Contacts Coaching Podcast

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

On the Contacts Coaching Podcast, host interviews Justin Beck, assistant coach at UC San Diego, about his path from growing up around baseball with his father Bob Beck, to playing at San José State, transferring to UCSD, and moving into coaching at UCSD, Cal Poly Pomona, and back to UCSD. Beck describes the difficult transition from coaching former teammates, lessons learned from playing for his dad, and how modern tools like True Media and PitchCom have changed positioning, scouting, and in-game communication. He discusses how shifting, increased pitching “stuff,” and approach changes affect hitting, why coaches must develop every player on the roster, and how they create live reps for non-starters. Beck critiques the youth sports travel/showcase economy, urges multi-sport participation and downtime, and explains how UCSD evaluates recruits’ intangibles and character. He closes with how he challenges his own beliefs, including rethinking fastball-focused hitting.

00:00 Welcome and Introductions
00:18 Justin Beck Origin Story
01:32 College Stops and Coaching Path
04:37 Player to Coach Whiplash
08:32 Should New Coaches Leave
11:21 Playing for Dad Lessons
16:13 Shifts and Positioning Analytics
18:55 PitchCom and Dugout Rules
23:37 Modern Hitting and Strikeouts
27:56 Coaching Values Across Programs
31:18 Staying Game Ready
32:23 Live Reps After Weekends
33:48 Sandlot Culture Checks
34:38 Youth Sports Money Trap
40:08 Play Multiple Sports
46:18 Exposure Before Ready
50:52 Showcase Metrics Noise
53:37 Recruiting Intangibles
57:29 Outlets Beyond Baseball
59:00 Changing Your Mind

On the Contacts Coaching Podcast, coach John Seavey discusses his path from playing basketball to becoming a student manager at the University of Arizona under Sean Miller, a pivotal experience that led him into coaching, then staying as a GA to earn his master’s degree. He followed associate head coach Joe Pasternack to UC Santa Barbara (2017–2022), where he learned organizational discipline, relationship-building, fundraising, and navigating institutional politics after a long-tenured coach. Seavey then moved to Cal State Monterey Bay under Isaac Williams, gaining major on-court growth by running the defense, learning communication, tactical adjustments, and roster construction through mistakes and mentorship. He joined DJ Broome at Cal Poly Humboldt, completed a strong first season, and was promoted to associate head coach, emphasizing identity, community investment, process-driven improvement, effort evaluation, and guiding players to answers through questions.

00:00 Welcome and Introductions
00:30 John Seavey Coaching Origin
01:14 Student Manager Pathway
02:40 Arizona to Santa Barbara Move
03:09 Monterey Bay Learning Curve
04:32 Humboldt Transition and Promotion
05:33 Manager Versus Ops Restrictions
08:00 Following a Legend at UCSB
11:16 Politics and Admin Relationships
14:36 Humboldt Relationship Blueprint
16:21 Mistakes That Built a Coach
20:04 Defense Coordinator by Fire
22:47 Letting Assistants Own Schemes
25:46 Roster Construction and Fit
29:04 Recruiting Pipelines and Trends
31:46 Beyond Basketball Differences
32:22 Arizona Pro Mindset
33:50 UCSB Building a Program
35:04 Division II Reality Check
35:39 Carryover Coaching Lessons
40:20 Community Investment Culture
42:05 Fundraising Relentless Yes
46:51 Sustaining Winning Identity
52:33 Process Over Scoreboard
56:16 Measuring Effort on Film
59:31 Guide Players to Answers
01:02:40 Patience and Long Game
01:05:15 Closing Coastline Banter

On the Contacts Coaching Podcast, host interviews Jeffrey Dixon, athletic director at River Valley High School outside Pittsburgh, about his path from an average high school athlete to teacher, multi-sport coach, and AD since 2021 amid a district merger and rebrand. Dixon explains how River Valley built an indoor track program without its own facility, traveling to college sites while indoor remains PTFCA-sponsored rather than PIAA-sanctioned due to limited venues. They discuss the shift away from volunteering in coaching, strategies for staffing shortages through alumni and cross-sport hires, and communication systems that build accountability. Dixon shares culture lessons he’s borrowed from other coaches, ways to reduce subjectivity with data and video, concerns about specialization and burnout, the value of multi-sport participation, and how his mindset has evolved from chasing wins to prioritizing relationships and learning from failure.

Substack: https://gdthead.substack.com/

00:00 Welcome and Introductions
00:50 Coach Dixon’s Coaching Journey
04:34 Building an Indoor Track Program
08:29 District Merger and School Landscape
11:35 Football Culture and Small-School Numbers
14:19 Volunteering vs Paid Coaching Today
20:01 Creative Staffing and Recruiting Helpers
22:13 Stealing Great Ideas From Other Coaches
26:00 Inbox Rules and Boundaries
27:39 Email Text Call Hierarchy
29:33 Overcommunicating With Parents
31:10 One Platform for Everything
32:09 Culture Builders in Programs
35:19 Making Subjective Sports Fair
39:38 Specialization and Travel Ball
48:48 Multi Sport and Real Development
50:49 Handling Insults as a Leader
53:16 Changing Minds on Winning
57:28 Wrap Up and Next Projects

Twitter: @RVTFXCCoach
Substack: @geoffdixon185810
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoff-dixon-caa-b69655245
Podcast Instagram: @exchangezonepodcast