Warm Up The Bus

Charlie Downs

Grab your snacks and load up—it’s time to Warm Up the Bus! Join Coach Strong and Coach Downs for honest conversations about high school sports, coaching life, and the lessons that stick with you long after the final whistle. From locker room stories and coaching debates to food challenges and plenty of laughs, these two coaches bring experience, strong opinions, and a sense of humor to every episode. We tackle everything from accountability and motivation to sports parents, winning, losing, and what it takes to help young people succeed. Sometimes we agree. Sometimes we don’t. Either way, there’s always a story to tell. Whether you’re a coach, athlete, parent, or sports fan, there’s a seat for you on this bus!

Episodes

  1. Oct 2

    Games We Should Have Won...

    Warm Up The Bus Podcast Episode 5 is here! In this episode, Coach Downs and Coach Strong dive into one of the most relatable topics in sports: Games We Should Have Won. Every coach has one. The game where you had the perfect play drawn up, the right matchup, the perfect situation… and somehow it still slipped away. These are the funny, heartbreaking, unforgettable coaching stories that every coach, athlete, sports fan, and competitor can appreciate. If you've ever coached high school sports, played competitive sports, or watched a game fall apart in the final moments, this episode is for you. We also bring the laughs with this week’s Coach Strong Snack Challenge — blindfolded and under pressure, Coach Strong must identify 6 different Pringles chip flavors by taste only. How many can he get right? 🏀 In This Episode: Games we should have won Last-second coaching heartbreak stories Funny locker room and sideline memories High school sports coaching life Pressure moments in sports Coach Downs’ Quote of the Day: Under Pressure 2 Minute Drill Local Shout Outs Moreno Made Apparel (Longview, Texas) Rick’s Sign Co. (Longview, Texas) Words of Wisdom for young coaches Warm Up The Bus Podcast is where sports, coaching life, motivation, and humor all ride together. If you love sports podcasts, funny coaching stories, high school athletics, motivation, leadership, and food challenges, subscribe now and ride with us every week. 👍 LIKE the video 💬 COMMENT your toughest loss or a game you should have won 🔔 SUBSCRIBE for weekly episodes #podcast #sportspodcast #coachinglife #highschoolsports #funnystories  #basketballcoach #footballcoach #motivation #youtubepodcast #warmupthebus #FunnyPodcast #FoodChallenge #PringlesChallenge #CoachesStories #Motivation #Leadership #FunnySportsStories #BasketballCoach #FootballCoach #PodcastLife #UnderPressure

  2. Oct 2

    Locker Room Speeches GONE WRONG!

    Locker room speeches gone wrong, hilarious coaching stories, halftime chaos, sports humor, and TWO pickled quail egg food challenges?! This week on Warm Up the Bus Podcast, Coach Downs and Coach Strong are joined by special guest Coach Larry Minter for one of our funniest episodes yet. We talk about the best locker room speeches that completely failed, coaching moments gone wrong, how Coach Minter hired Coach Downs after meeting his wife and 3 kids, Coach Strong’s “special” K-9 story, routines in sports, motivation, leadership, and life lessons for young coaches. Then things get wild… Coach Downs takes on not one, but TWO food challenges featuring regular pickled quail eggs and spicy pickled quail eggs. If you love sports podcasts, coaching stories, locker room humor, motivation, football, basketball, baseball, coaching life, funny interviews, and food challenges, this episode is for you. 👍 Like, Comment & Subscribe for weekly sports comedy, coaching wisdom, and real talk. #WarmUpTheBus #Podcast #SportsPodcast #Coaching #CoachLife #LockerRoom #HalftimeSpeech #FunnyPodcast #FoodChallenge #PickledEggChallenge #SportsStories #Motivation #Football #Basketball #Baseball #Leadership #CoachDowns #CoachStrong CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 00:15 Coach Minter Brings a Surprise 00:50 Coach Strong Bows Out of Food Challenge 01:45 Quote of the Day 02:20 Coach Strong’s “Special” K-9 03:50 Why Coaches & Athletes Change Routines 05:00 Our First Sponsor? 05:20 Coach Minter’s Best Halftime Speech Gone Wrong 08:35 Coach Downs’ Funniest Halftime Speech Interruption 11:40 Coach Downs – We LOST the Game!! 12:35 Coach Strong – I Broke My Toe!! 16:15 Coach Minter’s Best Kerry Strong Story 19:25 Coach Strong Kicked WHO Off the Team? 22:15 Food Challenge #1 – How Many Can Coach Downs Eat? 30:35 Two Minute Warning (Local Shoutouts) 38:45 Food Challenge #2 – He Ate WHAT?! 41:20 Words of Wisdom – Coach Strong 42:20 Words of Wisdom – Coach Minter

  3. Oct 2

    Nobody Told Us Coaches Had To Do THIS!

