Episode #192 — Keirsten Sires, Part 2

Getting recruited is one thing. Choosing the right college, coach, and program is something entirely different.

In Part 2 of my conversation with Keirsten Sires, Founder and CEO of 2aDays, we dig into the research every prospective college athlete and family should be doing before making one of the biggest decisions of their lives.

We talk about looking beyond the recruiting pitch—researching coaches, understanding roster dynamics, evaluating academics and career opportunities, and learning from the experiences of former student-athletes.

Keirsten also shares how 2aDays is helping families gain greater transparency into college programs and make more informed recruiting decisions.

“Leave your ego at the door. Blinders on. Focus on you.”

That may be one of the most important reminders in the entire recruiting process. This decision isn’t about where your teammates are committing, what looks best on social media, or impressing everyone else. It’s about finding the right fit for you.

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Significant Recruiting Resources — Take the guesswork out of college recruiting with Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes, sport-specific Recruit’s Journals, and the Significant Recruiting Launchpad. Practical tools to help families research schools, stay organized, and build a smarter recruiting strategy. Learn more at CoachMattRogers.com.

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Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and all your favorite podcast platforms.

Did you like what you heard and want more?
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📆 To Schedule Matt Rogers to speak at your school or organization, you can schedule a discovery Zoom session here: https://calendly.com/mrogers_significantcoaching/speaking-inquiry-w-matt-rogers

📚 Books & Recruit’s Journals by Matt Rogers

Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes
👉 https://amzn.to/3NbWP9S

Recruit’s Journal Series (Sport-Specific Editions):

⚽ Soccer Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/3M4PFDX

🏐 Volleyball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/4qMLr2S

🏀 Basketball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/4bxljEJ

⚾ Baseball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/3ZGbCMQ

...

Episode #191: Keirsten Sires of 2aDays — Giving Student-Athletes a Voice

What if giving student-athletes a voice could actually make college coaches and athletic programs better?

In Part One of my conversation with Keirsten Sires, Founder and CEO of 2aDays, we explore the idea behind a platform that allows student-athletes to review coaches while giving recruits and families a window into the programs they’re considering.

I’ll admit—I came into this conversation skeptical. But Keirsten challenged the way I looked at coach ratings, transparency, accountability, and the opportunity for great coaches and programs to tell their stories.

We discuss what student-athletes are saying about their coaches, what separates positive experiences from negative ones, how colleges can better evaluate and support coaches, and why transparency doesn’t have to be something coaches fear.

If you’re a college coach, athletic administrator, student-athlete, or parent navigating college athletics, Episode #191 is a conversation worth hearing.

🎙️ The Significant Coaching Podcast with Matt Rogers

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Significant Recruiting Resources — Take the guesswork out of college recruiting with Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes, sport-specific Recruit’s Journals, and the Significant Recruiting Launchpad. Practical tools to help families research schools, stay organized, and build a smarter recruiting strategy. Learn more at CoachMattRogers.com.

Support the show

📍 All resources also available at coachmattrogers.com

Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and all your favorite podcast platforms.

Did you like what you heard and want more?
New Podcasts every week. Remember to subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to leave a comment or recommend your favorite athlete, coach or leader to be on the show!

📆 To Schedule Matt Rogers to speak at your school or organization, you can schedule a discovery Zoom session here: https://calendly.com/mrogers_significantcoaching/speaking-inquiry-w-matt-rogers

📚 Books & Recruit’s Journals by Matt Rogers

Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes
👉 https://amzn.to/3NbWP9S

Recruit’s Journal Series (Sport-Specific Editions):

⚽ Soccer Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/3M4PFDX

🏐 Volleyball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/4qMLr2S

🏀 Basketball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/4bxljEJ

⚾ Baseball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/3ZGbCMQ

...

Your kid is not special.

At least, not because they throw harder, jump higher, score more points, earn straight A’s, or have more college coaches watching them...and definitely not because a parent says and thinks that to be the case.

