Contacts Coaching Podcast

Justin Clymo

The CONTACTS Coaches Podcast is a digital database of coaching where Coach and Athletic Director Justin Clymo discusses the various aspects of coaching, leadership and life with those he has met along the way.

  1. From Boarding School Coach to Athletic Director: Dustin Mones on Mentorship, Multi-Sport Athletes, and Building Culture

    7h ago

    From Boarding School Coach to Athletic Director: Dustin Mones on Mentorship, Multi-Sport Athletes, and Building Culture

    On the Context Coaching Podcast, athletic administrator Dustin Mones (Monte Vista Christian) shares his journey from a multi-sport athlete in Connecticut to boarding school coach and athletic director roles at Eaglebrook and Stony Brook, then returning to Monte Vista as AD. He discusses early coaching insecurity, the importance of mentors for new athletic directors, and how small paperwork mistakes can directly impact student opportunities. Mones reflects on coaching learned under Don Keithley—discipline, attention to detail, and integrating faith—and contrasts boarding school co-curricular expectations with Monte Vista’s day-school model, noting he misses deeper daily student connections. The conversation covers resisting youth sports specialization, training both physical and mental/spiritual aspects, simplifying practices, aligning consequences with behavior, and blending “old school” standards with empathy. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:38 From Athlete to Educator 02:40 Boarding School Coaching Life 03:31 Returning as Athletic Director 04:20 Year One Lessons and Why 07:35 AD Transition Challenges 10:00 Paperwork Mistakes and Details 12:07 Mentors and Coaching Philosophy 15:11 Junior Boarding School Insights 18:05 All In vs Balance 23:55 Day School Shift and Connection 26:20 Multi Sport vs Specialization 29:44 Co Curricular Requirements 31:31 Required Co-Curriculars Model 32:27 Arts and Athletics Crossover 33:30 Boarding Program Considerations 34:52 Culture Builders for Coaches 36:27 Training Mind and Body 38:37 Structuring Lifts and Practice 43:49 Advice to Younger Coaches 45:58 Mentoring and Keeping It Simple 49:43 Entitlement and Life Lessons 52:13 Old School vs New School Coaching 57:05 Consequences That Align 59:57 Final Wrap and Thanks

    1h 6m
  2. Brett Cauchi on Culture, Patience, and Simplicity: Building a Girls Basketball Program Long-Term

    Jun 17

    Brett Cauchi on Culture, Patience, and Simplicity: Building a Girls Basketball Program Long-Term

    In this Contacts Coaching Podcast episode, the host welcomes back Brett Cauchi to discuss his growth over nearly three years at Rancho Solano as the head girls basketball coach and a teacher. Brett explains how the job has confirmed his mission fit through long-term impact on kids, relationship building, and developing trust across age groups from middle school to high school. They explore balancing warmth with accountability, building leadership and systems that can outlast a coach’s personality, and managing the reality of being paid to teach rather than coach. Brett reflects on program progress (14-4, 11-3, playoff run), emphasizing unseen culture gains like resilience and belief. Key coaching takeaways include embracing simplicity, focusing on rebounding and strength, recognizing patterns, setting boundaries by learning to say no, and being intentional about confidence-building competitiveness. 00:00 Welcome Back Brett 01:06 Mission Fit Confirmed 04:02 Coaching Across Ages 07:13 Structure Over Energy 10:43 Warmth And Standards 12:48 Progress Beyond Wins 16:31 Simplicity And Identity 21:23 Systems That Sustain 22:53 Playing The Long Game 24:46 Patience Over Results 25:09 Setting Parent Expectations 26:45 Raising Teens With Structure 28:36 Three Sports And Wilderness 31:10 Letting Kids Own Stories 32:33 Coaching With Empathy 36:26 Every Kid Needs An Adult 38:04 Love As The Job 39:39 Hard Schedules Build Grit 40:45 Learning To Say No 43:11 Changing Minds And Patterns 44:58 When Competition Backfires 46:43 Routine And Truth Tellers 49:38 Closing Patterns And Truth

