On the Whistle

This week, I virtually sit down with Adam Slone of Life Serve Youth Foundation. Adam is the founder of LSYF, an organization using the sport of tennis to transform the lives of underprivileged youth. The program, a two-week sleepaway camp in upstate New York focuses on bettering the lives of children of financially limited families through mentorship, physical activity, learning, but most of all, FUN. Adam’s young life was riddled with obstacles as he fought the debilitating Gaucher’s...

During my interview with Bior Guigni, CEO of Beat the Streets New England we uncover how this exemplary mentor went from being one of California’s first female wrestlers to helping foster the development of community outreach programs in Boston and Providence. We hear about how wrestling shaped her upbringing; preparing her for “the next match” no matter what or when it was. Her program, Beat the Streets New England uses wrestling as a tool and motivator to teach our youth to successfully...

Join our SquadLocker team on a different type of episode of On The Whistle this week! Guests are Tip Fairchild- Sales Director, Former Pro Baseball Player Stephanie Mirando – Marketing Director, Former NCCA Athlete Dan Koppen – Enterprise Brand Advocate, Former Pro Football player and Superbowl champ They join Gary as they chop it up about apparel, what it means to them and how it felt to be a youth in sports. Uniforms are more than just a piece of clothing -- it brings a sense of...

This week’s episode features references to suicide and self-harm. If you or a loved one is experiencing thoughts of suicide or harming yourself, please know there are resources to get you immediate help. You can call the suicide prevention hotline 24/7: 800-273-8255 or visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/talk-to-someone-now/ This week, I talk with the founder and president of Elevate Lacrosse and Elevate Academy in Long Island, NY, Dave Kotowoski. Dave tells me a little bit of his...

This week’s episode, “We Not Me” features a great conversation with coach Dave Steckel. Stec – as his player’s call him – has an extensive collegiate coaching resume featuring schools like Rutgers, University of Missouri, and Missouri State University. We discuss his recent book, “The Fisherman; Leadership Traits to Win the Game of Life. Coach highlights the importance of overcoming conflict and disagreements privately and working together as a team as the key to success on the field. Stec...

This week, Natalie Hummel – co-founder of Every Kids Sports – joins On the Whistle to discuss her program and its mission to enable underprivileged youth a chance to place recreational sports. In the show, we uncover some of Natalie’s past with regard to how sports and coaches molded her into the successful person she is today. We learn of a coaching change that gave her a chance to showcase her talents and now, Natalie is giving kids a chance to showcase their own talents, no matter the...

Today’s episode features a conversation with Sarah Albus, former NCAA Soccer player and US Women’s National Team member. But we’re focused on her athletic feats in today’s show because Sarah has put together an astounding organization called Open Door Sports. Her company’s mission is to provide high-quality sports programs to ALL kids – regardless of physical ability, financial need, or location. We talk about her experiences as a mother of a child living with a disability and how her...

This week, Michael Worden from the Player Progression Academy in Washington D.C. joined On the Whistle to discuss some of the success he’s experienced with his growing program. Being an athlete since his childhood years, Michael has been enveloped in the complexities of youth sports. We learn it takes a whole lot of balance to run his organization. Between coaching players and managing a business. Between balancing player development between training an athlete and raising a well-rounded...

Back from our week break, On the Whistle joined up with two renowned Rhode Island high school lacrosse coaches; Coach Mike Fraioli and Coach Steve O’Donnell. Both coaches represent prolific programs who meet regularly in the State Finals. Mike has been coaching Moses Brown lacrosse since 2008 and Steve has been with the La Salle Rams since 2006. A typical 1 and 2 seed, Fraioli and O’Donnell’s programs have come to build quite the rivalry since MB joined the Rhode Island Interscholastic...

This week we divert from sports and take a look at the marvelous mentoring Alexander Major II is doing in education. A physics teacher by trade, Alexander brings his life experiences into the classroom to share his knowledge of the subject while keeping it interesting for his students. His revolutionary teaching techniques focus on instructing students how to teach themselves so that they have the tools – and CONFIDENCE – they need when they graduate. "On The Whistle" is available on...

