Everything Fastpitch - The Podcast

Episode 441 of Everything Fastpitch discusses NCAA Division I fall recruiting limitations that can affect travel-team scheduling while still emphasizing competition value. City of the Week is El Paso, Texas. A listener question addresses ways to stay involved in softball in college without being a varsity player, including club softball, team manager/bullpen roles, and student assistant coaching or helping youth teams. The main interview features Kyle Epps—author, elite performance coach, former police officer/lawyer, and softball dad—discussing routines, focus, reducing conscious swing thoughts during execution, training hitters to be ready every pitch, building “pictures” through realistic reps, and reframing failure as learning. The coaching tip warns that constant in-game mechanical hitting instruction from coaches can harm hitters; game time should prioritize simple encouragement and postgame review.

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Coach Tory and Coach Don preview episode 440,  and share updates including Team USA traveling to Japan for the Japan Cup as part of preparation toward the 2028 Olympics and the City of the Week, Mustang, Oklahoma. They answer a listener question about when players truly focus on playing college softball, noting it varies by family but commitment often becomes clearer in the mid-teen years. In an extended interview, Bridgewater College assistant coach and catching instructor Bobby Humphrey discusses the undervalued catching position, warns about misleading social-media instruction, and emphasizes progression, enthusiasm, and prioritizing receiving, then throwing mechanics (transfer time), and blocking mentality; he also addresses pitcher-catcher relationships, pitch calling development, and one-knee catching as athlete-dependent. The coaching tip explains ways to incorporate live pitching into practice without full scrimmages using competitive situations and efficient rotations.

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Coach Tory and Coach Don outline episode 439’s segments. In “Did You Know,” they discuss the U.S. Women’s National Team playing in the World Cup in Oklahoma City and a longer-term evaluation plan toward the 2028 Olympics, citing the deep talent pool and benefits of ongoing team-building. City of the Week is Charleston, South Carolina. A listener asks whether college softball will adopt automated balls and strikes after the NCAA approved ABS for college baseball in 2027; they expect it eventually but note cost/logistics and debate how it could affect strike-zone manipulation. They then critique a social media post contrasting school ball and travel ball, arguing both settings include winning and development, quality varies, and collaboration best serves players. The coaching tip addresses players using cell phones in the dugout, recommending clear rules such as collecting and locking phones during games and coaches modeling the same behavior.

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Everything Fastpitch episode 438 segments include SEC softball schedule news, city/equipment tips, and a listener question, then features an interview with Dr. Brianna Halford (The Throwing Doctor), a doctor of physical therapy and certified athletic trainer who began after her own softball back fracture. The hosts discuss the SEC’s 2027 schedule and note the absence of a Texas-Oklahoma regular series, speculate about a special event, and highlight Nashville, Tennessee (Vanderbilt lacks a softball team). They answer a coach’s question on bullpen frequency by emphasizing individualized workloads, communication, and coaches knowing pitchers’ terminology and needs. Halford stresses early mechanics instruction, using lower half, avoiding overuse, consistent arm-care routines (3–4x/week), and gradual return from injury. The coaching tip argues against changing swings or “75% swings” with two strikes without dedicated practice, advocating a consistent swing approach.

Dr. Brianna Halford contact info:
Website: https://www.thethrowingdoctor.com/start
Instagram: @thethrowingdoctor
ThrowSafe Arm Reset™: https://www.thethrowingdoctor.com/armreset
ThrowSafe Throwing Analysis™: https://www.thethrowingdoctor.com/workwithme 
ThrowSafe Arm Care Protocol™: https://throwingbri.gumroad.com/l/armcare

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Episode 437 of Everything Fastpitch previews warm-up segments and promotes Patreon support, then features a memorial conversation with Scott Whitlock honoring longtime coach Jess Dannelly, a pioneer who helped establish fastpitch softball in the Southeast and influenced the sport’s growth; Whitlock shares Danley’s impact, character, and personal stories, and condolences are offered to his family. The City of the Week is Green Bay, Wisconsin, with notes on local softball and memories of visits. The equipment tip highlights the Slide MVP sliding mat. A listener question addresses scheduling conflicts for an 18U travel team, with advice to use larger rosters and set dates early. The main interview with educator Lindsay Peaster explains the “I Said This, You Heard That?” temperament framework (red, yellow, blue, green) to improve coach-player and team communication without lowering standards. The coaching tip stresses regularly practicing sliding to prevent injuries and gain competitive advantages.

