Coaching Trees

For the Season 3 finale, I have a great interview for you with a former boss and friend of mine. Tommy Pearce is the head men's lacrosse coach at Ithaca College in New York. After his time playing and coaching as an assistant at Gettysburg College, he started programs at both Frostburg State University and Allegheny College before ending up in Ithaca. He has a wealth of knowledge and a great perspective on how to develop a player led culture and accountability system. I had the pleasure of working for him at Frostburg State in 2015-2016 and learned a ton while working with him. I hope you enjoy the conversation as we wrap up Season 3 of Coaching Trees!

In this episode, I have the opportunity to speak with Messiah Head Women's Lacrosse Coach, Heather McKay. Heather and I talk about her journey as a player and coach overseas and how that journey ultimately led her back to her alma mater, Messiah. She has awesome perspective about how to balance competition and excellence on the field with what truly matters in the lives of her athletes. I hope you enjoy the conversation!

After a hiatus (sorry, in season gets busy) we are back with another episode from Season 3! In this episode, I have a conversation with my mentor, John Levis. We talk about his experience coaching all different sports at all different levels, the impact coaches can have on their players and the role faith can play in sport. I hope you enjoy!

This interview is with Steve Colfer, the long time head coach of Cabrini University who now serves as the Assistant AD and Head Boys Coach at Episcopal Academy. We talk about his time at Cabrini leading up to their 2019 National Championship run and his transition to high school. Enjoy!

In this episode, I talk with Trey Keeley, the new Head Lacrosse Coach of Mercyhurst University. We discuss his journey in coaching and how each stop along the way prepared him to take on this new role at a high level program in Division 2. Enjoy!

In this episode I interview Kevin McDonough. Kevin is entering his 4th year as the head coach at Chatham University in Pittsburgh. He and I coached together for a year at Frostburg State University and it has been amazing to see his growth in the profession over the last 8 years. We talk about practical ways to implement culture and what the profession of coaching is all about. Enjoy!

In this episode, I get the pleasure of interviewing Jim Berkman, the head lacrosse coach at Salisbury University. He is a 13-time national champion at Salisbury including winning the most recent Division 3 championship in 2023. 

In this episode I talk with Jackie Dando, the head women's lacrosse coach at Bucknell University. Jackie and I discuss the importance of conveying clear expectations and developing culture through relationships. Enjoy!

In this episode, I talk with Matt Horth, current men's soccer coach at Gordon College and former professional soccer player. We talk about cultivating an identity within your team to make things simple and easy to follow. Enjoy!

The first episode to release in 2022! In this episode, Alec Jernstedt, the head men's lacrosse coach at Grove City, discusses mindfulness and relationships and how those things are crucial to developing a winning culture.