They may be incredibly special to you—but what characteristics are they developing that will make coaches, teachers, professors, teammates, and eventually employers want to invest in them?

In this solo episode of The Significant Coaching Podcast, Matt Rogers challenges parents to stop removing every obstacle from their child’s path and start helping them develop the character, accountability, resilience, communication skills, and independence they’ll need long after their playing days are over.

Matt discusses the difference between advocating and rescuing, why parents need to allow coaches and teachers to coach and teach, and why failure, disappointment, criticism, and hearing “no” are important parts of growing up.

The ultimate goal isn’t simply raising a great athlete.

It’s developing a recruitable athlete, a resilient college student, and a healthy adult.

The question isn’t whether your kid is special to you. Of course they are. The question is: are we helping them develop special characteristics?

🎙️ Season 4 | Episode 190
The Significant Coaching Podcast with Matt Rogers

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Significant Recruiting Resources — Take the guesswork out of college recruiting with Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes, sport-specific Recruit’s Journals, and the Significant Recruiting Launchpad. Practical tools to help families research schools, stay organized, and build a smarter recruiting strategy. Learn more at CoachMattRogers.com.

Support the show

📍 All resources also available at coachmattrogers.com

Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and all your favorite podcast platforms.

Did you like what you heard and want more?
New Podcasts every week. Remember to subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to leave a comment or recommend your favorite athlete, coach or leader to be on the show!

📆 To Schedule Matt Rogers to speak at your school or organization, you can schedule a discovery Zoom session here: https://calendly.com/mrogers_significantcoaching/speaking-inquiry-w-matt-rogers

📚 Books & Recruit’s Journals by Matt Rogers

Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes
👉 https://amzn.to/3NbWP9S

Recruit’s Journal Series (Sport-Specific Editions):

⚽ Soccer Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/3M4PFDX

🏐 Volleyball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/4qMLr2S

🏀 Basketball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/4bxljEJ

⚾ Baseball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/3ZGbCMQ

...

Are college baseball recruits chasing the right things?

Ryan Brownlee, Assistant Executive Director of the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), returns for Part II of our conversation—and this one is all about recruiting.

Ryan and I talk about how college baseball recruiting has changed, NIL, the transfer portal, realistic player evaluation, the role of parents and coaches, and why finding the right fit still matters.

Ryan makes a great point: a recruit needs to find a school that works socially, academically and athletically. We also talk about why NIL money doesn't guarantee playing time, why college coaches are looking for reasons to cross players off their lists, and why recruits need honest people around them throughout this process.

If you're a high school baseball player or the parent of one who wants to play in college, this is a conversation worth hearing.

Episode 189 | The Significant Coaching Podcast with Matt Rogers

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Significant Recruiting Resources — Take the guesswork out of college recruiting with Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes, sport-specific Recruit’s Journals, and the Significant Recruiting Launchpad. Practical tools to help families research schools, stay organized, and build a smarter recruiting strategy. Learn more at CoachMattRogers.com.

Support the show

📍 All resources also available at coachmattrogers.com

Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and all your favorite podcast platforms.

Did you like what you heard and want more?
New Podcasts every week. Remember to subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to leave a comment or recommend your favorite athlete, coach or leader to be on the show!

📆 To Schedule Matt Rogers to speak at your school or organization, you can schedule a discovery Zoom session here: https://calendly.com/mrogers_significantcoaching/speaking-inquiry-w-matt-rogers

📚 Books & Recruit’s Journals by Matt Rogers

Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes
👉 https://amzn.to/3NbWP9S

Recruit’s Journal Series (Sport-Specific Editions):

⚽ Soccer Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/3M4PFDX

🏐 Volleyball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/4qMLr2S

🏀 Basketball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/4bxljEJ

⚾ Baseball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/3ZGbCMQ

...

⚾ Ryan Brownlee | Tough Love, Trust & the Art of Coaching

In Episode 188 of the Significant Coaching Podcast, Matt Rogers sits down with Ryan Brownlee, Assistant Executive Director of the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), former Division I head coach and recruiting coordinator, and host of the ABCA Podcast.

