On the Contacts Coaching Podcast, host interviews Justin Beck, assistant coach at UC San Diego, about his path from growing up around baseball with his father Bob Beck, to playing at San José State, transferring to UCSD, and moving into coaching at UCSD, Cal Poly Pomona, and back to UCSD. Beck describes the difficult transition from coaching former teammates, lessons learned from playing for his dad, and how modern tools like True Media and PitchCom have changed positioning, scouting, and in-game communication. He discusses how shifting, increased pitching “stuff,” and approach changes affect hitting, why coaches must develop every player on the roster, and how they create live reps for non-starters. Beck critiques the youth sports travel/showcase economy, urges multi-sport participation and downtime, and explains how UCSD evaluates recruits’ intangibles and character. He closes with how he challenges his own beliefs, including rethinking fastball-focused hitting.

00:00 Welcome and Introductions

00:18 Justin Beck Origin Story

01:32 College Stops and Coaching Path

04:37 Player to Coach Whiplash

08:32 Should New Coaches Leave

11:21 Playing for Dad Lessons

16:13 Shifts and Positioning Analytics

18:55 PitchCom and Dugout Rules

23:37 Modern Hitting and Strikeouts

27:56 Coaching Values Across Programs

31:18 Staying Game Ready

32:23 Live Reps After Weekends

33:48 Sandlot Culture Checks

34:38 Youth Sports Money Trap

40:08 Play Multiple Sports

46:18 Exposure Before Ready

50:52 Showcase Metrics Noise

53:37 Recruiting Intangibles

57:29 Outlets Beyond Baseball

59:00 Changing Your Mind

On the Contacts Coaching Podcast, coach John Seavey discusses his path from playing basketball to becoming a student manager at the University of Arizona under Sean Miller, a pivotal experience that led him into coaching, then staying as a GA to earn his master’s degree. He followed associate head coach Joe Pasternack to UC Santa Barbara (2017–2022), where he learned organizational discipline, relationship-building, fundraising, and navigating institutional politics after a long-tenured coach. Seavey then moved to Cal State Monterey Bay under Isaac Williams, gaining major on-court growth by running the defense, learning communication, tactical adjustments, and roster construction through mistakes and mentorship. He joined DJ Broome at Cal Poly Humboldt, completed a strong first season, and was promoted to associate head coach, emphasizing identity, community investment, process-driven improvement, effort evaluation, and guiding players to answers through questions.

00:00 Welcome and Introductions

00:30 John Seavey Coaching Origin

01:14 Student Manager Pathway

02:40 Arizona to Santa Barbara Move

03:09 Monterey Bay Learning Curve

04:32 Humboldt Transition and Promotion

05:33 Manager Versus Ops Restrictions

08:00 Following a Legend at UCSB

11:16 Politics and Admin Relationships

14:36 Humboldt Relationship Blueprint

16:21 Mistakes That Built a Coach

20:04 Defense Coordinator by Fire

22:47 Letting Assistants Own Schemes

25:46 Roster Construction and Fit

29:04 Recruiting Pipelines and Trends

31:46 Beyond Basketball Differences

32:22 Arizona Pro Mindset

33:50 UCSB Building a Program

35:04 Division II Reality Check

35:39 Carryover Coaching Lessons

40:20 Community Investment Culture

42:05 Fundraising Relentless Yes

46:51 Sustaining Winning Identity

52:33 Process Over Scoreboard

56:16 Measuring Effort on Film

59:31 Guide Players to Answers

01:02:40 Patience and Long Game

01:05:15 Closing Coastline Banter

On the Contacts Coaching Podcast, host interviews Jeffrey Dixon, athletic director at River Valley High School outside Pittsburgh, about his path from an average high school athlete to teacher, multi-sport coach, and AD since 2021 amid a district merger and rebrand. Dixon explains how River Valley built an indoor track program without its own facility, traveling to college sites while indoor remains PTFCA-sponsored rather than PIAA-sanctioned due to limited venues. They discuss the shift away from volunteering in coaching, strategies for staffing shortages through alumni and cross-sport hires, and communication systems that build accountability. Dixon shares culture lessons he’s borrowed from other coaches, ways to reduce subjectivity with data and video, concerns about specialization and burnout, the value of multi-sport participation, and how his mindset has evolved from chasing wins to prioritizing relationships and learning from failure.

