An athlete wants results now. A coach knows development takes time. How do you get them to trust the work?

In Episode 69 of Destination Talk, we sit down with Paul Kolody, Hunterdon Central’s strength and conditioning coach and the 2025 NHSSCA National Coach of the Year.

From his beginnings at Metuchen High School to working with professional athletes, Paul shares the experiences and people who shaped his approach to coaching—and why developing young athletes means paying attention to more than the weight on the bar.

We talk about the habits behind a professional athlete’s mentality, what high school and college athletes can learn from them, and how coaching has evolved in a world of quick results and endless training advice.

We also explore:

• Building consistency when progress feels slow
• How Paul’s training philosophy has changed over the years
• Helping parents support their athlete without adding pressure
• Balancing school, club sports, private training, and recovery
• The different goals of offseason and in-season training
• Preparing for the demands of college athletics
• The influence of mentors and his connection with Zach Even-Esh

For athletes, parents, and coaches, this is a conversation about preparation, patience, and the lessons that stay with you after your playing days are over.

Subscribe to Destination Talk, share this episode, and leave a comment: What lesson from a coach has stayed with you?

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Episode 68 of Destination Talk features Providence College softball player Brianna De La Fuente.

From Metuchen, New Jersey, to competing at the Division I level, Bri’s journey is a story of growth, patience, preparation, and learning how to respond when success doesn’t happen on your timeline.

Bri takes us back to where softball started for her, her development through high school and travel softball, the recruiting process that ultimately led her to Providence, and the reality of walking into a Division I program where everyone was one of the best players back home.

We also get into a part of an athlete’s journey that often gets overlooked—the work that happens away from the field. Bri talks about strength and performance training, becoming a more complete athlete, and how that preparation has carried over into her game and helped prepare her for the demands of college softball.

But this episode isn’t only about becoming stronger or putting up numbers.

We talk about confidence, handling struggles when the results aren’t there, the mental side of competing, finding your identity outside of your sport, and what Bri has learned about herself along the way.

Bri also shares her perspective on travel softball, social media, the growth of women’s sports, the transfer portal, NIL, and what young athletes hoping to play at the next level need to understand about the road ahead.

Her story is still being written—and that may be what makes this conversation so relatable.

Destination Talk — Where ordinary people have the opportunity to tell extraordinary stories.

Because every journey has value, every lesson deserves to be shared, and every voice deserves to be heard.

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Episode 67 of Destination Talk features Cornell University wrestler Mike Dellagatta.

What does it really take to reach the Division I level—and what happens when the sport that has shaped so much of your life eventually goes away?

Mike Dellagatta joins us for a conversation about his wrestling journey, the road that led him to Cornell, and what life is actually like competing in one of the most demanding environments in college wrestling.

We talk about the expectations that come with wrestling at this level, handling pressure, continuing to develop when everyone around you was one of the best wrestlers where they came from, and the mental side of a sport that constantly tests you.

We also put Mike on the spot with some questions that every wrestling fan can debate:

Who belongs on wrestling’s Mount Rushmore?

What separates the truly elite from everyone else?

And maybe the biggest question of all—who are you when wrestling is no longer there?

This episode is about wrestling, but it’s also about growth, identity, perspective, and figuring out who you want to become beyond the mat.

Destination Talk — Where ordinary people have the opportunity to tell extraordinary stories. Because every journey has value, every lesson deserves to be shared, and every voice deserves to be heard.

Episode 67 | Mike Dellagatta — Cornell University Wrestling

Watch and listen to Destination Talk on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible, and iHeartRadio.

Subscribe to Destination Talk and follow along for more conversations with athletes, coaches, and people willing to share the journey behind the results.

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