    56 min
  3. Coach Bryan Rooney: CSU East Bay’s Historic Turnaround, Roles, Culture, & Recruiting the Portal Era

    Jun 10

    Coach Bryan Rooney: CSU East Bay’s Historic Turnaround, Roles, Culture, & Recruiting the Portal Era

    On the Contacts Coaching podcast, host Justin Clymo welcomes back Cal State East Bay men’s basketball coach Bryan Rooney to unpack the program’s dramatic turnaround from 11–17 to an undefeated run until a loss in the Elite Eight, finishing at 33-1. Rooney credits player commitment, continuity, the team mantra “just get better,” and this season’s theme “burn the boats,” emphasizing role definition, accountability, and dominating roles across both players and staff. He explains how relationships, habits, staying present, and not reinventing the wheel helped sustain success under pressure, shares moments showing player-led ownership and deep teammate care, and describes weekly one-on-one meetings as a nonnegotiable culture builder. Rooney also discusses empowering assistants, adapting tactically (including sending five to the boards), navigating recruiting and the transfer portal case-by-case, the importance of administrative alignment, and guarding culture by prioritizing character fit. 00:00 Welcome Back Coach Rooney 00:27 Quick Coaching Background 01:16 From 11 Wins to Elite Eight 02:33 Burn the Boats Mindset 04:16 Pressure Proof Habits 06:51 Team First Chemistry 09:07 Family Moments and Loss 11:30 Weekly Meetings and Trust 13:53 Making Roles Matter 17:24 Keeping the Fringe Ready 20:27 Player Led Turning Points 23:33 Empowering the Staff 26:51 Trust and Effort Standards 28:46 Staying Present in Success 29:49 Next Game Focus 30:20 Control The Controllables 31:27 Transfer Portal Reality 37:16 One Year Journeys 40:20 Alignment And Innovation 43:37 Turnaround Lessons 47:24 Raising The Ceiling 48:43 Protecting Culture 50:16 Authentic Gratitude 52:47 Closing Thoughts

    59 min
  4. Heat Sense Founder Melissa Fortenberry on Proactive Heat Illness Monitoring in Youth Sports

    Jun 3

    Heat Sense Founder Melissa Fortenberry on Proactive Heat Illness Monitoring in Youth Sports

    On the Contacts Coaching podcast, host interviews Melissa Fortenberry, founder of Heat Sense, about proactively monitoring heat strain in athletes to prevent heat illness. Fortenberry, a former Texas athlete and tech professional, describes being sick during a 107-degree football game and researching why existing guidelines focus on symptoms, meaning athletes are already ill once dizziness or nausea appears. She explains limitations of heat index and wet bulb globe temperature for team decisions because athletes differ in hydration and acclimation, and argues core body temperature is the key metric, though gold-standard measurement is rectal thermometry. Heat Sense uses a Swiss wearable (bicep/chest) plus heart rate to estimate core temperature within about 1°C, flag rising heat strain trends via an app and team dashboard, and support cooling interventions. They discuss adoption models, rotating sensors to identify sensitive athletes, EAP planning, and “cool first, transport second” protocols. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:32 Melissa’s Origin Story 02:05 107 Degrees Spark 03:44 Why Heat Guidelines Fail 06:05 Core Temp Monitoring Tech 08:31 Accuracy and Thresholds 12:00 Cooling Protocols in Practice 13:03 Practice Risks and Acclimation 16:17 App Dashboard and Pricing 17:33 Adoption for Schools and Clubs 20:27 Parent Checklist and EAP 21:42 Cooling First Transport Second 22:18 Regional Risk and Humidity 23:57 Where to Learn More 24:10 Wrap Up and Takeaways https://heatsense.com/

    31 min
  5. Mental Performance Coaching with Bre Smedley: Snapback Routine, Team Culture Systems, and Parent Support