Substack: https://gdthead.substack.com/

00:00 Welcome and Introductions

00:50 Coach Dixon’s Coaching Journey

04:34 Building an Indoor Track Program

08:29 District Merger and School Landscape

11:35 Football Culture and Small-School Numbers

14:19 Volunteering vs Paid Coaching Today

20:01 Creative Staffing and Recruiting Helpers

22:13 Stealing Great Ideas From Other Coaches

26:00 Inbox Rules and Boundaries

27:39 Email Text Call Hierarchy

29:33 Overcommunicating With Parents

31:10 One Platform for Everything

32:09 Culture Builders in Programs

35:19 Making Subjective Sports Fair

39:38 Specialization and Travel Ball

48:48 Multi Sport and Real Development

50:49 Handling Insults as a Leader

53:16 Changing Minds on Winning

57:28 Wrap Up and Next Projects

Twitter: @RVTFXCCoach

Substack: @geoffdixon185810

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoff-dixon-caa-b69655245

Podcast Instagram: @exchangezonepodcast

On the Contacts Coaching Podcast, Butte College head women’s basketball coach Phillip Thomas Jr. shares his journey from Fairfield High (class of 2007) through multiple college stops (Delta/CRC, Florida International, Humboldt State, Whittier) and into coaching via AAU and high school before roles with Team Kidd, Academy of Art, and ultimately becoming Butte’s head coach (year three). He explains early head-coaching surprises at the JUCO level—administration, travel, eligibility, housing, and constant roster volatility—and how he now recruits by selling Chico as a college town while pulling talent from states and Canada. Thomas discusses learning from mentors like Chico State’s Coach Fogel and Rob Bishop, building a coaching network, and defining culture through accountability, punctuality, study hall, energy, and life lessons. He critiques youth/AAU development gaps, emphasizes fundamentals and “reps,” and describes coaching with authenticity over ego while prioritizing relationships and growth beyond basketball.

00:00 Welcome and Introduction

00:23 Coach Journey Begins

01:29 Switch to Coaching Women

02:26 Landing at Butte College

03:08 Career Timeline Breakdown

04:39 Team Kidd Origins

05:25 Head Coach Reality Check

07:41 Planning for Chaos

09:32 Recruiting to Chico

11:17 Mentors at Butte

13:20 Building Coaching Network

15:52 Defining Program Culture

22:17 Life Lessons and Buzzwords

23:06 Family Concept in Sports

24:24 Accountability With Care

25:57 Players Leave And Return

26:42 Using Your Own Journey

30:08 I Had My Turn

32:33 Learning Beyond Basketball

37:30 Clubs Versus Schools

40:08 Fixing Youth Development

44:09 Teaching From Scratch

48:50 Coaching Authentically

51:02 Power Of Hello

52:06 Final Reflections

Evan Campbell from The Rectory School in Connecticut discusses his 17-year journey from college tennis player to Dean of Students and interim Director of Secondary School Advising, while also coaching varsity tennis and assisting with varsity hockey. He explains what a junior boarding school is (boarding grades 5–9, with only 11 in the U.S.), how Rectory supports varied student outcomes, and how proximity to neighboring high schools like Pomfret enables shared facilities without being a guaranteed feeder path. Campbell compares coaching in hockey versus tennis, emphasizing the mental demands of individual sports, the value of students playing multiple sports, and how his dean role shaped his coaching through consistency, accountability, and care. He breaks down head vs. assistant coaching responsibilities, humility, role clarity, and concludes with a mindset shift toward intentionally building personal connections with each student-athlete.

