredible 12 All-American awards and a National Championship in the 20lb. weight throw.  After her collegiate throwing career ended, Jess set her sights on the Highland Games.  During her career as a Highl...

This week I had the chance to catch up with multiple time Highland Games World Champion Daniel McKim.  In this candid and humorous interview, Dan and I spoke at great length about:   1. How he began throwing in high school  2. Making the transition to collegiate thrower  3. Not living up to expectations as a collegiate thrower (multiple nationals trips with one All-American awa...

In this episode of the Forza Athletics Life and Coaching Podcast I got the chance to catch up with my long time friend and new Director of Track & Field and Head S & C Coach at Alfred State Tim Giagios.  I've known Tim for 20 years, dating back to our high school days in Rochester, NY.  Tim and I also competed against each other in college, Tim as an athlete at Buffalo State and...

Adriane (Blewitt) Wilson graduated from Ashland University (Ashland, Ohio) in 2004 with a degree in Physical Education and Health. As an NCAA Division II track and field athlete, she is a 13 time All-American in the shot put, discus, hammer and 20lb. weight throw. Adriane earned 7 NCAA Div II National titles and 6 Runner Up honors. She is the former NCAA Division II record holder in the discus and...

This week I got the chance to catch up with fellow SUNY Fredonia alum Kelly Vincent.  Kelly was a standout distance runner as a student-athlete at SUNY Fredonia.  She is on multiple all-time top 10 lists across the many distance events she competed in.  After a brief stint as the recruiting coordinator at St. John Fisher College, Kelly returned to Fredonia as a full-time assistant c...

This week I caught up with Wisconsin-Oshkosh throwing coach Mary Theisen-Lappen.     In our interview this week, Mary and I discussed:  1.  Her high school throwing career  2.  Making the decision to throw in college  3.  Why she choose one college over another  4.  Post-collegiate throwing  5.  The importance of making connections i...

This week I got the chance to catch up with 2x IPF World Powerlifting Champion Jen Millican. In this episode Jen and I discuss how: 1. She manages a work/life balance between training 2. Working from home due to the COVID-19 virus 3. The importance of having a support system 4. Her approach to competing at the world championships 5. How visualization has positively impacted her powerlifting perfor...

In this week's Forza Athletics Life & Coaching Podcast I spent some time catching up with National Champion and 4x All-American thrower Luis Rivera.     I've known Luis for over 8 years and even I learned some new things about Luis from our chat.  In this video we discussed his story on first coming to the United States in 9th grade, how he made the decision to attend Nazar...

In this week's episode of the Forza Athletics Life & Coaching Podcast I got the chance to speak with the 2018 Olympic Weightlifting Jr. Female Lifter of the Year Juliana (Jules) Riotto.  Julia is also the 2018 Jr. World Silver Medalist, as well as the 2018 Jr. Pan American Champion.   Juliana began her weightlifting career about 6 years ago when she won the teenage division power cle...

In this week's episode of the Forza Athletics Life and Coaching Podcast I had the chance to interview Mental Performance Coach and Owner of Delta Mentality Liz Brookhouse.   In this episode Liz provides us with some great examples of how to build effective relationships with our athletes, how to better keep athletes engaged, what it means to focus, mindfulness implementation, and what the fut...

In this episode of the Forza Athletics Life and Coaching Podcast I caught up with Akron Zip and New York State Champion thrower William Gross IV.  I had the opportunity to work with William the summer before his senior year of high school through the indoor track & field season as William prepared for a run at winning a New York State Championship in the 25# weight throw.   William a...

We came back for a second interview with Highland Games professional thrower Matt Hand.  Matt is a graduate of SUNY Brockport that has made a successful transition to the world of Highland Games.   In this episode Matt and I discuss: Nutrition for Highland competitors, Meet preparation, and; How the Corona virus has impacted his season and that other Highland athletes

This past weekend I attended a Division III track & field meet at Nazareth College.  While I was sitting in the bleachers, two coaches standing in front of me had this conversation:   Coach 1-How was conference last week?   Coach 2-Not that good.  We should have won, but didn't.   Coach 1-What happened?   Coach 2-Our best athlete didn't perform as well as he shoul...

In this episode I continue to conversation from last week about re-evaluating expectations and the work it truly takes in order to move forward in a positive manner throughout your throwing journey. I do want to revisit this topic again because I think it is important to provide coaches out there with some strategies and tools they can implement when encountering situations like this.  F...

In re-evaluating expectations after break with my athletes, I would; 1) review their goals with them, 2) develop an action plan with them on how to get back on track, 3) input accountability metrics along the way, and 4) share with them that at least for the first couple of meets (usually through the beginning of February) to focus on the process of getting back into throwing shape and not stress...

Last week I got a swim session in at the local YMCA with my dad.  After my swim, I sat down in the sauna.  There was a gentleman sitting there.  After a few moments we started talking about training, life, and inspiration.  I usually get anxious after sitting in the sauna at around the 30 minute mark, but on this day the time was flying by.  Before he left the sauna,...

In this week's episode I thought it would be fitting to discuss the summer of 2004.  I had just graduated from college, was enrolled in graduate school, and I was beginning my teaching career that fall.  With all the positive opportunities in my life at that time, I reflect back on how fearful and apprehensive I was to follow my dreams.  Rather than try to continue pursing my passio...

As a coach at Forza Athletics for the past three years, I can honestly say that I have been truly blessed to have been given the opportunity to work with such an outstanding group of post-collegiate and high-school throwers!    This past year saw our athletes grow by leaps and bounds in the circle.  It marked the 3rd year in a row we have had a thrower accept a Division I schol...

I asked our social media friends on Tuesday if they had any ideas about podcast episodes.  I received two great ideas from a graduate assistant throwing coach in the Mid-West.  Her first question was about making the transition to post-collegiate throwing.  In this episode, I discuss three facets I think are important when making a successful transition to post-collegiate throwing....

Thank you Liz and Sean for asking great questions yesterday that I could answer on today's episode about goal setting.   Liz's question was-What's a process that actually works? SMART seems superficial/not always helpful Sean asked-When looking long term, how many short term goals are necessary to achieve your long term goal I tried my best to answer these two questions by reviewing what the...

In this brief episode I ramble about coaching, expectations and professional goals for the upcoming year.  If you haven't had the chance to read Jon Gordon's book One Word, you can purchase his book by clicking this link   You read other articles I've written about being focused by clicking here and here You can learn more about Forza Athletics by visiting www.forzathletics.com Instagram...