    Coaching podcast about the real life of coaches. In this sports podcast episode of Warm Up the Bus, Coach Downs and Coach Kerry Strong talk about the hidden duties of coaching — laundry, bus driving, field maintenance, babysitting athletes, parent meetings, and the things nobody tells you about the coaching profession. Welcome back to Episode 2 of Warm Up the Bus, the sports podcast where coaches share the real stories that happen behind the scenes of athletics. Everyone sees the games, the wins, and the losses. But what people don’t see are the hundreds of responsibilities coaches take on every week. In this episode we talk about: 🧺 Laundry duty after games 🚌 Driving the team bus to away games 👶 Babysitting athletes during trips and tournaments 🌱 Field and facility maintenance 📞 Parent conferences and meetings 📋 And all the extra responsibilities that come with the coaching profession. If you're thinking about becoming a coach, already coaching, or played sports growing up, this episode reveals the hidden jobs that come with coaching. We also cover: 🔥 Quote of the Day: A powerful discussion about mental toughness in sports and why it's becoming harder to find athletes with true competitive resilience. 🍪 Snack Challenge: The coaches try another classic Little Debbie snack and decide if it deserves a spot in the snack hall of fame. 👏 Weekly Shoutouts: Highlighting coaches, athletes, and people making a difference in sports. This podcast is perfect for: • Coaches • Athletes • Parents involved in youth sports • Sports fans who love behind-the-scenes stories • Anyone interested in leadership, motivation, and sports culture Subscribe for weekly episodes of Warm Up the Bus, where we talk coaching, sports culture, leadership, funny locker room stories, and the reality of life as a coach.

  4. Oct 2

    What Nobody Tells You About Coaching - We Weren't Ready!

    Welcome to the very first episode of Warm Up The Bus — where we talk about the good, the bad, and the hilarious world of coaching high school sports. In this episode, Coach Downs and Coach Kerry Strong dive into why we got into coaching, but quickly realize… there’s a lot about this profession that nobody prepares you for. We share real stories from our first year coaching, lessons learned the hard way, and what it truly takes to survive and succeed in this profession. From mental toughness to handling pressure, this episode is packed with insight, laughter, and a few surprises along the way. 🔥 In this episode: Why we chose coaching (and what we didn’t expect) The reality of your first year coaching Lessons every coach needs to hear A powerful John Wooden quote on leadership Mental toughness and staying consistent The Coach Strong Snack Challenge (you won’t believe the outcome) Shout Outs and closing motivation If you're a coach, former athlete, or thinking about getting into coaching… this one is for you. 👇 COMMENT BELOW: What food or snack challenge should we do next? 🎧 Subscribe for weekly episodes, coaching stories, and behind-the-scenes moments from the world of sports. #coaching #sports #coachlife #highschoolsports #leadership #mentaltoughness #podcast #sportsstories #football #basketball #baseball #coaches

  • 4 Episodes

About

Grab your snacks and load up—it’s time to Warm Up the Bus! Join Coach Strong and Coach Downs for honest conversations about high school sports, coaching life, and the lessons that stick with you long after the final whistle. From locker room stories and coaching debates to food challenges and plenty of laughs, these two coaches bring experience, strong opinions, and a sense of humor to every episode. We tackle everything from accountability and motivation to sports parents, winning, losing, and what it takes to help young people succeed. Sometimes we agree. Sometimes we don’t. Either way, there’s always a story to tell. Whether you’re a coach, athlete, parent, or sports fan, there’s a seat for you on this bus!

Information

  • Creator
    Charlie Downs
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Warm Up The Bus
  • Show Website
    Warm Up The Bus