From the Coach's Mouth

Pitching coach extraordinaire Rick Pauly helps Jay and Ken kick off the new year right with a return visit to the podcast. Rick covers a wide variety of topics, from his recent presentation at the NFCA 2025 convention to the need to move to a "pitching staff" approach v. riding one arm all the way to some of his favorite tools for teaching to some of the new things he has learned and incorporated in the last year to some updates on his High Performance Pitching certification program. It's always a good time when Rick stops by for a visit.

Jay and Ken once again have the opportunity to speak with a fastpitch softball legend. This time it's former men's international and national champion pitcher and pitching coach supreme Doug Gillis. Doug shares stories about how he learned to pitch by studying top international pitchers and imitating their movements, his experience having Mike White as his roommate when he was a teen, and his most memorable international playing experiences. He then talks about the state of pitching today, his thoughts about leaping versus crow hopping, and what pitchers can do to help themselves throw faster, more accurately, and more effectively.

This week Jay and Ken make it a duo to talk about getting the most out of high school softball and what players can do if they didn't make them team they were hoping for. They also discuss some of the bad advice they've been given or they've heard coaches give to players over the years, why it doesn't make sense, and what players can do instead.

Chanin Billings, head coach at Maryville University in St. Louis, chats with Jay and Ken about her career as a four-year starter at the University of Kansas (as well as playing for the Mexican National Team), and her experiences coaching at the D1, D2, and D3 levels. She talks about how she became a turnaround specialist, helping teams that had been struggling find success, how what she teaches for hitting has changed from what she did as a high-level hitter herself, why she loves coaching at the D2 level, how she approaches tough conversations with her athletes, and what she looks for when recruiting players.

Tayler Onion, Ph.D. joins Jay and Ken to talk about her career as a D1 volleyball player, youth softball player, and most importantly her work around opportunities for women in sports. She also shares her thoughts on what constitutes good leadership (regardless of gender), the need for coaches and athletes to learn how to be resilient in tough situations, advice on how parents or other new coaches who are just stepping into the role should approach working with their athletes, her work as a speaker and the proprietor of the Hang Time podcast, and more. For more information or to contact Dr. Onion with specific concerns check out her website at https://www.tayleronion.com/.

Former Chicago Cubs/current New York Mets organization hitting coach Rachel Folden joins Jay and Ken to talk about her career as a top-notch collegiate and professional fastpitch softball player and what it's like to be a pioneer as a female coaching in men's baseball. She also shares her thoughts on what takes hitters (and players in general) from good to great to elite, what many parents of youth players get wrong when it comes to development, the current trend of games, games, games without leaving time for practice, and what coaches at all levels can and should do to help their players grow. In addition, Coach Folden talks about some of the lessons she learned playing with and against legends such as Crystal Bustos and Kelly Kretschman.

Jay and Ken take a deep dive into the ins and outs of getting recruited to play in college with Brian Chidester and Brian May of College Bound Jocks. The Brians talk about what college coaches look for in a recruiting video, the persistence required to build and maintain a connection to college coaches, and the importance of "fishing in the right pond," i.e., understanding the level of play that best suits your skills and focusing your time there. They share some success stories, the importance of attending the right recruitment camps, some of the ways college coaches "test" prospective student athletes to see if they'll be a good fit, and key advice for those who want to make the leap. If you're interested in getting help with this process, you can check out their website at: https://collegeboundjocks.com/

This week Jay and Ken share some of their favorite coaching tools for hitting and pitching, as well as some of the must-haves for every coach's personal coaching bag. It's a rapid-fire discussion that covers plenty of ground. For those interested, here are links to a few of them: OnForm: https://onform.com/ Pocket Radar: https://www.pocketradar.com/PitchLogic Softball: https://pitchlogic.com/softballInsider Bat: https://www.insiderbat.com/BamBooBat: https://bamboobat.com/Hack Attack Pitching Machine: https://sportsattack.com/hack-2/4D Motion: https://4dmotionsports.com/PantherTec KAT: https://panthertec.net/SpinForm Softball: https://spinformsoftball.com/Spin Right Spinner: https://bit.ly/4apOc3bPitchSqueak: support@pitchsqueak.com (mention From the Coach's Mouth for a 10% discount)

Legendary men's fastpitch pitcher and private instructor Bill Hillhouse joins Jay and Ken for a discussion about his approach to teaching pitching, how the men's game has changed (and the lack of support it receives from USA Softball), why he doesn't take credit for or even talk much about the many high-level women's pitchers he's coached, and some of his experiences playing around the world. Bill also talks openly about his cancer journey, his good days and bad days, and how teaching lessons, even on a limited basis, brings him a sense of normalcy. For those who would like to help Bill out with the day-to-day expenses he mentions, you can contribute to his GoFundMe by following this link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-bill-hillhouse-through-his-cancer-battle

Western Illinois University head coach Alisa Goler joins Jay and Ken to talk about her days playing at the University of Georgia, where she still holds many hitting records, her time as a player in the National Pro Fastpitch league, how she got started coaching, and what it was like to coach the Blaze in the inaugural season of the AUSL. She shares how her coaching has changed over the years, the effect coaching professional athletes had on her college coaching career, times when she struggled and how she managed it, and why she thinks some great, highly qualified coaches are often overlooked for bigger jobs.

