Coaching Crossover

In episode 6 of Coaching Crossover we feature legends from the dugouts of Major League Baseball and behind the bench of Canada's hockey program. Clint Hurdle is a former Major League Baseball player and manager known for his leadership and player-development approach. A first overall pick in the 1975 MLB Draft, Hurdle played 10 seasons in the majors with the Kansas City Royals and New York Mets before transitioning into coaching. He gained national recognition as manager of the Colorado Rockies, leading the club to its first-ever World Series appearance in 2007. Hurdle later managed the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2011 to 2019, guiding the team to three consecutive playoff appearances and earning National League Manager of the Year Award honors in 2013. Hurdle has built a reputation as a respected leader and mentor throughout professional baseball. Dave King is one of Canada's most respected hockey coaches, with a career spanning more than four decades across international, collegiate, and professional levels. He first rose to prominence with University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men's Ice Hockey, leading the program to a national championship in 1983 before becoming head coach and general manager of Hockey Canada's men's national team program. King coached Canada at three Olympic Games, won a silver medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics, and led the country to gold at the 1982 World Junior Championships. At the professional level he served as head coach of the Calgary Flames and the inaugural coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets. King has had a lasting impact on coaching development and was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame. Together we'll discuss a mutual respect for each other's sport, relying on instincts over data, and the challenge of in-game decision making.

In episode 5 of Coaching Crossover, we merge the CFL and the NBA with our two fantastic guests, Buck Pierce and Jesse Mermuys. Buck Pierce is the Head Coach of the BC Lions and one of the Canadian Football League's most respected offensive minds. A former CFL quarterback, Pierce began his playing career with the Lions before going on to win a Grey Cup championship with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2019. Pierce held the position of offensive coordinator of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, a team that went to four straight Grey Cups, winning in 2019 and 2021. Now heading into his second season leading the Lions, he has the franchise positioned as a competitive force in the West Division. Jesse Mermuys is an Assistant Coach with the Phoenix Suns and a veteran NBA coach known for his defensive expertise and player development work. A mainstay on NBA coaching staffs since 2008, Mermuys has built a strong résumé across the league with roles for the Toronto Raptors, LA Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings, and currently the Suns, which he joined in July of 2025. For the 2015-2016 season, Mermuys served as the Raptors 905 D-League team as their Head Coach and Assistant General Manager.  Today we'll talk about being an assistant coach and what is expected of you of your head coach, building a foundation of a team, overcoaching and using analytics.

In episode 4 of Coaching Crossover, we welcome Giovanni Guidetti and Greg Hamilton, two coaches who are guiding Canadian programs to their biggest stages in sport. Giovanni is the coach of Canada's women's national volleyball team. He's also been the coach of a club team in Turkey since 2008. On a national level, he has coached in Bulgaria, Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey, Serbia and now in Canada, hoping to get the women's team to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Under the leadership of Guidetti, the Turkish National Team qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and the team reached quarters for first time in Olympics history. He also served as Italy's vice coach in the 1998 World Championships in Japan and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Australia. Meanwhile, Greg Hamilton has been a national team coach with Baseball Canada for over 30 years, working with the Junior National Team since 1999. With the program, he's won two WBSC U18 Baseball World Cup bronze medals and one silver medal. His group has also won three Pan Am Games medals, including gold in 2011 and 2015, two Olympic Games in 2004 and 2008 and all four World Baseball Classic events. Today we'll talk about the differences in athlete development between Canada and other countries, coaching with empathy, and identifying young talent and building team chemistry

In episode 3 of Coaching Crossover, we have a treat for you as we welcome guests from the football and soccer worlds. Brandon Lynch is the Cornerbacks Coach for the Cleveland Browns and a former NFL defensive back. He is joined by Mitch Hildebrandt, a former pro goalkeeper who now works as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Union of the MLS. Lynch joined the Browns' coaching staff in 2020 as Assistant Defensive Backs Coach and was promoted to Cornerbacks Coach in 2023. A Super Bowl champion with the Colts and Grey Cup winner in the CFL, he's built a strong coaching resume through the college and pro ranks. Known for developing top-level defensive backs, Lynch has helped shape one of the NFL's rising secondaries in Cleveland. In 2024, he was selected to represent the Browns at the NFL's Coach Accelerator Program, reflecting his growing influence and potential as a leader in the league. A former USL Goalkeeper of the Year, Hildebrandt gained national attention during FC Cincinnati's memorable U.S. Open Cup run and later earned an MLS Cup as part of Atlanta United. After retiring in 2019, he transitioned to coaching, beginning as goalkeeping coach for Sporting Kansas City II in 2020 and later joining St. Louis CITY SC's coaching staff in MLS. In 2025, he took on his role with Philadelphia, bringing high-level experience and a strong goalkeeper development background to the pro game. Today we will cover communication with your players and your fellow coaches, their transitions from playing to coaching and the coaches that have paved the way for them.   

In episode 2 of Coaching Crossover, we focus on tennis and swimming, while bringing two old acquaintances back together. Bill O'Toole is the Head Coach of the Toronto Swim Club, the elite club in Canada for swimmers aiming for gold in the pool. Joining him is former tennis pro and current ATP coach Frédéric Fontang. With more than 30 years of coaching experience, Bill O'Toole has coached swimmers to nearly 100 National and 100 Provincial records. He has placed several swimmers on Canada's National Team including the Olympic Games, World Championships, Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships. He most famously worked with Penny Oleksiak, Canada's most decorated Olympic athlete, while receiving numerous awards for his coaching himself, including the Petro Canada Coaching Excellence Award and Swim Ontario Coach of the Year. Frédéric Fontang is a highly respected tennis coach who has worked extensively on the ATP Tour. He is most notably known as the longtime coach of Félix Auger-Aliassime, helping guide the Canadian star's rise into the world's elite, while also becoming the second highest ranked Canadian men's player in ATP history. He previously worked with Tennis Canada and has coached several ATP players including Caroline Garcia, Vask Pospisil and Jeremy Chardy.  We'll talk about the mental side of each sport and how different it is working with an individual as opposed to a team.

Welcome to the Coaching Crossover Podcast! Join Matt Dumouchelle, as he invites two coaches from different sports to discuss leadership, team culture and what it takes to thrive under pressure, straight from the mouths of the people who live the grind and shape the standard every day. In episode 1, we focus on the sports of soccer and lacrosse as we are joined by Wake Forest University men's soccer coach, Bobby Muuss and the general manager and co-head coach of the Saskatchewan Rush of the National Lacrosse League, Derek Keenan. Coach Muuss has been with Wake Forest since 2015 and all he's done since then is dominate. Since 2015, Coach Muuse has 152 wins and 111 home wins, both the highest total in NCAA D1 soccer. His club has made 14 straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, has won 3 ACC Championships and 2 College Cups. He started his coaching career as an assistant at Wake Forest from 2001-2006 before taking the head coaching job at the University of Denver until 2014. At that time, he returned to Wake Forest, where he has helped 31 of his athletes join the MLS. Coach Keenan is coming off his 16 th year with the Saskatchewan Rush, where he's won championships in 2016 and 2018 while coming up one game short this past season in the NLL Finals. Keenan is a lacrosse legend in Canada, being named to the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2012 and being named the General Manager of the Year and Coach of the Year three times each – both the most of any individual in NLL history. We'll discuss building a culture and challenging your leaders, how much personality matches with performance in recruiting and drafting and the great destinations these two coaches go to so they can disconnect.