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ATHLETE 1 PODCAST

Season 4

Dec. 10, 2025

Tradition Meets Change: Leading Without Rewriting The Playbook

Send us a text What does it take to move one seat over and keep a winner winning? We sit down with Hilliard Darby’s new head baseball coach, Andrew Ozbolt, to unpack the real work of inheriting a high-performing program: protecting standards, earning trust, and evolving without erasing what made th…
Dec. 3, 2025

What Keeps Coaches in the Dugout When Everything Says Walk Away?

Send us a text Why do high school coaches keep showing up when the hours are brutal, the stipend is small, and the critiques are loud? We open the door to the dugout and talk honestly about purpose, sacrifice, and the quiet wins that outlast any trophy. Ken shares his ongoing battle with ulcerative…
Nov. 26, 2025

5 Offseason Standards That Keep Teams Hungry

Send us a text Winning can be the start of the slide. After a deep run or a title, the real threat isn’t on your schedule—it’s in your clubhouse. We unpack how complacency takes root during the quiet months and map out a hard-nosed offseason plan that keeps players hungry, focused, and honest about…
Nov. 19, 2025

Outside The Fence: A Dad's Guide To Letting High School Coaches Coach

Send us a text The toughest moment for many baseball dads isn’t a bad call or a tough loss—it’s handing the reins to the high school staff and walking to the bleachers. This candid conversation with Dr. JT Anderson, former team chiropractor for the Denver Broncos and author of Outside the Fence, ex…
Nov. 12, 2025

Team Chemistry: The Science Behind Championship Teams

Send us a text What if nearly half of what separates good teams from great ones can’t be found on a stat sheet? We explore the real engine behind championship baseball: team chemistry. Drawing on a large-scale study of MLB teams from 1998 to 2016, we break down how player complementarities and trus…
Nov. 5, 2025

Why Top High School Coaches Are Walking Away

Send us a text Twenty-two coaching vacancies in one county—without scandal, without losing streaks—just a wave of veteran leaders saying, “Enough.” We sit down with Mansfield News Journal sports reporter Jake Furr to unpack the forces driving high school coaches out: parents bypassing the chain of …
Oct. 29, 2025

The Transfer Portal Killed Freshman Playing Time: Here's Your Plan B

Send us a text Ready for an honest look at the smartest path from high school baseball to D1 and beyond? We sit down with Coach Austin Nelson of Cochise College to unpack why junior college baseball often beats jumping straight into a crowded Division I roster. With the transfer portal stacking lin…
Oct. 22, 2025

Inside Eaton High’s Blueprint For 15 State Titles

Send us a text What does it really take for a small farming community to build a high school baseball dynasty? We sit down with Eaton High School head coach Todd Hernandez to unpack the real blueprint behind 15 Colorado state titles, four since 2021, and a 74-game win streak that turned heads natio…
Oct. 15, 2025

Why Practice Builds Winners and Relationships Sustain Programs

Send us a text A Hall of Fame coach with 500+ wins doesn’t hang around by accident. Coach Mike Shade of Gahanna Lincoln High School (OH) opens the dugout door to 41 years of lessons: why relationships anchor a program, how practice—not pep talks—decides results, and what “all in” really means for p…
Oct. 8, 2025

What Makes a .260 Hitter More Valuable Than a .300 Hitter?

Send us a text What if the fastest way to win more games is to stop spending outs? We take a hard look at the numbers that truly drive runs—on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and the deceptively simple OPS—and show how a smarter lineup can flip close scores in your favor. From a striking Barr…
Oct. 1, 2025

Failure by Design: Why Baseball Prepares You for Chaos

Send us a text A thrown chair blocks the stage door, and a young actor freezes—until a director offers three words that change everything: use the difficulty. We take that vivid moment and walk it straight into the dugout, exploring how coaches can turn injuries, slumps, rainouts, and schedule chao…
Sept. 24, 2025

3 Fundamental Pillars Every Coach Needs in Their Baseball Program

Send us a text Mason Stookey knows the true meaning of rebuilding. When a tornado hit Coweta (OK) High School's baseball field in 2021, destroying their fence, equipment, and freshly planted rye seed, he faced a critical choice: follow the trend toward artificial turf or recommit to maintaining a p…
Sept. 17, 2025

Why Tough Schedules Build Championship Teams

Send us a text Championship programs aren't built on talent alone – they're founded on consistent systems, deliberate culture-building, and a philosophy that develops complete athletes. Coach Ben Evick of Cape Henlopen High School has mastered this formula, leading his program to three Delaware sta…