Ryan brings more than two decades of Division I coaching experience to a wide-ranging conversation about what coaching looks like today—and where it needs to go next.

Matt and Ryan discuss mental health and performance, authenticity, tough love, connecting with today's athletes, rest and recovery, evaluating and developing coaches, the relationship between athletic directors and head coaches, and why there is no single blueprint for building a successful program.

They also dive into the changing landscape of college baseball, including NIL, the transfer portal, analytics, resources and why the best coaches still find ways to maximize the people in their locker room.

Ryan also explains why one characteristic continues to matter regardless of how much sports change: Do you genuinely care about the people you coach?

A conversation about baseball—but even more about coaching, leadership, relationships and the responsibility that comes with putting yourself in front of young people.

Episode 188 | The Significant Coaching Podcast with Matt Rogers

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Significant Recruiting Resources — Take the guesswork out of college recruiting with Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes, sport-specific Recruit’s Journals, and the Significant Recruiting Launchpad. Practical tools to help families research schools, stay organized, and build a smarter recruiting strategy. Learn more at CoachMattRogers.com.

Support the show

📍 All resources also available at coachmattrogers.com

Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and all your favorite podcast platforms.

Did you like what you heard and want more?
New Podcasts every week. Remember to subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to leave a comment or recommend your favorite athlete, coach or leader to be on the show!

📆 To Schedule Matt Rogers to speak at your school or organization, you can schedule a discovery Zoom session here: https://calendly.com/mrogers_significantcoaching/speaking-inquiry-w-matt-rogers

📚 Books & Recruit’s Journals by Matt Rogers

Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes
👉 https://amzn.to/3NbWP9S

Recruit’s Journal Series (Sport-Specific Editions):

⚽ Soccer Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/3M4PFDX

🏐 Volleyball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/4qMLr2S

🏀 Basketball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/4bxljEJ

⚾ Baseball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/3ZGbCMQ

...

⚾ The New Reality of College Recruiting | Andrew Kachel Part II

College recruiting is changing—and the junior college route may be more valuable than ever.

In Part II of my conversation with Northeastern Junior College Head Baseball Coach Andrew Kachel, we break down the realities of recruiting at the two-year college level, the new 5-for-5 rule, the transfer portal, and why families need to rethink how they evaluate college opportunities.

Coach Kachel explains why JUCO can provide athletes more opportunities to play, develop, mature academically, and potentially make themselves more recruitable and affordable to four-year programs.

We also discuss what families should look for when evaluating junior colleges, why placement and fit matter more than simply saying you went Division I, and how recruits can get a coach's attention without spending thousands of dollars chasing exposure.

If you're a student-athlete, parent, high school coach, or anyone trying to understand the changing college recruiting landscape, this conversation provides a valuable look at the opportunities available at the two-year level.

Send us Fan Mail

Significant Recruiting Resources — Take the guesswork out of college recruiting with Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes, sport-specific Recruit’s Journals, and the Significant Recruiting Launchpad. Practical tools to help families research schools, stay organized, and build a smarter recruiting strategy. Learn more at CoachMattRogers.com.

Support the show

📍 All resources also available at coachmattrogers.com

Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and all your favorite podcast platforms.

Did you like what you heard and want more?
New Podcasts every week. Remember to subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to leave a comment or recommend your favorite athlete, coach or leader to be on the show!

📆 To Schedule Matt Rogers to speak at your school or organization, you can schedule a discovery Zoom session here: https://calendly.com/mrogers_significantcoaching/speaking-inquiry-w-matt-rogers

📚 Books & Recruit’s Journals by Matt Rogers

Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes
👉 https://amzn.to/3NbWP9S

Recruit’s Journal Series (Sport-Specific Editions):

⚽ Soccer Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/3M4PFDX

🏐 Volleyball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/4qMLr2S

🏀 Basketball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/4bxljEJ

⚾ Baseball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/3ZGbCMQ

...

