When The Cleats Come Off

3x Olympian and 4x All-American, Cat Osterman, is BACK on the show this week (and next!) sharing a bit more of how she and her dad were a TEAM in pursuit of her big dreams, a bit of how retirement and mom life has been treating her lately,  and her honest take on the travel ball space and how we as coaches and parents can (and should!) make it a better environment for our athletes. Follow Cat...

If you’re looking for simple ways to get MORE out of the work you’re already putting in to get better to your game, buckle up, because today I’m giving you five easy ways to amp up your training and really start moving the needle on your potential. Check out the Always Grind 365 Notebooks - https://alwaysgrind365.com/discount/ASHLEYB   Learn some of my favorite Hitting Drills on my YouTube Ch...

Let’s celebrate! No one gets to where they want to without a little consistency and for this 6 year Anniversary of Ashley B Training, I’m sharing with you 6 BIG MOVES that were hard, but essential to help us get to where we are…THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE and I hope this episode inspires you to keep following the dreams on your heart! Get 40% off all ABT Merch - https://ashley-b-training.mysh...

Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and National Championship Coach from the University of Alabama, Patrick Murphy joins us today for an epic conversation about leadership and the incredible culture he has built in Tuscaloosa under his tenure. Here, you’ll learn the story behind the word “Mudita” and why Alabama softball LIVES by it, the intangible skills he teaches his teams to ultimately become better P...

Everyone’s recruiting story is different (ask anyone who’s been recruited) but there's so much I’ve learned from others journeys that helped me navigate my own. Today, I’m sharing my college recruiting story from when I decided I wanted to play college ball, what steps I took to put me “on the map” and ultimately what made me choose my favorite University in the world. Leave a review on apple podc...

In this episode you’ll find a list of unique questions to ask coaches during the recruiting process, some questions they’ll likely ask you so you can prepare and a checklist you’ll want to have to keep you ahead of the game during the recruiting process. Whether you’re in the thick of the recruiting process or you’ll be in it soon, this is an episode you’ll want to prepare yourself with! Download...

Your thoughts will determine your success and in this episode you’ll learn how to stay optimistic when things don’t go your way, slumps and how to get out of them, how to create a growth mindset to set yourself up for success, and how parents can help build a stronger foundation and relationship with their athlete with Founder and CEO of “The Formula”, Lane Farmer.  Follow Lane and his work o...

Everyone is looking for ways to stand out from their competition, and here are 10 of the most important ways you can do so! The more you work on these the better you will become in the long run…guaranteed! Leave a review on apple podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/when-the-cleats-come-off/id1525612274   Episodes Referred to in this episode: Kaitlyn McNally: Maximize performance...

What you eat can positively or negatively affect your performance and in today’s conversation with sports-specific Dietitian-Nutritionist, Kaitlyn McNally, you’ll learn some meal prep planning, great snack and hydration ideas for a long day at the ballpark, how to properly recover and take care of your body with food, how to keep your energy high from the first to last games of the day, and so muc...

According to Coach Carol Hutchins from Michigan, working hard is only the entry point to becoming great. Everyone is working hard, but how can you stand out from the rest of the pack and achieve the greatness that you never even realized you could achieve? Goal-Smasher Confidence Course - https://www.ashleybtraining.com/2-week-course-opt-in   Virtual Hitting Academy - https://www.ashleybtrain...

Samu is BACK on the pod diving deeper into WHY she wanted to go mid-major for college and why she would have it no other way, how she’s able to always keep the game fun, some exciting new elements of Athletes Unlimited, where she thinks professional softball is headed with having two different leagues now…and we even go off on a Twitter tangent as to why we think athletes looking to get recruited...

Until we’ve mastered how we can manage our thoughts, confidence will be hard to find under the pressures of the game of softball. Today, we’re learning the characteristics of Mental toughness from my favorite mental skills book “Mind Gym” which include the 7 C’s: competitiveness, controlling the controllables, keeping our composure and how to be more courageous even when our backs are against the...

