We are back with a brand new episode! In this one, Jay and Ken talk all things tryouts. They offer their thoughts on questions players and parents should ask, what to look for in a team, how to determine the right level to play (including why sometimes for younger players taking a step down to increase their playing time might be the best option), how choosing the right program at the older levels can help players achieve their dreams of playing in college and much more.

Jay and Ken are both on vacation this week (although not together if you were wondering) so we're going back into the archives to Episode 2 and their conversation with Coach Sheets (Jeremy Sheetinger), head baseball coach at Georgia Gwinnett College. If you need a little energy boost here at the end of a long season give this episode a listen! You can also hear how far the From the Coach's Mouth podcast has come since its early days.

Rock Valley College head coach Darin Monroe stops by to talk about his program's unprecedented 8 consecutive NJCAA Division III national championships and what it took to take a team that had struggled to reach .500 and build it into a national powerhouse that is now playing at the Division II level. Coach Monroe also shares his thoughts on the challenges of recruiting at the junior college level, why junior college softball may be the right choice for some athletes, how his team plays (and often defeats) NCAA DI, DII, and DIII as well as NAIA teams, and his success in helping place his athletes in those four-year programs later. Additionally, he dives deep into the importance of creating relationships with athletes and his philosophy regarding growth versus winning at all costs that has served him so well in building a positive, sustainable culture.

Motor Preferences Experts co-Founder David Genest joins Jay and Ken to talk about his background in baseball coaching and sports science, and what led him to start his company along with Maryland head baseball coach Matt Swope to bring motor preferences to North America. He then explains what motor preferences are, how they are being applied in top collegiate softball programs such as Oklahoma, and how coaches at all levels can use these principles to help their athletes become more efficient and injury-free while improving performance. BONUS: David is offering a 10% discount on to the first 100 From the Coach's Mouth listeners who sign up for MPE's new Baseball and Softball eCourse referenced in the podcast. Use code coachmouth2025 at checkout. Offer valid through August 1, 2025.

On this week's podcast Jay and Ken are joined by pitching instructor Darren Dubsky. While he is a Hall of Fame pitcher in his own right, with more than 1,000 wins and 12,000+ strikeouts in his playing career, he also has the distinction of his most famous student being a name most women's fastpitch enthusiasts will recognize - Jordy Bahl. Darren shares his thoughts on what it takes to become a great pitcher, including some specific drills he recommends, the effect changes in the pitching rules have had, and what keeps him up at night when he thinks about his own students (among other topics). He also shares what it was like growing up in a farm town and playing men's fastpitch when it was at the zenith of its popularity.

NFCA Hall of Famer and Master Coach program instructor Cindy Bristow joins Jay and Ken for a lively conversation about how she got started in fastpitch softball, her coaching journey, and her thoughts on a variety of topics related to coaching softball. She talks about how her natural curiosity keeps her pursuing and learning new information, her time building instructional programs for USA Softball, her work with the International Softball Federation (ISF), that time she led the Florida Wahoos to the championship in the Women's Professional Softball League, a predecessor to the AUSL, and her upcoming Pitching Summit (https://pitchingcoachcentral.com/pitching-summit/) for college pitching coaches.

Emory University Head Coach and former Tennessee Lady Vols star India Chiles joins Jay and Ken to talk about how she got started in softball, playing for the NCAA Division I National Championship, how she came into coaching after a career as a Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurse and later a salesperson, and what she did to create a winning culture at Emory. She also shares her thoughts about the current state of slapping in the college game, steps to develop a quality slapper, and tips on how to get recruited.

Private instructor and former Detroit Mercy pitching coach Pam Savich joins Jay and Ken to talk about how she made the transition from player to coach, what players and parents can do to help their chances of playing in college, why the leap from standout high school player to college player is so challenging, and the importance of good mechanics to avoid injuries. She also shares her experiences of being on the first-ever NCAA team at the University of Illinois as well as being the school's first Pitcher of the Year.

University of Toledo pitching coach Kyle Brady joins Jay and Ken to talk about his days as a collegiate and minor league baseball pitcher, how he became involved with fastpitch softball designing arm care and overhand throwing programs, which led him down the pitching path, and his work in support services as Duke University and later a coach at UConn and Chattanooga State Community College, He also dives into how he uses various technologies and programs such as motor preferences to drive continuous player improvement, the importance of a good culture, and the nuances of coaching female athletes.

This week Jay and Ken talk about a wide variety of topics related to recruiting. It begins with a discussion about the D1 Transfer Portal - why players go into it (sometimes against their preference), whether it's a good thing, what the risks are, how it affects recruiting of incoming freshmen, and more. They then get into how college coaches approach recruiting at tournaments, as well as the things travel ball programs are doing to recruit players for their seasons.