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Inside the Circle with Coach Pat

Inside the Circle with Coach Pat

Written by: patrick burns
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Youth sports can be one of the greatest experiences of your family's life. It can also be one of the most overwhelming. Between the recruiting pressure, the tournament schedules, the team drama, and the constant noise about what your kid should be doing next, it's easy to lose sight of why you started in the first place. Inside the Circle with Coach Pat cuts through all of it. Coach Pat is a youth and travel softball coach with over 20 years of experience and a track record of helping dozens of athletes reach college softball. Known for his calm, firm coaching style and his belief that sport is one of the best classrooms life has to offer, Coach Pat brings the inside perspective that most people in youth sports don't want to say out loud. Every episode features honest conversations with college coaches, tournament directors, travel ball organizations, and people who've built programs that last. We talk about team culture, player development, coaching fundamentals, the recruiting process, and the mindset that keeps families grounded when the pressure gets loud. This show is for the parents sitting in the bleachers trying to figure it all out. It's for the new coach who wants to do right by their players. And it's for the athlete who is starting to take the game seriously and wants to understand what the journey ahead really looks like. Every kid's journey is unique and this show exists to help you navigate yours. New episodes every other week. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.Copyright 2026 patrick burns Baseball & Softball Social Sciences
Episodes
  • 009: What No One Tells Softball Parents About Recruiting | Cheri Naudin

    009: What No One Tells Softball Parents About Recruiting | Cheri Naudin
    Sep 22 2026
    A softball recruiting advocate for parents is someone who turns a coach's interest into a real plan instead of a guess, and Cheri Naudin has built an entire company around doing exactly that. If you're posting highlight videos, tagging four hundred coaches, and still hearing nothing back, the problem probably isn't your daughter's talent, it's the strategy. Every summer, travel softball families spend thousands of dollars on camps and showcases chasing a dream school that was never actually recruiting at their level, while the programs that do want them get overlooked completely.In this episode of Inside the Circle with Coach Pat, Coach Pat sits down with Cheri Naudin, founder of Collegiate Sports Advocate (CSA), who has guided 972 student athletes through the recruiting process, including 210 who landed on a college roster last year alone. Cheri breaks down her Decision Grid method for matching an athlete's talent and academics to the right level of program, explains why she calls unsolicited advice free has no value, and walks through the eighth grade timeline every family should start before high school hits. You'll hear why she believes social media does more damage than good in recruiting, and what to do instead if you want a real invitation, not just a mention. If your family is still guessing where your daughter fits, this conversation gives you the plan.You’ll learn:Why chasing a dream school on social media almost never works, and what Cheri Naudin means when she says you can get more exposed than you get exposure.How the Decision Grid matches an athlete's talent, academics, and personality to the right level of program instead of chasing a name brand.Why Cheri's rule free has no value explains why most unpaid recruiting advice on social media ends up costing families more than it saves.Why eighth grade is the right time to start a recruiting plan, built around the two real seasons travel softball actually has each year.Why posting camp invites and highlight reels publicly can hurt a recruit's reputation with the wrong coaches instead of helping it.How the current transfer portal and five on five roster changes in college softball are reshaping who gets recruited and when.Why Cheri tells parents you have to take the crown off your athlete and find the school that actually values her, not just the biggest name.We talk about:00:00 Coach Pat introduces Cheri Naudin and Collegiate Sports Advocate00:59 How Cheri's own family experience led her to start CSA07:46 Why todays travel ball culture creates a 99 percent mentality09:07 Inside the Decision Grid for matching athletes to the right college17:29 The over reliance on social media in softball recruiting26:58 How college coaches actually rank talent across divisions34:59 What the transfer portal boom means for young athletes46:00 Are recruiting camps and apps actually worth the money52:37 Why Twitter and social media rarely lead to real recruiting56:13 When should a family start working with a recruiting advocate59:05 Cheri Naudin's final advice for softball parentsNew episodes of Inside the Circle with Coach Pat drop weekly. Subscribe so you catch the next one, and follow Coach Pat Fastpitch Academy on Instagram for training tips between episodes.Connect with CheriWebsite: https://collegiatesportsadvocate.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cherimasonnaudin/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherinaudin/ Connect with meInstagram- https://www.instagram.com/coach_pat_fastpitch Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/share/19C1qWzufS/?mibextid=wwXIfrYouTube - https://youtube.com/@coachpatfastpitchTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@coach.patfpX (Twitter) - https://x.com/CoachPatFP#SoftballRecruiting #TravelSoftball #CollegeSoftball #FastpitchSoftball #SoftballParents #RecruitingAdvocate #CollegiateSportsAdvocate #SoftballMom #SoftballDad #NCAASoftball #TransferPortal #SoftballScholarships #YouthSoftball #TravelBall #SoftballFamily #RecruitingJourney #SoftballCoach #InsideTheCircle
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    54 mins
  • 008: The Softball Recruiting Hub Every Travel Ball Parent Needs | Tiffany Worthy Deering, President of APS Recruits