Lindsay Peaster Contact Info:
Symphonia Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/share/1JNoUJgMwJ/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Symphonia Instagram
https://www.facebook.com/share/1JNoUJgMwJ/?mibextid=wwXIfr
[email protected]

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In episode 436 of Everything Fastpitch, Coach Tory and Coach Don preview a show featuring fall college softball as a great time to watch games and practices in person, and name Columbus, Georgia as City of the Week. Tory apologizes for previously omitting Little League World Series player Carson Meyer while discussing Kenley Erasmus. A listener question sparks concern about gambling on the Little League Baseball World Series and about social media videos showing young kids’ inappropriate football behavior and adults enabling it. The main interview features strength and conditioning coach Mike Kelly, who explains his background and his remote, individualized softball-focused training approach using assessments, technique feedback, and consistent programming to improve performance and reduce injury risk. The coaching tip argues that joining a big-name national travel-ball organization won’t fix team problems without better coaching.

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Coach Tory and Coach Don open with a Did You Know about Kinley Rasmus, a talented girl playing in the boys Little League Baseball World Series, and discuss women’s baseball opportunities versus softball scholarship realities. City of the Week is Durham, North Carolina, noting increased listener response after prior North Carolina coverage. A listener asks if recruiting is possible without high-level travel ball; they say yes but visibility, competition level, and school options may be limited, and travel costs often exceed typical scholarship returns. In an interview, Scott Mead of Mirror Mindset Performance shares police-inspired reset strategies (breathing, physical cue, phrase) and his app/website resources for athletes, parents, and coaches. The coaching tip discusses keeping practices fun through competitive, skill-based games while still emphasizing improvement and satisfaction.

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Coach Tory and Coach Don preview Episode 434, thank patrons, and highlight the AUSL All-Star Series, encouraging listeners to watch and support pro softball. Player of the Week is Anna-Lynn Clark of the Johnson County (North Carolina) Little League team, praised for dominant World Series pitching and leadership. A listener asks why schools enforce heat/lightning stoppages more than travel ball; they discuss safety technology, school accountability, and lack of uniform travel policies. Guest Ben Cattaruzzi, Johnson County’s Little League Softball World Series championship coach, explains his coaching background, the qualification path, North Carolina’s strong Little League/travel ecosystem, and players’ college aspirations, and endorses Square Cuts. The coaching tip urges coaches not to obsess over pleasing everyone, while delivering on promises and staying true to team values.

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Coach Tory hosts Everything Fastpitch today. He notes the U.S. Women’s National Team won the International Cup over Japan, with the USA Elite team finishing third, highlighting Montana Fouts and the deep Olympic player pool. City of the week is Greenville, North Carolina, site of the Little League Softball World Series; the equipment tip spotlights the ZVT training tool that uses color feedback to encourage seeing the ball. A listener shares a professionally timed 2.57 home-to-first run at an all-state combine. In the main interview, Neil Anderson explains SkillShark, an app and web platform that replaces paper tryout scoring with mobile evaluations, videos, weighted reports, automated team sorting, self-assessments on character traits, prefilled comments, developmental resource tagging, and automatic swing analysis. Tory advises new travel teams to balance challenging and winnable tournaments through self-assessment, tournament-director input, and coach networking, and closes with a safety PSA urging consistent, proper use of protective screens during hitting drills.

SkillShark Link

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Today we highlight the USA Women’s National Team and Elite Team competing in the International Cup in Oklahoma City, noting Japan’s strength, Patty Gasso’s difficult roster choices, and the positive impact of the pro league on U.S. players. The City of the Week is Racine, Wisconsin, with a connection to "A League of Their Own". They address a listener’s concern about 8U rec softball prioritizing winning over teaching and equal participation. In the leadoff segment they discuss recurring scandals of bending or breaking rules in youth sports and the lessons it teaches kids. In the cleanup segment they react to a court injunction granting an extra year of college eligibility to a group of athletes, creating roster and scholarship uncertainty. The coaching tip argues player development primarily comes from practice reps, with games serving as tests rather than the main development tool.

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