⚾ Building a Program a Community Believes In with Andrew Kachel

Winning games is one thing. Building a program that an entire community believes in is something much bigger.

On this episode of The Significant Coaching Podcast, Matt Rogers sits down with Andrew Kachel, Head Baseball Coach at Northeastern Junior College, to talk about how he has built far more than a successful college baseball program in Sterling, Colorado.

Coach Kachel shares how his players become part of the community through weekly service at local schools, preschools, nursing homes, and youth organizations—and how that community has embraced his players right back. His program averages nearly 2,000 hours of community service while also producing Academic All-American teams and winning at a high level.

The conversation also explores family, relationships, coaching young men through adversity, holding players accountable, and why the most meaningful moments in coaching often have nothing to do with the scoreboard.

This is a conversation about baseball, leadership, service, family, and building something that matters long after the final out.

Send us Fan Mail

Significant Recruiting Resources — Take the guesswork out of college recruiting with Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes, sport-specific Recruit’s Journals, and the Significant Recruiting Launchpad. Practical tools to help families research schools, stay organized, and build a smarter recruiting strategy. Learn more at CoachMattRogers.com.

Support the show

📍 All resources also available at coachmattrogers.com

Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and all your favorite podcast platforms.

Did you like what you heard and want more?
New Podcasts every week. Remember to subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to leave a comment or recommend your favorite athlete, coach or leader to be on the show!

📆 To Schedule Matt Rogers to speak at your school or organization, you can schedule a discovery Zoom session here: https://calendly.com/mrogers_significantcoaching/speaking-inquiry-w-matt-rogers

📚 Books & Recruit’s Journals by Matt Rogers

Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes
👉 https://amzn.to/3NbWP9S

Recruit’s Journal Series (Sport-Specific Editions):

⚽ Soccer Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/3M4PFDX

🏐 Volleyball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/4qMLr2S

🏀 Basketball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/4bxljEJ

⚾ Baseball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/3ZGbCMQ

...

Season 4 of the Significant Coaching Podcast begins with Dr. Tracy Davenport, performance expert, executive coach, and author of The Sustainable Assistant Coach: Preventing Burnout and Building a Lasting Career in College Sports.

Tracy and Matt tackle a belief that has been passed down through generations of coaches: to be successful, coaching has to be a grind. They discuss why so many talented assistant coaches burn out, the difference between working harder and working smarter, the critical role sleep and recovery play in performance, and why coaches must stop treating their own health, relationships, and lives outside of athletics as optional.

Tracy also challenges head coaches and athletic leaders to take greater responsibility for developing and supporting their assistants—not just as coaches, but as people. From better communication and mentorship to creating healthier boundaries and expectations, this conversation asks an important question: Can we build great programs without burning out the people who make them great?

Season 4 starts with a challenge to coaches everywhere: success and significance shouldn't require sacrificing yourself along the way.

Send us Fan Mail

Significant Recruiting Resources — Take the guesswork out of college recruiting with Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes, sport-specific Recruit’s Journals, and the Significant Recruiting Launchpad. Practical tools to help families research schools, stay organized, and build a smarter recruiting strategy. Learn more at CoachMattRogers.com.

Support the show

📍 All resources also available at coachmattrogers.com

Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and all your favorite podcast platforms.

Did you like what you heard and want more?
New Podcasts every week. Remember to subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to leave a comment or recommend your favorite athlete, coach or leader to be on the show!

📆 To Schedule Matt Rogers to speak at your school or organization, you can schedule a discovery Zoom session here: https://calendly.com/mrogers_significantcoaching/speaking-inquiry-w-matt-rogers

📚 Books & Recruit’s Journals by Matt Rogers

Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes
👉 https://amzn.to/3NbWP9S

Recruit’s Journal Series (Sport-Specific Editions):

⚽ Soccer Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/3M4PFDX

🏐 Volleyball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/4qMLr2S

🏀 Basketball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/4bxljEJ

⚾ Baseball Recruit’s Journal
👉 https://amzn.to/3ZGbCMQ

...