    008: The Softball Recruiting Hub Every Travel Ball Parent Needs | Tiffany Worthy Deering, President of APS Recruits
    Sep 15 2026
    A softball recruiting app for parents like APS Recruits exists because the college recruiting process for travel softball families has quietly become an unpaid second job. Between tracking emails, uploading video, and guessing which college coaches are actually watching, parents end up buried in spreadsheets and login screens before their daughter ever steps on a showcase field. Coach Pat sits down with Tiffany Worthy Deering, a 2005 NCAA National Champion at the University of Michigan and now President of APS Recruits, to break down what actually gets a travel softball player noticed and why so much recruiting advice misses the point.Coach Pat, a travel and youth fastpitch softball coach with more than 20 years of experience and a proven college placement track record, walks through APS Recruits' AI powered school matching, integrated coach messaging, and camp finder covering hundreds of events nationwide. Tiffany explains the platform's real engagement metric, a coach must have an athlete's email open for 60 seconds or more before it counts as genuine interest, and why she believes character and work ethic still outweigh exit velocity in what coaches are actually looking for. You will also hear how the NCAA's five for five roster rule is reshaping the transfer portal and what that shift means for your daughter's recruiting timeline. If your travel softball player is heading into showcase season, this episode hands you a plan instead of more noise.You’ll learn:What a softball recruiting app for parents actually replaces, and why Tiffany Deering built APS Recruits after watching her own daughter juggle five different recruiting platforms.How APS Recruits defines real coach engagement, a 60 second minimum email view time, and why that single metric tells you more than a form reply ever will.Why college coaches still rank character and work ethic above raw power numbers, and what Tiffany tells softball parents who panic over strikeouts at showcases.What age travel softball players should start building recruiting habits, and why eighth grade, not freshman year, is the right time to introduce the process.How the NCAA's five for five roster rule is reshaping the transfer portal, and what that shift means for a travel softball family's recruiting timeline.Why Michigan's 2005 national championship culture, built on humility and buying into something bigger than yourself, still shapes how Tiffany coaches her own daughter today.How to build a custom tag list at tournaments to track which college coaches actually showed up, so your follow up emails reach the right programs.We talk about:00:00 Coach Pat welcomes Tiffany Deering to the show01:14 Tiffany's path from T-ball to travel softball02:04 Why her parents never pushed her in softball05:34 Getting recruited to Michigan before social media08:54 Why culture mattered more than winning at Michigan12:41 How Ryan Renne built APS Recruits from Firecrackers16:52 Inside the APS Recruits platform and its features22:15 Why most players still get discovered in person26:20 How weekly coach verification keeps emails accurate28:34 What age to start the recruiting process34:20 Revisiting Michigan's 2005 national championship win36:56 Where to find APS Recruits and its pricingNew episodes of Inside the Circle with Coach Pat drop weekly. Subscribe so you catch the next one, and follow Coach Pat Fastpitch Academy on Instagram for training tips between episodes.Connect with TiffanyWebsite: https://www.apsrecruits.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiffanyworthydeering/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apsrecruits/Email: tiffany@apsrecruits.com Connect with meInstagram- https://www.instagram.com/coach_pat_fastpitch Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/share/19C1qWzufS/?mibextid=wwXIfrYouTube - https://youtube.com/@coachpatfastpitchTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@coach.patfpX (Twitter) - https://x.com/CoachPatFP#SoftballRecruiting #TravelSoftball #CollegeSoftball #SoftballParents #FastpitchSoftball #SoftballMom #SoftballDad #RecruitingProcess #SoftballShowcase #NCAASoftball #SoftballTraining #YouthSoftball #SoftballLife #CollegeBound #SoftballFamily #TravelBallParents #SoftballCoach #InsideTheCircle
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    41 mins
  • 007: The Injury That Almost Ended Olympic Gold Medalist Michele Smith's Career | Coach Pat