    May 27

    Mental Performance Coaching with Bre Smedley: Snapback Routine, Team Culture Systems, and Parent Support

    In this Contacts Coaching podcast episode, former guest Bre Smedley, co-founder of Elite Competitor and a championship high school volleyball coach, shares how her mental performance framework has evolved into plug-and-play tools for coaches and resources for parents. She explains key skills—failure recovery (the “snapback routine”), self-talk, and visualization—and describes how the snapback routine (breath, reset word, reset signal) helped her team stay composed in a state championship comeback. Reflecting on a season that ended in third after four straight titles, she discusses how pressure can reveal cracks in culture and the need to systemize values, communication, and accountability. Bre also covers parent influence, including avoiding badmouthing coaches/teammates, improving car-ride conversations, and supporting athlete autonomy, plus guidance on aligning college-sport goals with habits and recruiting effort. 00:00 Welcome Back And Reintro 01:10 Bre’s Coaching Origin Story 02:55 From Framework To Coach Program 05:10 Snapback Routine Explained 09:18 State Title Pressure Test 13:02 After The Streak Lessons 16:46 Culture Cracks And Systems 19:49 Parents Coaches Athletes Triangle 22:30 Parenting Mistakes To Avoid 25:38 Postgame Parent Mindset 26:07 LOVE Talk Framework 27:05 Autonomy Over Pressure 28:34 College Dream Reality Check 31:17 Coach Truth Without Crushing 34:40 Parents Driving The Dream 37:45 Female Coach Double Standard 43:39 Systems To Prevent Drama 45:56 Delegation And Injury Lesson 49:30 Resources And Wrap Up Previous Episodes:  Bre Smedley Pt. 1: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1zipbClx90G2u2vOkkYt3c?si=72dca5bf8abb4f3c Bre Smedley Pt. 2: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ba0v7bdGmrI28ziyZ7xjc?si=445b608c271e40f2

    57 min
  6. Josh Duke on the University-Model School, Multi-Sport Culture, and Leading as an Athletic Director

    May 20

    Josh Duke on the University-Model School, Multi-Sport Culture, and Leading as an Athletic Director

    On the Contacts Coaching Podcast, Josh Duke, Executive Director of Athletics and Operations at Grace Prep in the DFW Metroplex, shares his path from Grace Prep student to Abilene Christian student manager, then coaching at Fort Worth Christian (freshman, JV under Jeff Bell, and varsity head coach) before returning to Grace Prep in 2020 as athletic director and head boys basketball coach. He explains Grace Prep’s university-model schedule, how families make it work, and the broader Texas homeschool sports landscape. Duke outlines Grace Prep’s sports offerings, enrollment size, and the realities of sustaining football participation, while emphasizing the value and role-management of multi-sport athletes. He discusses balancing in-season/off-season demands, how roster makeup changes basketball strategy, the importance of mentors, AD lessons learned during COVID, culture-building through parent/community engagement and monthly team dinners, and how conversations with other coaches shifted his thinking on using pressure defense to control tempo. 00:00 Welcome And Introductions 00:42 Josh Duke Coaching Journey 02:54 University Model School Explained 06:44 Homeschool Sports Landscape 08:10 Grace Prep Sports Offerings 08:42 Building Multisport Culture 10:45 Roles And Expectations 12:09 Making Room For Leaders 14:50 State Title Multisport Example 15:28 Football Numbers Reality 16:47 AD Coach Conflict Balance 17:24 Offseason Basketball In Texas 19:45 Adapting Style To Talent 22:06 Simple Vs Complex Offense 23:57 Playing Downhill And Pace 24:48 Assistant to Head Coach Shock 25:50 Finding Your Own Style 26:57 Leveraging Veteran Assistants 28:19 Mentors and Accountability 30:29 Becoming Athletic Director 33:42 Stealing Culture From Others 37:41 Coaching Through Parenthood 39:44 Team Dinners Build Culture 43:58 Changing Minds and Tempo 46:55 Pressing to Control Pace 49:09 Final Thanks and Wrap

