Garden State Coach Cast

Are you ready for some football? In this episode, I talk with Steve Fence, Head Football Coach @New Egypt High School. We chart Coach Fence's 26 year coaching journey from its inception when he stopped by a football practice at his alma mater, his climb up the coaching ladder from a volunteer to becoming a head coach, delegating responsibilities among his staff, keeping kids fresh during the long grind of a season, team karaoke, his foray into girls flag football, balancing his role as a coach and an educator with his family life, and how sometimes a Disney song and a plate of wings can make all the difference after a long week of work. I'm proud to count coach as a friend and a colleague and coaches will find a lot to pull from in this one.

In this episode, I sit down with Matt Goldsmith, Head Men's Basketball Coach at The College of New Jersey. Since taking over the TCNJ program Coach Goldsmith has delivered two NJAC Championships in 2020 and this past season. The 2020 championship was the first one for the program since the 1998 season. Coach Goldsmith details his experiences winning a national championship at DIII Amherst College as both a player and an assistant coach under Naismith Hall of Fame Coach David Hixon; how analytics drives his approach to both practices and games; his belief that to be great, players and coaches need to "be uncommon"; how even Mario Kart brings out his competitive nature; and how "Now let's get a milkshake!" became a victory declaration for this year's squad. This is a great listen for any coach that's looking to pick the brain of one of the best young coaches out there.

In this episode, I chop it up with Nick Scalzo, Head Softball Coach at Marlboro High School. Nick is coming off a state championship in 2023 and a Sectional Title in 2024. Coach Scalzo talks about growing up playing "stoop ball" in Brooklyn, NY; coaching underneath his mentor Don Panzarella @South Plainfield; decision-making in high pressure, high stakes games; helping his players stay humble after achieving a state title; and how a McDonald's Diet Coke hits a little different after a big win. Nick is a great guy and has some great insights for coaches in any sport and at any level.

In this episode, I catch up with New Egypt High School alum and Vanderbilt University Football Special Teams Analyst, Shane Gallant. Shane details his rise from student manager at Bowling Green State University, to being on staff at Washington State and Mississippi State with the late, legendary college football coach Mike Leach. While at MSU their special teams units were ranked #1 in the nation during the 2022 season. He's now a part of Clark Lea's staff at Vanderbilt University, where there is reason for optimism as they head into the 2024 season. For all the young coaches out there with aspirations to get to the highest levels of college football, Shane imparts some valuable insights on persistence, gaining players' respect as a young guy, and the day-to-day grind of life in the SEC. If you like to hear the story of a small-town kid making it to the big time, you'll love Shane's journey.

I sit down with one of my good friends from college, Ryan Wellner, and we talk about his journey to one of the most fabled college programs in the country; how his older brother's torn rotator cuff prompted his introduction to a career in lax; bringing lacrosse across the pond to southwest England; creating a "trap" mentality within his defenses; his Annapolis landlord who has 8 Super Bowl rings; Zubaz pants; and why his JV lacrosse coach ranks as his favorite. He is a passionate guy, a great family man, and an exceptional human. Young coaches will learn a lot from his journey! I hope you enjoy listening to this episode of GSCC, as much as I enjoyed hosting it!

In this episode I sit down with Chris "Mong" Mongilia, Director of Basketball Operations @Princeton University. We talk about the origins of his coaching career @River Dell High School; the daily grind of being an Ops guy; building relationships through debate; the challenges of playing in the Ivy League; how to teach offense and defense through breakdowns; his obsession with lay-ups; being intentional with his free time; grinding to get opportunities; and why Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning, and Kobe are his three favorite athletes. Mong is a great guy and coaches will get better after giving this episode a listen.

I sit down with one of my good friends, Matt Shepherd, and we get into what it means that we're now men and we're 40!(Mike Gundy reference); wrestling for his father, Jack Shepherd, @St. John Vianney; being humbled as a Rutgers wrestler; evolving and growing as a coach and educator; eliminating the ego; warming up with a game of dodge ball; making FUN a part of his program's culture; theorizing on NJ's success in terms of producing great wrestlers; tolerating modern rap music; and our mutual love of Vision Quest, The Big Lebowski, and Tombstone. He's a good friend, a committed educator, and a high energy guy who I think any coach can learn from. It was a great chat and worth a listen!

Coach Jay Graber and I sit down and talk about everything from the lessons he learned as a college football player at Hofstra and Bryant University; approaching his first Freshmen football job at Allentown HS as if it were the most important thing in the world; turning around the next season to take over a program that was on life support as a 25 year old head coach and building it into a perennial winner in his 9 years at the helm (State SJG4 Finals in '14, CJG4 State Champs in '16); coaching Varsity basketball and football -- during a deep playoff run on the gridiron; his favorite Mike Tyson quote; coaching the whole student athlete; why the Joker is his favorite athlete; and some great advice for young coaches.  It was a great talk and I hope you enjoy it!

I sit down with Lisa and Matt Kukoda: husband and wife coaching duo. In addition to being the Technology Integration Coach in the Manasquan School District, Lisa is also the head girls coach at Manasquan High School where she has established one of the most dominant programs in the state. In her tenure as the head coach, she has amassed 6 state championships, 2 T.O.C. titles,  and 2 Shore Conference Tournament titles.  She was the 2018 NJ.com coach of the year and has built a program around placing a premium on developing high character young women, both on and off the court.  Matt, who is currently the Supervisor of Curriculum & Instruction at Wall Intermediate, has been the head boys basketball coach at New Egypt High School and Wall Township High School. At New Egypt he helped to continue a culture of hard work and did the same at Wall, where he led the team to its first division title in 40 years and laid the foundation for this year's Central Jersey Group III championship team.  In our talk, we get into where their coaching journeys began, granting talented players freedom within an offensive system, being there for each other to talk about coaching conundrums, preparing for the playoffs, their mutual New York Mets fandom,  and some of their coaching quirks. They are both immensely dedicated to being coaches, educators, and role models within their community. This was a great session, and I think coaches of all sports would benefit from giving it a listen.

I'm joined by Coach J Corby, head Girls Basketball Coach at New Egypt High School.  Corby has coached multiple sports at the high school level since 2001.  He was the head Boys Basketball Coach from 2003-2012 (2 Division titles, 2 Sectional Final appearances) and he just finished his first year as a head Girls Coach, where he guided the team to a Division title and a berth in the Central Jersey Group 1 semifinals.  Since we grew up in neighboring towns (Dunellen and Middlesex) and both graduated in 1995, we talk about growing up and playing pick up basketball during that era, establishing a defense first mentality as a program, coaching University of North Carolina graduate and professional basketball player Desmond Hubert, a fateful missed phone call, why his brother is his favorite athlete, and the differences between coaching boys and girls. He's a great friend and cares a ton about the kids ; it's worth a listen.