Mental toughness is something every coach and athlete will say is essential to being a top performer. But there are far fewer who work at it actively - or even know how to. In this episode Jay and Ken speak with Shawnee Harle (www.shawneeharle.com), a 2X Olympian and Mental Toughness Coach who has her own business, Winning Matters, about how she helps athletes from across the sporting world, including fastpitch softball, develop the skills they need to prepare for the storm that's always coming and overcome adversity to achieve the results they're looking for and find the joy in playing again. Shawnee talks about creating and applying a mental toughness toolbox, and offers some practical advice to coaches and parents who want to see their athletes succeed.

JD Koziarski, head varsity softball coach and athletic director at Horizon Science Academy McKinley Park in Chicago, joins Jay and Ken to talk about how he and his wife Wendy launched their softball program from scratch. He describes how the program has expanded from one JV level high school team to a program encompassing players from the 10U through high school level. JD talks about the steps they took to establish a culture and make their players "celebrities" within the school and the successes they've had both on and off the diamond. It's a must-listen for anyone considering starting a team or program of their own.

Jay and Ken are joined by Anna Nickel, pitching coach at Pacific Lutheran University and senior marketing manager at GameChanger. Anna talks about her playing days in rec and travel ball, her journey from Juco pitcher to the D1 level at USC Upstate to the National Pro Fastpitch League and how and why she transitioned into coaching. She also shares some inspirational thoughts about the game, what it means to players, parents, and coaches, and how to get the best out of the experience. She talks about what it's like to have a day job, coach, and be a mother and wife. Anna then explains how listeners can follow their favorite teams and watch them play live for free in the 2025 NFCA D1 Leadoff Classic tournament by going to

Morgan Gerak, head coach at Northern Kentucky University, joins Jay and Ken to talk about her journey from travel ball to a 5-year career as a pitcher and outfielder at Northwestern University to becoming an assistant then head coach. She also discusses the culture at NKU and her approach to working with each athlete as an individual.

Georgia Gwinnett head baseball Coach Sheets joins Jay and Ken to talk about why coaching at GGC is his dream job, why he loves coaching at the NAIA level, how he built his program into a powerhouse that won a National Championship and competes for it every year, and his philosophy about coaching the person, then the student, and then the athlete. Coach Sheets shares his journey, some of the mentors he has, his own work to mentor others, and how his popular "How 'Bout That Ride In?" videos came to be. It's a great conversation for beginning, intermediate, veteran coaches.

Jay and Ken interview Rick Pauly of PaulyGirl Fastpitch about his career as a men's player, how he got started in coaching, his coaching experience at the rec, travel, high school, and college level, and his High Performance Pitching certification program. We also go into his thoughts about working with pitchers and which teams he thinks listeners should keep an eye on for the 2025 college season .