Coach & Counselor

About Coach & Counselor

Hosted by Tony Gilio, Coach & Counselor explores how today’s youth benefit most from intentional, empowering adult leadership. Each episode blends perspectives from coaches, mentors, and mental health professionals, shaping the next generation on and off the field. From tough conversations to inspiring transformations, we dive into what it takes to support young people in today’s world.

Publisher

Tony Gilio

Category

sports

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

27 Jun 2025

Latest episode

28 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

55 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   28 Aug 2026

   Built to Develop: Building Better Baseball Players

   What does it take to build a better baseball player? On this episode of The Coach & Counselor, Connor Reynolds dives into the changing world of baseball development and how athletes can train with more purpose. From his experience at Driveline to his work developing hitters today, Connor breaks down how technology, data, strength, consistency, and the right environment can help players understand where they are and build a path toward where they want to go. ⚾ Smarter player development 📊 Technology and data in training 💪 Building stronger, more complete athletes 🎯 Preparing for the next level 🎓 The changing path to college baseball Better players aren’t just found. They’re developed. 🎙️ Watch the full episode of The Coach & Counselor.

2. 

   21 Aug 2026

   Becoming the Athlete You’re Meant to Be

   What does it really take to become the best version of yourself as an athlete? In this episode of The Coach & Counselor, former MLB outfielder and Colorado Rockies first-round draft pick Choo Freeman shares the lessons that shaped his journey from a multi-sport high school standout to the Major Leagues and now influence the way he develops young athletes as a coach. Choo dives into the importance of discipline, confidence, resilience, and learning to love the process. He explains why improvement is built through the work you do every day, how athletes can become more comfortable with failure, and why the mental side of the game becomes increasingly important as the competition gets tougher. He also explores how baseball development has changed with analytics, showcases, and social media and why evaluating an athlete should still go beyond numbers. Choo shares his perspective on multi-sport athletes, defensive development, recruiting, and preparing players for the jump from high school to college or professional baseball. Plus, Choo takes us inside his playing career with stories and lessons from Clint Hurdle, Larry Walker, Matt Holliday, and Torii Hunter, including the advice and relationships that helped shape his approach to competition and coaching. From chasing a Major League dream to navigating adversity, an unexpected end to his playing career, and finding a new purpose in coaching, this conversation is about much more than baseball. It’s about embracing the work, growing through the hard moments, and becoming the athlete and person you’re meant to be. 🎙️ The Coach & Counselor

3. 

   14 Aug 2026

   The Baseball Development Trap

   On this episode of The Coach & Counselor, Tony sits down with Jason Hirsh, former Major League pitcher, coach, and founder of FAST Performance. Jason went from Division III baseball at California Lutheran University to becoming a second-round draft pick of the Houston Astros and eventually reaching the Major Leagues with the Astros and Colorado Rockies, including being part of Colorado’s 2007 World Series run. Today, Jason uses those experiences to help develop the next generation of athletes. At FAST Performance, his approach goes beyond pitching mechanics, combining strength, mobility, arm care, technology, recovery, and lifestyle to build better, healthier players. Tony and Jason dive into The Baseball Development Trap the idea that more games, more tournaments, more showcases, and more exposure must mean more development. They discuss year-round baseball, recruiting, the changing college landscape, injury and recovery, velocity development, and why sometimes the best thing an athlete can do is step away from competition and focus on getting better. They also explore how TrackMan, video, data, and AI are changing coaching, while asking where technology truly helps and where good old-fashioned coaching still matters. It’s a conversation about finding the right path for each athlete instead of simply chasing more. Are we developing better baseball players or are we just keeping them busier? Find out on this episode of The Coach & Counselor.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Contact Coach & Counselor

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.