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

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72 years. That’s how long Princeton wrestling waited for another NCAA National Champion. Pat Glory became the man who ended that wait.

On Episode 66 of Destination Talk, we sit down with Princeton wrestling legend and NCAA National Champion Pat Glory to talk about everything that went into reaching the top—and what happens after you finally get there.

Pat takes us back to where wrestling started for him, his New Jersey roots, his decision to attend Princeton, and the expectations that came with competing at one of the most demanding universities in the country.

We get into the parts of the journey that weren't easy: an undefeated season cut short when the 2020 NCAA Championships were canceled, losing to Nick Suriano in the 2022 national final, and returning for one last run with a championship as the goal.

Then came 2023.

Pat went undefeated, reached the NCAA final, defeated Matt Ramos, and became Princeton’s first NCAA wrestling champion since 1951.

We talk about that night, watching the expected matchup with Spencer Lee disappear when Ramos pulled off the upset, whether part of Pat wanted the opportunity to beat Lee himself, and what it actually felt like when the clock hit zero and 72 years of Princeton wrestling history changed.

But this conversation isn't only about becoming a national champion.

What does losing teach you that winning can't? How much belief does it take to become elite? Who are you when your sport stops introducing you? And maybe the hardest question of all—what do you chase after you've already accomplished the thing you spent your life chasing?

This is Pat Glory’s journey—from New Jersey wrestling to Princeton, from heartbreak to the top of the NCAA podium, and into the next chapter.

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 66 — Pat Glory

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Joey Ortega’s story is still being written.

The Clark, NJ native and ALJ graduate joins Destination Talk to talk about his path from New Jersey high school wrestling to competing at Kutztown University and earning a trip to the NCAA Division II Championships.

Joey takes us inside the jump from high school to college wrestling—the moments that exposed where he needed to get better, the work people don't see, and what he learned when he finally stepped onto the national stage.

We also get Joey’s perspective on some bigger questions facing wrestling today: How important has club wrestling become? Do young wrestlers now need a club to compete at a high level? And as someone who came through a public school at ALJ, how does he view the ongoing public-versus-private debate in New Jersey wrestling?

But the most interesting part of Joey’s story may be what hasn't happened yet.

How good can he become? What is he willing to sacrifice to find out? And when wrestling eventually ends, who is Joey Ortega without the sport?

This is a conversation with a young athlete who has already gotten a glimpse of the NCAA stage—and now has to decide how far he wants to take it.

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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Parker Keckeisen has reached a level in wrestling that very few ever experience — but the journey behind the success tells an even bigger story.

Episode 64 of Destination Talk drops Sunday, September 13 at 9 AM.

In this episode, Parker joins us for a wide-ranging conversation about becoming an NCAA champion, the sacrifices behind reaching the highest levels of the sport, handling pressure and expectations, and figuring out who you are when so much of your identity has been built around competition.

We also get into his experiences sharing the mat with some of the biggest names in wrestling — including Aaron Brooks, Carter Starocci and Kyle Dake — and what competing against athletes of that caliber taught him about greatness and about himself.

And yes, we may have revisited a couple of old matches with his former opponent — and our co-host — John Poznanski. We’ll let the two of them decide how they remember those.

Parker takes us inside his Real American Freestyle journey, the opportunities RAF is creating for wrestlers after college, and where he believes the sport could be headed.

But some of the most interesting moments have very little to do with wins and losses.

What does success give you — and what doesn’t it give you?

What happens when the goal you’ve spent years chasing becomes reality?

Who are you when the sport eventually goes away?

And after everything Parker has experienced, what would he tell the younger version of himself about the road ahead?

Episode 64 with Parker Keckeisen drops Sunday, September 13 at 9 AM.

Watch on YouTube or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible, and iHeartRadio.

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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NCAA qualifier. Ohio state champion. Division I wrestler at the University of Virginia.

But ask Marlon Yarbrough who he is when wrestling is gone — and the conversation changes.

Marlon joins Destination Talk for Episode 63, and we get into the parts of the journey that don’t show up next to your record.

The jump from being one of the best wrestlers in high school to walking into a Division I room where everybody was “the guy.”

Beating All-American Aaron Nagao 13–5 on the NCAA stage.

Then having the sport taken away by injury.

And eventually having to answer a question every athlete will face:

Who are you when they stop introducing you as a wrestler?

We had some fun too. Mount Rushmore. The state of college wrestling. NIL. The transfer portal. And a few opinions that might get wrestling fans arguing in the comments.

Marlon Yarbrough. Episode 63.

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Search Destination Talk Podcast and Episode 63.

Built 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.

#DestinationTalk #MarlonYarbrough #UniversityOfVirginia #NCAAWrestling #CollegeWrestling #WrestlingPodcast

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Wrestling will test you. Adversity will shape you. What you do with those lessons afterward is what matters.

This week we sit down with Horacio Vialpando, former Division I wrestler at the University of Northern Colorado, for a conversation about the grind of college wrestling, the challenges that shaped him, and how those experiences helped turn him into the coach he is today.

We also get into something Horacio is passionate about — the growth of girls wrestling. The opportunities being created, where the sport is headed, and why this is only the beginning.

Wrestling. Coaching. Resilience. Purpose.

Built Through Adversity.

Destination Talk Episode 62

Sunday, August 23

9 AM

Don’t miss this one.

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.

#DestinationTalk #Episode62 #HoracioVialpando #Wrestling #GirlsWrestling #WomensWrestling #CollegeWrestling #BuiltThroughAdversity

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