Contacts Coaching Podcast

Five years after her first appearance, Phillips Exeter Academy head girls lacrosse coach and history department chair Alexa Caldwell shares her background in teaching and coaching, her transition from coaching both girls soccer and lacrosse to focusing on lacrosse, and how independent schools hire coaches through campus candidates and national searches while valuing the “dorm, coach, teach” model. She discusses why she believes the model is sustainable, how teaching and coaching skills transfer into department leadership, and how being on campus helps her understand students’ day-to-day experience. Caldwell addresses program culture, humility, and “earned, not given,” recruiting realities and admissions limits, and the challenges of multi-sport participation, workload, and captain’s practices. She also explains methods for valuing roles beyond scoring and reflects on changing her approach to proactive communication with a non-starting captain.

00:00 Welcome Back and Updates
00:39 Coach Background Recap
01:58 How Coaching Roles Shift
03:44 Triple Threat Hiring Debate
06:59 Teaching Meets Coaching
14:08 Leading Adults as Chair
17:27 League Strengths and Cycles
21:37 Recruiting Reality Check
23:48 Sharing Multi Sport Athletes
28:05 Workload Policies and PE Options
32:50 Managing Overworked Kids
33:03 Soccer Versus Basketball Load
34:28 Recruiting Multi Sport Athletes
36:07 Track Double Dipping Debate
38:05 Coaching Values That Transfer
40:16 Teaching Roles And Shot Math
45:38 Rewarding Hustle With Stats
48:11 No Shot Clock Frustrations
49:55 Parenthood Changes Coaching
52:32 Changing Mind On Captains
55:05 Proactive Player Conversations
59:41 Closing Thoughts And Farewell

Justin welcomes back Northern California coach Brian Katz for a third podcast episode to discuss Katz’s second book, “It’s Not About The Ball: A Modern Basketball Story,” and his views on today’s basketball and college sports landscape. Katz shares what he’s been doing since retiring, including local March Madness analysis, and emphasizes four keys to winning: foul line, three-point line, rebounding, and turnovers. He explains rebounding drills (including taping rims) and the “go or get back” approach learned from elite rebounding coaches. Katz argues coaching and teaching are being devalued amid NIL, transfers, and lack of enforceable rules, and says most athletes chase “fool’s gold” at the expense of education. He offers candid advice on recruiting realities, parents and trainers, player development, and why winning and player growth can coexist.

00:00 Coach Katz Returns
00:49 Staying Involved Post Coaching
01:42 March Madness Trends
02:38 Four Keys To Winning
05:06 Quick Career Recap
05:54 Rebounding Secret Sauce
08:02 Go Or Get Back
10:23 Retirement To Writing
10:58 NIL And Devalued Education
13:54 NCAA Toothless Wild West
16:01 Portal Chaos And Integrity
19:27 Parents Ego And Misinformation
22:51 Coaches Cant Speak Freely
26:22 Handling Parents And Transfers
29:55 Owning The Desire To Win
33:54 Recruiting Reality Check
36:14 Coaches Work 24 7
38:08 Winning Over Stats
43:20 Positions And Intangibles
45:53 Money Mindset Shift
47:52 Do You Need College
48:57 Versatility Over Hype
50:42 Confidence Through Hardship
54:46 Winning Habits Get Recruited
01:01:13 Watch Off The Ball
01:02:49 What Recruiting Really Means
01:07:08 Honesty With Players
01:11:03 Unsexy Work Gets Better
01:17:47 Stop Holding Kids Back
01:23:59 Winning And Life Lessons
01:30:46 Why He Wrote The Book
01:34:58 Final Thoughts On Coaching

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1SdsFWmGMvSYCD5ZCk4XGa?si=utX7ay7QQvexLSG3p863JA&utm_source=copy-link

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2AhQyvmTiC08Ub0cTy11AA?si=_mJLC5IcQ2e61-vDrHmGvg&utm_source=copy-link

Book Link: https://a.co/d/09zEDA6v

Blake Johnson, athletic director at All Saints’ Episcopal Day School in Phoenix, recounts how a lifelong love of sports led him from playing multiple sports through college into coaching and athletic administration. He describes starting as a substitute teacher in Peoria, Illinois, cold-approaching district AD AJ Guyton to become his assistant for six years, building elementary and middle school sports programs across dozens of schools, and coaching at Peoria High as a freshman head coach while his district responsibilities expanded. Johnson explains his 2024–25 move into the independent school space after a LinkedIn application and a rigorous interview process, the shift from district to site-based demands, working with parents amid heavy club-sport schedules, and emphasizing mission fit, documentation, and systems. He also discusses lessons from NBA-related experiences, building a new professional network in Phoenix, and a growing focus on performance psychology and mindset.