00:00 Meet Evan Campbell

00:37 Many Hats at Rectory

01:32 How He Got Here

02:19 What Is Junior Boarding

06:17 Rectory and Pomfret Neighbors

08:47 Coaching Tennis in Winter

09:38 Multi Sport Upbringing

12:09 Pond Hockey Culture

13:35 Dean of Students Reality

14:28 Discipline Through Relationships

18:21 Dean Role Shapes Coaching

21:28 Head vs Assistant Coach

26:36 Assistant Coach Humility

27:22 Multi Sport Coaching Benefits

29:19 Hockey vs Tennis Intensity

32:11 Tennis as Mental Therapy

35:08 Team vs Individual Lessons

35:54 Head vs Assistant Reps

46:20 Building Coaching Staff Roles

48:41 Delegation and Practice Splits

51:48 Changing Minds on Connection

54:47 Final Wrap and Golf Banter

The host interviews Coach Egypt Glover, a 26-year-old new varsity head coach at Creative Connections Arts Academy in North Highlands, California, who shares his path from growing up in South Central LA in a sports-focused family to playing travel basketball, attending Merced College, and gaining early unpaid experience as a student assistant under coach Bill Russell. After high school he built a box-truck logistics business (now a four-vehicle fleet pursuing a fifth), started a security company serving about 11 sites, and purchased a fourplex with plans for transitional housing. Glover explains how research, commitment, passion, and team-building—crediting his wife Lauryn—drove his entrepreneurship, and how networking led to coaching roles from middle school head coach to varsity assistant to JV head coach. He outlines his coaching philosophy emphasizing fundamentals, defense, buy-in, grades/behavior/practice, calm leadership, and winning on and off the court.

00:00 Meet Coach Glover

01:15 South Central Roots

03:12 High School Turning Point

03:57 Entrepreneur Detour

06:04 First Coaching Breaks

08:03 Middle School Culture Build

10:22 Climbing to Varsity

13:43 New Head Coach Mission

14:47 Business Deep Dive

18:01 Trucking to Fleet Growth

20:41 Security Company Scaling

22:21 Real Estate Wealth Play

25:40 Business Mindset Blueprint

29:20 Coaching Pay and Purpose

31:22 Networking Over Job Boards

33:40 High School Sports Boom

34:24 Breaking Into Coaching

35:38 Defining Coaching Greatness

39:53 Head Coach Reality Check

41:23 Building Staff and Culture

45:40 Receiving Feedback Well

49:08 Fall Priorities Fundamentals

52:03 Managing Emotions and Refs

56:39 Identity and Burn Boats

59:47 Changing Minds and Pruning

01:02:38 Closing Thanks and Next Steps

After three weeks on the road, the Contacts Coaching Podcast returns with Desiree Nunez, a mental health therapist and basketball coach at Eagle Crest High School in the Cherry Creek area near Denver. Nunez shares how coaching was “in her blood” through her Air Force veteran father, how she became a therapist to meet mental health needs in athletics, and how she returned to coaching after COVID—eventually earning head coaching opportunities and winning extensively with freshman teams. She explains practical sports-psychology tools for coaches: normalizing emotions (especially for boys), teaching players to notice and name feelings, locate them in the body, regulate, and then “next play.” She details a three-clap reset, body-language standards, and asking for a sub to reset. The conversation also covers time-management lessons from middle school constraints, combining drills with game-like constraints, and how “challenging” authority through curious questions improves leadership.

00:00 Meet Desiree Nunez

00:39 Coaching Roots

02:33 Therapy Path

03:52 Back to the Bench

05:38 Military Culture Shift

09:25 Sports Psychology Breakthrough

11:46 Feelings and Regulation

17:21 Notice the Emotion

25:09 Halftime and Practice Talks

26:38 Three Clap Reset

31:27 Coaching Boys as Woman

33:05 Coaching Boys as a Woman

34:05 Freshman Program Trust Issues

36:15 Head Coach Reality Check

37:35 45-Minute Practice Crunch

39:49 Zoom Out and Prioritize

43:12 Game-Like Drills and Constraints

48:44 Hack Drills for Weaknesses

54:18 Bring It Back to High School

57:50 Changing Minds on Challenge

01:05:41 Be Willing to Be Cringe

01:09:22 Assistant Coach Courage Wrap-Up

In this special Contacts Coaching Podcast episode, host interviews Gina Lehe, Vice President of Communications at the NCAA, about her path from Stevenson to the University of Arizona, decades in postseason college football (Fiesta Bowl, Rose Bowl, and launching College Football Playoff communications), and joining the NCAA in 2019 just before NIL upheaval, the pandemic, and nonstop crisis communications. Leahy explains how bowl games and CFP operate as separate entities from the NCAA, clarifies that NCAA rules are created by member-driven committees, and describes how a patchwork of state laws and court вмешательства fuels uncertainty around NIL, transfers, and eligibility. She addresses misconceptions like “five and five,” outlines the developing age-based eligibility model, and discusses federal efforts such as the Protect College Sports Act. The conversation also covers House settlement impacts, revenue sharing, protecting Olympic/non-revenue sports, misconceptions in recruiting, and highlights women’s championships—especially women’s gymnastics—as must-see events.

