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

    18H AGO

    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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. From Train Engineer to Texas State Champion: Coach Fonzo Martinez on Building Culture & Adapting to Your Team

    APR 29

    From Train Engineer to Texas State Champion: Coach Fonzo Martinez on Building Culture & Adapting to Your Team

    Justin interviews Fonzo Martinez, boys basketball head coach at McKinney Christian Academy in the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, about his path from high school and college basketball—derailed by severe knee injuries—to working as a train engineer and in corporate sales before feeling called to coach. He details getting his start at Coram Deo Academy, rebuilding a losing program into a playoff and state tournament team, then moving to McKinney Christian, where he became head coach four years ago and has led a dominant run including TAPPS state titles in 2022 and 2026 (39–1 this year; 77–3 over two years). Martinez explains Texas scheduling and associations (UIL, TAPPS, SPC), emphasizes adjusting style to personnel, and shares culture-building practices like weekly leadership days, player speeches, peer feedback sessions, bench standards, and boundaries that prioritize family and healthy time commitments. 00:00 Meet Coach Fonzo 00:44 Playing Days and Knee Injury 01:56 Railroad to Coaching Leap 05:58 First Head Job at Coram Deo 06:52 COVID and Move to McKinney 09:04 State Title Run and Scheduling 11:29 Texas Leagues Explained 13:25 What New Coaches Miss 17:32 Adapting Style to Personnel 26:11 Offseason Rules and Multi Sport 34:10 Culture Staples and Leadership Day 35:44 Culture Over Winning 36:33 Inside Leadership Day 38:36 Weekly Player Speeches 39:51 Practice Time Breakdown 41:41 Attitude And 95 Percent Rule 45:25 Role Clarity Exercises 46:38 Peer Feedback Meeting 49:21 Bench Energy Standards 51:03 Stealing From Other Sports 52:17 Player Led Timeouts 58:47 Pregame Warmup Upgrades 01:02:08 Changing Mind On Time 01:05:55 Closing Thoughts

    1h 12m
  6. Drew Snelgrove on Building Programs, Event Management, and Multi-Sport Athletes

    APR 22

    Drew Snelgrove on Building Programs, Event Management, and Multi-Sport Athletes

    On the Contacts Coaching Podcast, host interviews Drew Snelgrove, athletic director and men’s basketball coach at Big Valley Christian in Modesto, covering his 30-year journey from Humboldt County athlete and BMX racer to college player at College of the Redwoods and Bethany University, pro/overseas stops in Australia and a tryout in Germany, and a transition into coaching and administration. Snelgrove recounts program-building roles at Capital Christian/Destiny Christian, a Division I assistant stint at Sacramento State, returning to Bethany as AD and coach, 13 years at Valley Christian San Jose, and two years at Vacaville Christian before Big Valley. He discusses shifting from “contests” to “events,” creating systems for safety and operations, improving efficiency with digital ticketing and segmented game-day roles, advocating multi-sport participation for athlete health and development, setting parent communication standards, and his disillusionment with NCAA NIL and the changing college landscape. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:39 Humboldt Roots and BMX Days 01:59 College Hoops and Overseas Break 02:59 First Coaching Steps 03:57 Building Programs at Capital 04:38 D1 Assistant to AD Pivot 05:38 Valley Christian and Career Moves 07:15 Overseas Lessons and Perspective 12:02 Choosing Administration Path 14:19 Big Valley AD Mindset Shift 17:57 Streamlining Game Day Systems 20:08 Small School Multi Sport Culture 26:31 Multi Sport Reality Check 27:49 Parents Over D1 Dreams 31:34 Servant Leadership Lessons 34:13 Culture Ripple Effects 35:24 No Playing Time Talks 37:15 Weight Room Scheduling Hacks 42:14 Coach To AD Identity Shift 46:13 Being Seen Across Sports 48:41 NIL And College Disillusionment 51:46 Find Your Calling 53:52 High School Last Hurrah 54:17 Closing Thanks And Wrap

    1h 1m
  7. Half Moon Bay AD Mike Barragan on Small-Town Athletics, Multi-Sport Development, and Building Sportsmanship

    APR 15

    Half Moon Bay AD Mike Barragan on Small-Town Athletics, Multi-Sport Development, and Building Sportsmanship

    On the Contacts Coaching Podcast, Half Moon Bay athletic director Mike Barragan shares his path from being an undersized multi-sport athlete to coaching Little League, high school baseball (including at South San Francisco High), and eventually becoming AD in his hometown. He discusses lessons from varied sports and jobs (restaurants, construction, special education), the value of sociology for empathy and reading people, and why he strongly promotes multi-sport participation—especially at small schools where rosters and program health depend on it. Barragan describes navigating relationships with alumni coaches and parents, balancing what’s best for individual athletes versus the program, and using team culture practices like bonding meals. He also explains recent focus on improving sportsmanship amid growing trash talk and social media-driven behavior at games. 00:00 Podcast Welcome 00:45 Mike’s Sports Roots 04:43 Tony Gwynn Moment 05:15 First Coaching Break 06:57 Hometown Coaching Drama 08:48 Carlmont Reality Check 10:51 Teaching and Varsity Leap 14:38 Back to Half Moon Bay 15:00 Becoming Athletic Director 16:59 San Diego Detour 20:49 Life Skills and Empathy 23:08 Multi Sport Advocacy 29:53 Program vs Kid First 31:37 Program First Culture 32:02 Leading Without Micromanaging 33:19 Parents Communication Balance 34:33 Coaching Nuggets Learned 37:24 Cuts Roles and Development 42:44 Alumni Town Dynamics 48:52 Sportsmanship Stand 58:26 Closing Thanks and Wrap

    1h 1m
  8. From Combat Helicopter Pilot to BYU Football Strength Coach with Nate “Blackjack” Pototschnik

    APR 8

    From Combat Helicopter Pilot to BYU Football Strength Coach with Nate “Blackjack” Pototschnik

    In this Contacts Coaching Podcast episode, host interviews Nate “Blackjack” Pototschnik, associate director of strength and conditioning for BYU football, about his path from the U.S. Military Academy to flying helicopters for 10 years, deploying twice to Afghanistan, and using GI Bill benefits to earn a master’s in exercise physiology at the University of Virginia. Nathan shares why he left the cockpit for coaching, how success habits built his confidence, and how trusting his gut and prioritizing family guided career decisions when coaching opportunities shifted. He explains what transferred from aviation to coaching (explicit vs tacit learning, staying calm under pressure), discusses not tying self-worth to wins and losses, and outlines strength-and-conditioning priorities: movement quality screening, full-range training preferences, power clean vs full clean, building culture through standards, objective feedback and competition, staff alignment, and maintaining daily relationship touchpoints with athletes. 00:00 Meet Coach Blackjack 00:40 From 9/11 to Coaching 03:27 Betting on Yourself 05:22 Confidence and Gut Calls 10:04 GI Bill Explained 11:59 Combat Pilot Lessons 16:51 Staying Detached from Outcomes 18:50 Weight Room Priorities 24:08 Movement Screening Basics 26:52 Full Depth vs Quarter Squats 29:33 Power Clean vs Full Clean 31:03 Be Ready Before Promotion 33:20 Head Coach Time Demands 35:48 Hiring and Coaching Trees 38:58 Healthy Dissent Culture 43:07 BYU Grouping and Mods 44:25 Testing Buckets and Profiles 47:08 Freak Athletes and Standards 49:10 Environment and Competition 52:33 Leadership Lessons and Alignment 55:10 Building Relationships at Scale 56:40 Strength Coaches as Conduit 57:58 Wrap Up and Next Round

    1h 4m
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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