PGA Tour Winner, Brad Faxon joins me on On the Whistle this week. Brad is an inspiration to listen to as he explains the psychology behind his success; not only on the PGA, but in mentorship and coaching as well. We start at Rhode Island Country Club where, for 12 years, Brad caddied for some of the most influential and successful people of the time. At the age of 22, Brad was on the tour teeing off with names like Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, and Greg Norman. Pretty intimidating to say the...

This week on On the Whistle, I have the pleasure of hosting college Junior at Bowdoin College, Preston Anderson. A member of the Bowdoin Sailing team, Preston has led efforts toward establishing The Inclusivity, Diversify, and Equity (TIDE) Task Force to diversity the historically white, male sport. In our conversation, we discuss the road Preston took to get where he is today. We uncover the reasons and coaches that kept Preston coming back to the sport of sailing even through attacks on...

This week, Jennifer Garrett virtually joins Gary in the booth. Jen is a leadership coach, a speaker, an author, and a commissioned officer in the United States military serving as a JAG lawyer. Jen and Gary talk a lot about her book “Move the Ball: How the Game of Football Can Help You Achieve Your Life Goals”. In the book, Jen draws parallels between the principles needed to win the game of football and how they are the same that are needed to win the game of life. In this week’s show, we...

This week, Gary interviews the majority owner and Governor of the Boston Celtics, Wyc Grousbeck. From ‘Kick the Can’ to owning the Boston Celtics, Wyc has always been a competitive person. As a rower at Princeton, Wyc came to realize the concept of being ALL IN. A true, natural competitor, Wyc knows the dedication it takes to not give up on a dream. His dream – owning the Celtics – was far from easy, but through his own sports experiences, he understood the responsibilities and dedication it...

Andy Gresh comes from a background in sports broadcasting. Andy’s approach is mainly professional sports broadcast and analysis, so it was interesting to hear his perspective on youth sports, coaching, and mentorship. Accountability, dependability, and structure are characteristics of athletes that Gresh thinks set them apart in the business world. Their ability to take direction, criticism, and initiative is evident of their experience from mentorship through sports. Gresh brings up a...

An unlikely rower from Mount Holyoke became an Olympic athlete. That athlete completed law school and launched a successful legal career. Then she laid it all aside to become a filmmaker. Her latest documentary tells the story of an inner city rowing team from a difficult side of Chicago that came together to overcome a variety of obstacles and difficulties. Mary Mazzio, founder of 50 EGGS Films, joined the podcast to talk about her film, A Most Beautiful Thing. Mary and I discussed: How she...

It all started at a keg party on the Georgetown campus. Paul Caccamo and scores of his friends were celebrating his graduation until the police showed up. In a turn of events worthy of Les Mis, a passing Jesuit priest convinced them to let Paul go provided he performed an appropriate penance. A letter soon arrived inviting Paul to help at a Catholic school in the Marshall Islands. There, what started as a year of penance launched the mission of a lifetime. Paul, who now serves as executive...

A liar never tells you he's lying. That's why you fall for it. And that's the way all you've worked so crazy-hard to build starts to unravel. What began as an amazing entrepreneurial adventure in youth sports ended under a federal investigation. Steve Griffin tells the whole story in his book Front Row Seat: Greed and Corruption in a Youth Sports Company. I dive deep into the personal and organizational lessons Steve learned on this episode of the On the Whistle podcast. Steve and I...

Always a player that played to her strengths, building them to their full capacity, Erika Lawler won 3 national championships and a silver medal in the Olympics for ice hockey. When you have such a storied athletic career, what coaches and lessons stand out? In this episode of the On the Whistle podcast, I sat across the mic from Erika Lawler who now lives, works, and plays hockey in Brooklyn. We talked about her career on the rink and what she values in a coach.Erika and I discussed:...

Growing up Quaker meant learning to sit still, be quiet, and surreptitiously practice sign language with your friends. Today though, silence, mindfulness, and living in the moment — all the things that happened in the Quaker meeting — have taken a major role in the world. How can our childhood experiences, such as growing up Quaker, shape the way we think about sports, mentoring, and sports storytelling? In this episode of the On the Whistle podcast, I sat down with Andrea Kremer, seasoned...