Contacts Coaching Podcast

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

On the Contacts Coaching Podcast, Butte College head women’s basketball coach Phillip Thomas Jr. shares his journey from Fairfield High (class of 2007) through multiple college stops (Delta/CRC, Florida International, Humboldt State, Whittier) and into coaching via AAU and high school before roles with Team Kidd, Academy of Art, and ultimately becoming Butte’s head coach (year three). He explains early head-coaching surprises at the JUCO level—administration, travel, eligibility, housing, and constant roster volatility—and how he now recruits by selling Chico as a college town while pulling talent from states and Canada. Thomas discusses learning from mentors like Chico State’s Coach Fogel and Rob Bishop, building a coaching network, and defining culture through accountability, punctuality, study hall, energy, and life lessons. He critiques youth/AAU development gaps, emphasizes fundamentals and “reps,” and describes coaching with authenticity over ego while prioritizing relationships and growth beyond basketball.

00:00 Welcome and Introduction
00:23 Coach Journey Begins
01:29 Switch to Coaching Women
02:26 Landing at Butte College
03:08 Career Timeline Breakdown
04:39 Team Kidd Origins
05:25 Head Coach Reality Check
07:41 Planning for Chaos
09:32 Recruiting to Chico
11:17 Mentors at Butte
13:20 Building Coaching Network
15:52 Defining Program Culture
22:17 Life Lessons and Buzzwords
23:06 Family Concept in Sports
24:24 Accountability With Care
25:57 Players Leave And Return
26:42 Using Your Own Journey
30:08 I Had My Turn
32:33 Learning Beyond Basketball
37:30 Clubs Versus Schools
40:08 Fixing Youth Development
44:09 Teaching From Scratch
48:50 Coaching Authentically
51:02 Power Of Hello
52:06 Final Reflections

Evan Campbell from The Rectory School in Connecticut discusses his 17-year journey from college tennis player to Dean of Students and interim Director of Secondary School Advising, while also coaching varsity tennis and assisting with varsity hockey. He explains what a junior boarding school is (boarding grades 5–9, with only 11 in the U.S.), how Rectory supports varied student outcomes, and how proximity to neighboring high schools like Pomfret enables shared facilities without being a guaranteed feeder path. Campbell compares coaching in hockey versus tennis, emphasizing the mental demands of individual sports, the value of students playing multiple sports, and how his dean role shaped his coaching through consistency, accountability, and care. He breaks down head vs. assistant coaching responsibilities, humility, role clarity, and concludes with a mindset shift toward intentionally building personal connections with each student-athlete.

00:00 Meet Evan Campbell
00:37 Many Hats at Rectory
01:32 How He Got Here
02:19 What Is Junior Boarding
06:17 Rectory and Pomfret Neighbors
08:47 Coaching Tennis in Winter
09:38 Multi Sport Upbringing
12:09 Pond Hockey Culture
13:35 Dean of Students Reality
14:28 Discipline Through Relationships
18:21 Dean Role Shapes Coaching
21:28 Head vs Assistant Coach
26:36 Assistant Coach Humility
27:22 Multi Sport Coaching Benefits
29:19 Hockey vs Tennis Intensity
32:11 Tennis as Mental Therapy
35:08 Team vs Individual Lessons
35:54 Head vs Assistant Reps
46:20 Building Coaching Staff Roles
48:41 Delegation and Practice Splits
51:48 Changing Minds on Connection
54:47 Final Wrap and Golf Banter