Contacts Coaching Podcast

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

Justin interviews Coach Bill Taylor, former NAIA and Division I cross country/track coach and author of a sports conflict management book. Taylor recounts becoming a runner in high school, starting a college program from scratch at Northwest University, winning an NAIA national championship after learning to refocus from results to process, then moving to Belmont and later transforming Lipscomb with 11 conference titles and culture-building initiatives. A major team conflict at Lipscomb—and administrative missteps that escalated it—led him to earn a master’s in conflict management and write a shorter, practical book to fill the sports-specific resource gap. He outlines five core tools: managing emotion, effective communication and active listening, identifying “below the line” interests, creating win-win solutions, and building trust through follow-through, plus the value of clear conflict policies and avoiding email/text for personal issues.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
00:46 Bill Taylor Coaching Origin Story
02:03 Starting a College Program
02:45 Chasing and Winning Nationals
03:09 Division I Leap to Lipscomb
04:14 Team Conflict Sparks New Path
06:18 COVID Pivot and Writing Book
09:32 Lessons From Early Head Coaching
11:18 Process Over Results Mindset
16:01 Assistant Coach Perspective
17:59 Building Athlete Belief
21:28 Why Conflict Matters
24:00 Avoiding Conflict Backfires
29:33 Introducing Conflict Tools
30:18 Rewriting the Book
30:46 Skill One Emotion Control
34:51 Skill Two Better Communication
35:14 Listening and Nonverbal Cues
38:02 Avoiding Text and Email
40:33 Skill Three Below the Line
44:52 Skill Four Creative Win Win
48:46 Skill Five Trust Follow Through
51:29 Relationships and Team Culture
54:42 Changing Mind and Conflict Policy
57:40 Where to Find the Book
58:35 Final Thanks and Wrap

https://www.sportsconflictlab.com/
https://www.instagram.com/sports_conflict_lab/
https://x.com/Sports_Conflict
https://www.amazon.ca/Managing-Sports-Conflict-Bill-Taylor/dp/B0G2ZJT4Q5

In this episode, derivatives trader and first-time author Jeff Everson discusses his debut novel, The Glue Guy, and how his experience as a Division III backup offensive lineman at Middlebury shaped the book’s themes of unseen contributions, team roles, and pure love of competition. He explains why he wrote a hockey-centered story despite not playing hockey, how concepts like the secondary assist and locker-room “unofficial hierarchies” reveal invisible value, and why bus rides and locker-room time build culture more than the spotlight moments. Everson connects trading-desk dynamics to athletics—competition, preparation, analytics, and teammate support—while stressing that analytics provide a map but humans still drive outcomes. He also shares a mindset shift: being indispensable isn’t the highest virtue; building systems that work without you is.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
00:31 Sports to Trading Journey
03:14 Middlebury and Team Roles
07:11 Why Write Hockey
09:08 Secondary Assist Metaphor
12:54 Bus Rides Build Culture
16:39 Locker Room Hierarchy
20:13 Trading Desk Locker Room
22:36 Analytics for Coaches
28:26 Measuring Intangibles
31:50 Empowering the Glue Guy
34:27 Making the Book Accessible
37:11 Changed Mind on Indispensable
39:30 Wrap Up and Where to Buy