    55 min
  7. Kansas Wesleyan Men’s Soccer Coach Cody Barltow on Training vs Practice, Coaching Co-Ed, and Building Better Athletes

    May 13

    Kansas Wesleyan Men’s Soccer Coach Cody Barltow on Training vs Practice, Coaching Co-Ed, and Building Better Athletes

    On the Contacts Coaching podcast, host Justin interviews Cody Bartlow, newly hired head men’s soccer coach at Kansas Wesleyan University, about his path from an unplanned start coaching a U6 co-ed team in high school to 25 years in coaching across club, high school, and NAIA college programs in Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Kansas. Bartlow explains why he now calls sessions “training” instead of “practice,” emphasizing scenario preparation and player autonomy in a sport with no timeouts. He discusses lessons from coaching co-ed and both genders, building belief in female athletes through relationships and individualized approaches, and borrowing concepts from football, track, basketball, hockey, rugby, and baseball to teach soccer. He also covers multi-sport development, workload management, referee relationships, why back-to-back soccer games raise injury risk, regional differences in soccer culture, and the administrative reality of small-college coaching. 00:00 Podcast Welcome 00:30 Coach Bartlow Journey 03:54 New Kansas Role 04:17 Training Not Practice 06:10 Coed Team Lessons 11:13 Building Confidence 16:25 Cross Sport Coaching 22:11 Specialization Club Tension 26:34 Managing Multi Sport Load 28:58 Coed Season Juggling 29:41 Managing Back To Back Games 29:57 Respecting Referees 32:15 Building Ref Rapport 34:30 Soccer Scheduling Safety 36:19 Recovery And Injury Risk 40:22 Texas Vs Midwest Sports 42:46 Club Culture And Ego 46:01 Small College Coaching Reality 51:52 Growth Mindset And Mentors 54:42 Process Driven Training 58:19 Final Takeaways And Thanks

    1h 5m
  8. Coach Perry Skaggs on Private vs Public Schools, Building the Duarte Family, and Growing Programs

    May 6

    Coach Perry Skaggs on Private vs Public Schools, Building the Duarte Family, and Growing Programs

    On the Contacts Coaching podcast, Duarte High School athletic director and PE teacher Coach Perry Skaggs shares his path from LA Unified student and Fairfax High alumnus to coaching and athletic administration across private and public schools, including Pilgrim, Viewpoint, Flintridge Prep, Westmark, and LAUSD sites before landing at Duarte eight years ago. He explains why he moved between sectors—job security, parent access, and career stability—and why Duarte feels like a “small town” community where relationships drive athletics. Skaggs discusses lessons from eight-man football, emphasizing coaching adaptability and culture, and outlines Duarte’s multi-sport philosophy and sport offerings, including additions like girls flag football, stunt, and boys volleyball based on student interest. He also describes evolving from dogmatic coaching to more collaborative communication and focusing programs on positive student-athlete experiences over championships. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:55 Coaching Roots and Early Stops 02:37 Flintridge Prep to Westmark Shift 03:44 Westmark Lessons and Eight Man Success 04:40 Back to Public and Finding Duarte 07:05 Private vs Public Realities 13:02 Why Duarte Feels Like Family 17:36 Stepping Into the AD Role 21:51 Eight Man vs Eleven Man Football 25:42 Eight Man Culture and Community 28:04 Eight Man Football Shift 28:44 Selling Multi Sport Culture 30:32 Cutting And Adding Sports 34:27 New Programs And Tradeoffs 36:23 Do New Sports Hurt Others 37:50 Culture Over Championships 41:57 Post COVID Team Mindset 46:30 Changing Coaching Style 50:15 Staying Old School Tools 53:02 Final Wrap And Thanks

    59 min
4.8
out of 5
67 Ratings

About

The CONTACTS Coaches Podcast is a digital database of coaching where Coach and Athletic Director Justin Clymo discusses the various aspects of coaching, leadership and life with those he has met along the way.

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