00:00 Welcome and Setup
00:33 Sports Roots in Peoria
01:53 First Coaching Sparks
03:11 Breaking Into District AD
04:37 Building Youth Programs
05:41 Peoria High Coaching Era
06:28 Expanding Middle School Oversight
08:24 Cold Approach Confidence
10:12 Subbing as Career Hack
11:34 From Assistant to Head Coach
14:00 District vs Site Leadership
15:34 Landing at All Saints
17:59 Independent School Hiring Fit
21:12 Sports Offerings and Growth
22:18 League Alignment Questions
23:54 Middle School Baseball Softball
25:21 Club Sports Pressure
31:05 Specialization And Leadership
32:29 Choosing The Right Program
33:48 NBA Lessons Applied
36:42 Building A New Network
41:14 Vulnerability And Asking Help
43:16 Expanding Programs Carefully
45:19 Mindset Performance Psychology
46:24 Books Resources And Wrap

On the Contacts Coaching Podcast, host interviews James O’Brien, regional director of the Florida Coaches Coalition and girls flag football coach at Western High School in Broward County. O’Brien shares his path from playing football (including walking on at the University of Miami in 1995) to working in software, converting to Christianity, and moving into teaching and coaching in 2007 to impact younger people. He explains Florida’s severe underpayment of coaches, high turnover, and the Coalition’s legislative effort that helped pass SB538, which removed barriers preventing booster clubs from funding coaches; implementation is now county-by-county. The conversation also covers head coaching challenges beyond X’s and O’s—culture, accountability, managing parents and bureaucracy, adapting systems to available talent, building team bonding, and coaching people first while using football as a tool.

00:00 Meet Coach James
00:43 From Player to Teacher
02:18 Florida Coaches Coalition
05:26 California Pay Comparison
08:06 Minimum Wage Proposal
10:09 Resources and Momentum
11:12 Coaching Reality Check
12:38 Building an Offense
13:45 Switch to Flag Football
15:04 Culture Over Xs and Os
16:41 Managing Parents and Paperwork
18:15 Adversity as a Coach
19:10 Consistency and Standards
19:49 Culture Over Corners
20:27 Season Flies By
21:09 Compete With Yourself
22:22 Walk On Mindset
23:44 Stealing From Other Sports
26:03 Bonding Builds Champions
28:48 Coach Stress And Growth
33:45 Evolving The System
34:59 Love People First
37:59 Practice As Sanctuary
38:45 Final Thanks And Wrap

The episode features the Contacts Coaching Podcast host interviewing retired athletic director and podcast host Dr. Jake Von Scherrer about his path from growing up in Oregon and playing small-college football/track to a 41-year career in education, coaching, and athletic administration, including launching athletics at the Harker School in San Jose and later serving in Florida, where he and his wife finished their careers and retired six years ago. Von Scherrer explains how his COVID-era Florida association presidency led to Zoom webinars, then podcasting, and ultimately his book, The Athletic Director’s Toolbox. Key takeaways he wishes he had earlier include better listening, building relationships, and networking, plus practical strategies for handling parent concerns by calling quickly, partnering with parents, and relying on clear policies. He discusses coaching development, student-athlete leadership teams at Maclay School, small-school roster realities, and changing his view on year-round sports when it’s driven by the student’s passion.

00:00 Welcome and Introductions
00:22 Jake’s Coaching Journey
02:08 Building Harker Athletics
03:09 Roots in Oregon
03:59 Podcast and Book Origins
08:52 Top Tools for ADs
11:54 Listening and Empathy
14:26 Handling Parent Conflicts
18:27 Relationship Building
22:16 Student Athlete Leadership
25:32 Networking Elevator Pitch
27:15 Networking in Action
28:49 Building Your Bench
29:42 Building Staff Pipelines
30:53 Delegating Modern AD Roles
31:29 Creating Event Support Positions
32:44 Networking as an Outsider
33:54 Career Stops and Setbacks
37:13 Mentors and Saying Yes
41:04 Small School Football Realities
46:00 Managing Multi Sport Athletes
48:05 Leading With Service
51:43 Changing Minds on Specialization
54:10 Supporting Tough Family Choices
55:44 Closing and Contact Info

 jakestouchdown@gmail.com
305-218-1325