    007: The Injury That Almost Ended Olympic Gold Medalist Michele Smith's Career | Coach Pat
    Sep 1 2026
    Michele Smith is a two time Olympic softball gold medalist, ESPN's lead college softball analyst, and one of the loudest voices in the fight for equal opportunity under Title IX. If you are a softball parent watching your daughter's team practice on a shared field while other sports get brand new stadiums, this conversation explains why that funding gap still exists and what Michele believes softball communities need to ask for next. Coach Pat, a 20 year travel softball coach and founder of Coach Pat Fastpitch Academy, sits down with Michele to trace her path from a Title IX baby on the 1996 Olympic team that won gold in the first ever Olympic softball game, through the accident that doctors said would end her pitching career, to the 16 years she spent playing professional softball in Japan. Michele also answers a question sent in by Briley Watson, a 14 year old catcher recovering from her own injury, using the same one word lesson in perseverance a mentor gave her at 17. Whether your family is dealing with a setback this season or just trying to understand why softball still fights for equal facility funding, this episode gives you a two time Olympic gold medalist's answer, straight from the circle.You’ll learn:Why Michele calls herself a Title IX baby, and how the 1972 law directly funded the training that helped Team USA win gold in the first ever Olympic softball game in 1996. Why softball still struggles to get public facility funding compared to sports like basketball and volleyball, and what Michele believes softball communities need to ask for next. What Michele told Briley Watson, a 14 year old catcher who wrote in about her own injury, after a doctor once told Michele she would never pitch again. Why Michele walked into her first Olympic softball game exactly 10 years to the day after the accident that nearly ended her career, and what that timing taught her about perseverance. How the preparation, performance, recovery triangle Michele built after studies showed her 1996 Olympic team was overtrained now shapes how she thinks about pitch counts for young arms. What 16 years playing professional softball in Japan taught Michele about practice culture, and why she believes being the nail that sticks out is a good thing. How Michele became the first woman to call a nationally televised Major League Baseball game in 2012, and what that moment meant for women in sports broadcasting.We talk about:00:00 Meet two time Olympic gold medalist Michele Smith 02:30 How Title IX built the 1996 Olympic softball team 06:00 Why softball still cannot get equal facility funding 11:40 A 14 year old catcher's letter about her own injury 16:00 What do you tell an athlete told she will never play again 20:30 The one word a mentor named Crazy Jack gave her at 17 29:00 The preparation performance recovery triangle explained 35:30 How many pitches is too many for a young arm 38:15 What 16 years playing professional softball in Japan taught her 44:00 How she became ESPN's lead softball analyst while still competing 49:20 Calling the first nationally televised MLB game as a woman 58:20 Inside Clearwater for Youth and Title IX VineyardsNew episodes of Inside the Circle with Coach Pat drop every other week. Subscribe so you catch the next one, and follow Coach Pat Fastpitch Academy on Instagram for training tips between episodes.Connect with Michele SmithWebsite: https://michelesmith.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michelesmith32/ X: https://x.com/michelesmith32 Title IX Vineyards: https://titleninewine.com/ Crush for a Cause: https://crushforacause.org/ Connect with meInstagram- https://www.instagram.com/coach_pat_fastpitch Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/share/19C1qWzufS/?mibextid=wwXIfrYouTube - https://youtube.com/@coachpatfastpitchTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@coach.patfpX (Twitter) - https://x.com/CoachPatFP#MicheleSmith #TitleIX #OlympicSoftball #TravelSoftball #FastpitchSoftball #SoftballParents #SoftballMom #SoftballDad #TeamUSASoftball #SoftballHistory #SoftballInjuryRecovery #14USoftball #SoftballCoach #WomenInSports #ESPNSoftball #SoftballMindset #TravelBallParents #CollegeSoftball #SoftballFamily #InsideTheCircleWithCoachPat
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    1 hr and 1 min
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