With the softball season beginning to ramp up again, it's important to take steps to prevent injuries, especially those to joints such as knees and shoulders, as much as we can. This week Jay and Ken speak with Dr. Chelsea Martin, PT, DPT, SCS, a doctoral student and researcher at the University of North Carolina, about her contributions to research projects at the Injury Prevention Research Center and the National Catastrophic Center for Sport Injury Surveillance as well as her work with the Wake Forest Pitching Lab. She talks to Jay and Ken about her career as a 3-time North Carolina state champion pitcher and pitcher at the University of Louisville, what got her interested in becoming a physical therapist, and her work in the area of injury prevention for adolescent and collegiate overhead athletes (including softball players). For more information on this important topic or to contact Dr. Martin, check out these links: International Olympic Committee Findings for Female, woman and/or girl Athlete Injury pRevention (FAIR) consensus we worked on:​Lower extremity injury prevention: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/59/22/1575​Lower extremity modifiable risk factors: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/59/21/1499​Upper extremity prevention and modifiable risk factors: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/59/22/1587​The overall process and takeaways from the FAIR initiative: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/59/22/1529#ref-8Exercise References​Training and evaluation recommendations softball specific- has some basic exercise recs and evaluation when we were discussing exercises. From one of my good colleagues Kenzie Friesen, Table 2 has other pitch specific exercise ideas and is an extension of articles 1/3 that cover more basic exercise principle ideas (she would be another great researcher to host). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/19417381251323610Contact Info​Twitter handle- @ChelseaMartinPT and email- martinlc@unc.edu​Wake Forest Pitching Lab- https://www.wakeforestpitchinglab.com/ contact Dr. Kristen Nicholson for future opportunities coming soon to the lab  (coming soon!) and to learn more about the ongoing study https://acsm.org/foundation/funding/recipients/.

Jay and Ken welcome Roman Foore, assistant coach for Bethel University in Minnesota, to the From the Coach's Mouth studio to talk about his career as a men's fastpitch player, assistant coach for the USA Softball Men's National Team, and both assistant and head coach for teams in the National Pro Fastpitch League. Roman shares his thoughts on why he feels he's a better assistant than head coach, what it's like coaching with his wife Penny, the differences between coaching men's and women's teams, his approach to recruiting and developing athletes at the collegiate level and more.

Jay and Ken wrap up 2025 with a look back on some of their favorite episodes and guests, as well as an overview of their impressions of the first year of the From the Coach's Mouth podcast as a whole. As always, they do divert into a couple of pet topics too. The guys will be back in the new year with more great guests and insights into the game of fastpitch softball and how to coach it overall. Until then, happy whatever you celebrate and stay safe out there!

High-level cricket coach Prashant Patel stopped by the From the Coach's Mouth studio to talk with Jay and Ken about his career as a cricket (and for a brief time soccer) player in the UK and the US, how he got his start in coaching the sport, the steps required to become a youth sports coach in the UK (it's a lot more difficult than the US), and how the UK approaches player development in all sports. He then discusses ActionTypes, the original motor preferences/motor signatures system, and how it takes brain functions, personality traits, and more into account when developing a player profile so coaches can help their players improve performance while remaining healthier. (For more information see https:.//motorpreferencescoaches.com.)

Jay and Ken take a look at many of the ways the game of fastpitch softball has changed, what has been behind those changes, and whether they think it's for better or worse. Among the topics they cover are the proliferation of practice/training facilities, technology, pitching rules, turf fields, and more. It's a fun look back - and forward.

This week Jay and Ken speak with Lake Forest College Head Coach Joe Kinsella about how this former football player came to become the coach of one of the most successful Division 3 women's softball teams. He talks about how he got started in coaching, what he looks for in recruits, how he builds a winning culture, and what he feels his greatest accomplishment has been to date among other topics. He also shares a bit of his coaching tree and what makes Lake Forest College itself so attractive to student athletes looking for a high-level professional career post-softball.

This week Jay and Ken offer up their top 10 things coaches shouldn't do while coaching. Some are general, some are position-specific, but all are good advice drawn from their own mistakes or those they've seen others make. Jay also offers a bonus plea to coaches about their attire when coaching. It's a fun and informative conversation so check it out.

Jay and Ken were honored this week to be able to speak with former longtime SIU Carbondale head coach and current John A. Logan Community College volunteer assistant coach Kerri Blaylock. A member of four halls of fame, including the SIUC and NFCA Halls of Fame, Coach Blaylock shared how a chance phone call got her started on the career she loves, her approach to developing a culture, the importance of building a real rather than transactional relationship with your players, some of the things that give her the greatest satisfaction, and some of the people who had the greatest impact on her as a player and coach.

Talk about a catch! National Fastpitch Coaches Association CEO and Hall of Famer Carol Bruggeman joins Jay and Ken to talk about how growing up in a small town in Iowa gave her the foundation to achieve big dreams and big jobs. She talks about her time as a player and her coaching journey, including serving as an assistant coach to the legendary Carol Hutchins at Michigan, starting the Purdue University softball program from scratch, and her years at Louisville. She also shares what attracted her to working at the NFCA, how the organization has grown and influenced fastpitch softball at all levels, and what she's looking forward to at the upcoming Convention in Las Vegas in December.

Rutgers University pitching coach Nick French joins Jay and Ken to talk about how he got started as a pitching coach by coaching his high school classmates when he was 14, the importance of data and analytics in developing pitchers, what it was like coaching the USA Softball Men's 23U team in international play, and some of his takeaways after coaching nearly 20 years at the collegiate level. He also weighs in on what he looks for most when attending recruiting events.