00:00 Podcast Intro Guest

00:32 Gina’s Path to NCAA

02:35 Crisis Comms Era

05:01 How Bowl System Works

07:36 CFP vs NCAA Explained

10:07 NIL Rulemaking Reality

16:00 Patchwork Laws and Congress

18:24 Eligibility Model Update

21:24 Messaging Leaks and Process

30:20 House Settlement Fallout

36:46 Revenue Share and Alston

40:06 Mid Majors And Tiers

41:20 Olympic Sports Sustainability

43:15 Disparity And Expansion

46:07 Accountability And Myths

48:27 Media Literacy And Data

51:23 NIL Recruiting Myths

55:55 D1 Bust Mentality

01:01:08 NCAA Success Means Clarity

01:02:41 Hidden Gem Championships

01:09:04 Leadership Mindset Shifts

01:14:18 Closing Reflections

On the Contacts Coaching Podcast, Justin interviews Kevin Fox, a Salinas native and longtime Midland, Texas resident who serves as character coach for Grant McCasland at Texas Tech. Fox shares his path from UC Davis and early ministry work to building relationships in junior college basketball at Midland College, where he connected with coaches like McCasland, Ross Hodge, and others. They discuss West Texas sports culture, the importance of encouraging multi-sport athletes, and how character coaching works best through organic relationships, clear boundaries, and accountability. Fox addresses how NIL has increased pressure and outside pull on athletes, the value of JUCO coaching experience for today’s roster turnover, and practical ways teams define and measure culture, including tracking “positive touches.” He also reflects on humility, continuous learning, and stepping out from behind the scenes.

00:00 Welcome and Introductions

01:06 From Salinas to Midland

01:53 Hoops to Coaching Network

04:38 Character Coach Role

05:15 West Texas Football Culture

07:06 Multi Sport Debate

10:37 Organic Mentorship Model

14:40 NIL Pressures and Protection

17:39 JUCO Mindset at Tech

21:16 Calling to Ministry

25:16 Teaching Faith and Coaching

28:44 Coaching Meets Ministry

30:21 Learning to Say I Don’t Know

31:53 Humility and Adaptation

34:26 Boundaries and Accountability

39:03 Preacher vs Minister

41:15 Coaching Across Levels

47:12 Defining Character Culture

51:12 Changing Minds and Showing Up

53:57 Closing Story and Farewell

On the Contacts Coaching Podcast, Justin interviews Jake Van Hofwegen, athletic director and assistant principal at Beaumont High School in Southern California, about his path into athletic administration and why Beaumont became a dream job after roles at Coachella Valley and Colton. Jake explains how the AD/AP structure streamlines discipline, hiring, and decision-making, and how supportive, sports-savvy administrators help. He discusses managing 28 varsity teams and about 1,500 athletes at a 3,500-student school, the need for an assistant AD, and challenges like scheduling games, tryout cuts, and heavy parent involvement. They critique youth sport specialization and travel ball pressures, emphasize coach development and relationship-based feedback, and share initiatives like media days and coach clinics. Jake highlights using AI tools like ChatGPT to improve communication and efficiency.

00:00 Welcome and Introductions

00:28 Name Pronunciation Bit

00:48 Path to Athletic Director

02:43 Dual Role AP and AD

04:21 Why Beaumont Was the Goal

07:01 Not Every Job Is Good

10:29 Following a Local Legend

12:30 Working With Principals

15:14 Managing 3500 Students

18:05 Cuts and Creative Options

21:06 Multi Sport vs Specialization

25:36 Late Bloomer Athlete

26:38 Travel Ball Takes Over

27:15 Program Pillars Growth Tech

29:25 Media Days And Clinics

31:46 Coach Time And Buy In

34:19 Truth Tellers And Trust

39:23 Finding Dissenting Voices

42:02 Parents And Hard Lessons

46:01 Changing Mind On Coaching

52:28 AI Tools For ADs

54:38 Closing Thanks