2x Olympic Medalist, Monica Abbott, is back as a new author and loving her new retirement life! In this episode, she goes deeper into her journey to make her dream of becoming an Olympian a reality, how she has been able to shift her struggles into her strength, the steps that are NECESSARY to make your goals happen, the support her parents had on her journey, a special project she hasn’t made pub...

Never could I EVER be more proud to have grown up as an athlete because the lessons sports taught me have helped me prepare for this new gig as a mother and then some! From the power of persistence, patience, discipline, teamwork (thanks hubby!)...all of these traits I learned through softball have been tested within these first few weeks of parenthood! It feels SO GOOD to be back on the mic shari...

Have you ever wondered why some people are able to move on from a mistake faster than others? They approach their process as a main priority and today I’m teaching you a few, simple ways you can work on flexing this important mental muscle OFTEN so you can be more clutch for your team in the big moments, overcome adversity quicker and find wayyy more joy when you’re playing, coaching or even paren...

The recent WPF (Women’s Professional Fastpitch) draft inspired me to talk professional softball today with you; what I LOVE about the WPF and Athletes Unlimited, what MORE I believe needs to happen to really grow the game to where I think it can be, highlighting some of the INCREDIBLE athletes, managers and commissioners in the game right now and how you and I can help it keep growing which will i...

Today’s episode is a little different than most. This short, 10 minute episode is a softball-specific meditation to help athletes be in a more calm and relaxed state before their next big performance, so they can be more in control and confident with what’s about to happen. This includes practices I’ve learned from books like “Mind Gym: An athlete’s guide for inner excellence”, Sports Psychologist...

BEFORE you go straight to trying to fix your mechanics when things don’t go well early in the season, let’s check in on our timing! MOST hitters think they have to make a mechanical adjustment when it could have EASILY been prevented if we spent just a little more time in each hitting session working on TIMING. Here are a few of my favorite timing drills and mental skills to help you be on time mo...

The game of baseball (and softball) is our nation’s past-time for a reason and deserves to be played with FUN and FREEDOM as a top priority. Our game builds character, discipline, teamwork, drive and so much more, and this episode is highlighting how to get the most out of ourselves every time we get to step our cleats on that field. In a world of high performance anxiety, stress, and burnout, tun...

“90% of the game is half mental.” - Yogi Berra. When we start to understand that what separates the good from the GREAT is mastering our mental game, that’s when we truly live up to our potential when we play. In this episode you’ll learn strategies from my FAVORITE book “Mind Gym: An athlete’s guide to inner excellence” on how to stay focused, deal with adversity, stay motivated, avoid distractio...

No one knows when their next adversity is going to hit, but we can always be prepared for when it does come! This week on the podcast, Pitching Coach Kally V is here teaching us about adversity and how to overcome it once it arrives, what she wishes more parents knew about their athletes and what they go through, tips about recruiting, what led her to coaching after her traumatic career-ending inj...

Want to make sure you’re mentally prepared to thrive…ESPECIALLY at your next tryout?! This episode was MADE FOR YOU! From making sure your mind is ready for what’s to come to wearing your FAVE outfit to “look good, feel good, play good”, here are 10 things I wish I would have been able to hear before each and every tryout I ever had…or really before any important performance I was getting ready to...

SO MANY have asked that we have a guest on the show who has “made it” from the Midwest and TODAY we get to make it happen! Erin Coffel is an Indiana native and 2x Gatorade Player of the Year currently competing at top-25 ranked Kentucky. She is an All-American, has led the SEC in many offensive categories, and still has two more seasons ahead of her! In this episode, you’ll learn about her unique...

If you want to be great at this game a REQUIREMENT is to watch the best do what they do. Today I’m giving you 10 ways to make the MOST out of your watching experience so that players, coaches AND parents can get your mental reps in while also being entertained by some of the very best in the game! Leave your own review on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/when-the-cleats-come-...

A dream of MINE is having Dr. Dot Richardson on the podcast and I’m so excited for her to share a bit about her incredible journey from not being able to play organized sports growing up to being the FIRST Team USA hit in Olympic Softball history! There’s so much more we unpack in this episode from how competitiveness has been at the forefront since childhood, how she’s been able to lead Liberty S...