Coaches & Builders Episodes

🎙️ EPISODE 220 — TRAVIS WILSON


This one is an ALL-TIMER.


From winning a World Championship with the New Zealand Black Sox at just 19 years old… to signing with the Atlanta Braves and spending 8 seasons in professional baseball… to returning to men’s fastpitch and becoming one of the game’s elite players… and eventually helping build one of the premier programs in NCAA softball at Florida State.


What a journey. And Travis Wilson joins us this week to tell the story.


We get into:


🥎 ...

In Episode 211 of Outside The Chute, we sit down with one of the most influential figures in men’s fastpitch history — Dr. Bob Nydick.

An ISC Hall of Famer, longtime sponsor, coach, and architect behind powerhouse programs, Dr. Nydick takes us inside his incredible journey in the game. From how he first got involved in fastpitch… to building championship-caliber teams… to helping shape dynasties like the legendary New York Gremlins — this episode is packed with stories you won’t hear anywhere e...

In this episode of Outside The Chute, we sit down with Ryan Moore, Florida Vibe Team President and Executive Director of the American Collegiate League, to break down the rise of the Professional Softball League (PSL) and what it means for the future of fastpitch softball.

Ryan shares insight into the growth of professional opportunities for players, how the ACL fits into the development pathway, and why the Florida Vibe are positioned to be a major force heading into the 2026 season.

In this ...

Outside The Chute had the pleasure of sitting down and chatting with the Head Coach of the Canadian Men’s National Team, the one and only, John Stuart.

Stuey has done it all when it comes to coaching in our game. He captured the 2007 Canadian Senior Men’s National title with the Vancouver Grey Sox, won an ISC title last summer with the Hill United Chiefs and of course, who can forget that epic summer of 2015 where he led Team Canada to WBSC and Pan Am gold on home soil.

We talk to Stuey about ...

Outside The Chute had the pleasure of sitting down with 2023 Home Run Sports umpire of the year, Newfoundland’s own, Kearney O’Keefe.

This is such a great episode. Kearney tells us how she got involved in the game of fastpitch growing up, her time playing south of the border in North Carolina at Louisbourg College, coming back home to Newfoundland and playing in the Senior Women’s league, a fantastic story on how and why she got involved in umpiring and so much more.

Kearney was an absolute pl...

What an episode we have for you this week!! I’m telling you right now, be prepared to hear some fantastic stories by one of the best recollections of players and happenings in the men’s game that you will ever hear, cause we had the pleasure of sitting down and chatting with the one and only, Doug Roberts.

When I say Doug’s memory is unreal, trust me it is!

Doug’s love for the game of men’s fastpitch goes unmatched as far as I’m concerned.

Its one thing to hear his stories from years past and...

Outside The Chute sat down and chatted with legendary coach, Terry Baytor.

Terry is in every Hall of Fame I’m pretty sure that he’s eligible for in the game. This includes, the Brampton Sports Hall of Fame, Softball Ontario, Softball Canada, the ISC and the WBSC ones. That’s just absolutely incredible and his resume in the game is like a novel. He is one of the most successful softball coaches in the world, providing leadership to teams competing in more than 2,100 games, and is the only field ...

Outside The Chute had the pleasure of sitting down and chatting with one of the great guys in our game, the New York Gremlins own, Vahram Mateosian.

I can’t even begin to say how much we laughed during this episode and even after this episode. For those that don’t know, but I’ve mentioned it on here before that I don’t actually listen to any of our podcasts after we do them. I make mental notes during the actual talk of when or if, something needs to be edited,I go to that spot and do it but th...

Outside The Chute sat down and chatted with Former Coach with the Men’s Canadian National Team and Softball Newfoundland Hall of Famer, the one and only, John Hill.


John has seen and done it all in our game. He has won numerous Canadian Senior National Titles coaching Newfoundland, been apart of Hill United’s epic ISC and ASA runs and was a Pan Am and WBSC Gold Medalist back in 2015. He was also inducted into the Softball Newfoundland Hall of Fame back in 2009.


We’re gonna talk to John abo...

Outside The Chute sat down and chatted with legendary broadcaster, Saskatoon native, the one and only, Peter Loubardias.

Of course, Peter is well known for his play by play over the years for both the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames in the NHL, as well as countless Memorial Cups, but he’s also a huge advocate for the game of softball.

Peter tells us about getting that love for the game back in the late 70’s in Saskatoon, with the Harmony Women’s Softball team that would go on to win a Senio...

Outside The Chute sat down and chatted with Founder and Owner of UMR Sports, Florida Vibe Team President, and the Executive Director of the American Collegiate League, Ryan Moore.

In the last couple years Ryan has been making his mark on the softball world. With his formation and success of the Florida Gulf Coast League, it has given way to the Heartland Collegiate League, the Music City Collegiate League and the Vegas Collegiate League that all run under the same umbrella, called the American ...

Outside The Chute sat down and first talked with the Head Coach of the Silver Medal winning, Nova Scotia Canada Games Team, Jeff Fraser. We talked about the journey it took to get to that point and the outcome that was a silver medal for the province of Nova Scotia.

We then chat with the Marketing Manager at Softball City in Surrey, BC, Matt Van Eeuwen. Matt tells about what is in store for the softball world leading into the 2023 Canadian Senior Men's Championships and the 2024 ISC World Champ...

Outside The Chute sat down and chatted with 2019 WBSC Coach of the Year, Head Coach of the Argentina Men’s National Team, Julio Gamarci.

Julio has had quite the impact on the game in his country since joining the Argentina Men’s National Team in 1991. As a player, he would play in many ISF and Pan Am tournaments, as well as, compete in the ISC’s with team’s like Larry Miller Toyota out of Salt Lake City and County Materials out of Wisconsin. Julio has definitely made his mark in the game from c...

Outside The Chute sat down and chatted with former coach of the New Zealand Black Sox and current Director of Player Health and Performance for the San Diego Padres, Don Tricker.

Don has had a big impact on the game of softball. He would play for the Black Sox from 1986 to 1991 and would go on to be named the head coach in 1998. Don was instrumental in changing the culture of the New Zealand program and it payed off as the Black Sox would win the World Championship in 2000 and 2004 under his tu...

Outside The Chute sat down and chatted with Assistant Coach of both the New York Gremlins and US Men’s National Team, the legendary, Nick McCurry.

Nick has been known in this game for almost 50 years and brings a love and dedication to it that is unmatched. He would start the Ashland Merchants E.S.S. team back in 1981 and became one of the best low budget teams in the US. Nick had the daunting tasks of running everything from fielding the team to getting the funds to provide the opportunity for...

Outside The Chute sat down and chatted with former US Men’s National Team head coach and current New York Gremlins head coach, Gregg Leather.

Gregg has had a fantastic coaching career to date as he has won 6 ASA National Titles, 2 ISC World Titles and a Pan Am Silver, just to name a few.

We’re gonna talk to Gregg about how he got his start in the game, his transition from modified to Fastpitch, the formation of the New York Gremlins, of course his time with the US National Team and much, much ...

Outside The Chute sat down and chatted with Vice President of Communications and Operations for the ISC, Play by Play announcer with Ballpark Broadcasting and coach with the 2016 ISC World Champion Toronto Gators, Blair Setford.

Blair is well known in Men’s Fastpitch circles with his work with the International Softball Congress over the years, his fantastic calls on Ballpark Broadcasting which has seen him behind the mic for numerous huge events, including the Men’s WBSC’s, ISC World’s and Can...