Johansen Baseball 2.0

Kaleb Elwood joins the show for the Players Series. Kaleb started hitting with Ryan as a struggling high school junior, started at UW-Platteville as a freshman, and is now at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids while preparing for pastoral ministry.

Kaleb tells the story from the player's side: the first lesson where he took a pitch off the machine and heard "We don't do that here. We swing." Then he and Ryan get into:

- Slowing practice down. In Midwestern cages it's "reps, reps, reps," but in a game you get four or five at-bats...

We kick off our final series of 2026, The Players Series, where we flip the script and learn from players about their journey, where they are now, and how they trained. Repeat guest Ryan Fitzgerald ("Fitzy") joins the show fresh off a 2026 season where he led all of Triple-A in hits.

Ryan and Fitzy get into what changed mentally after a year of DFAs and roster moves: "You literally can control almost nothing." His answer was to "care so much that I don't care," and stop wasting energy on a system he can't change.

In this...

David Bentley, the Johansen Baseball Head College Recruiting Coach joins the show to talk about what he likes to see from players to help them play in college. 

Part of reaching your ceiling or playing one level above it is being able to communicate, be patient, accept rejection, and be well liked. The recruiting journey embodies a lot of those traits. 

Want to learn more about the recruiting process and how David and the Johansen Baseball Network can help? Email [email protected]

AAA Assistant Hitting Coach with the San Francisco Giants, Robert Riggins and Ryan jump into tangible ways to be a "Glue Guy" and why focusing on it may be the next step in elevating your career and quality of life outside of baseball. 

Robert's journey to professional baseball is unique and showcases what being a "glue guy" is all about! 

Alex Hales joins the show, a community college head baseball coach who has perspective on being where your feet are and helping players understand the importance of climbing the ladder at the appropriate pace. "Buy the drapes!" 

Grant Armstrong joins the show and he and Ryan give tangible ways coaches can coach athletes as it relates to culture and being a good teammate. When most recognize the importance of being a good teammate, Grant and Ryan emphasize the art of celebrating others success. 

Michael and Ryan dive into DISC as it relates to how coaches can understand their own communication style as well as their players. 

Dominant
Influencer
Steady
Conscientious

This wraps up the What Good Coaches Do, Great Coaches Do on Purpose Series. 

We'll kick off our next series: Surviving Beyond Your Metrics, a Clubhouse Narrative next time. 

Michael Norton returns to the show recording the 5th episode in our series "What Good Coaches Do, Great Coaches Do On Purpose" 

DEFINE SUCCESS is a staple and how we define success matters. Process and character over outcome. Michael and Ryan dive a little further into the BAT triangle and breakdown how coaches can think about success not only for their players but in their own roles. 

Bart Hanegraaff from the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, Skill & Performance Integration Specialist joins the show to talk about the "why?" in creative environments while he and Ryan riff on how to focus on "Do" language rather than "Don't do" language. 

Michael and Ryan dive into the three ego states of every human. Parent, Adult, Child and how to keep the ego states in coaches as players adult to adult.... even if Tee ball when they pick dandelions! 

Michael Norton, Executive Leader and Leadership Coach returns in the second episode of our 6 part series. Ryan and Michael talk about why active listening is so important and ways to improve as a coach. 

Michael Norton, Executive Leader and Leadership Coach discuss the 5 principles that good coaches do, and great coaches do on purpose. The Johansen Baseball staples in their Teach, Train, and Transform model. 

JJ Lally, Crosschecker with the Chicago White Sox joins the show and discusses what he looks for in scouting makeup, character, and more. Ryan and JJ point out being present in each chapter of your journey is an important piece of the puzzle. 

Kris Goodman, Major League Process and Development Coach (Mental Skills) for the Tampa Bay Rays joins the show! Ryan and Kris chop it up on being process oriented over outcome oriented, different motivations and challenges each level faces, and define flow state. 

Ryan Johansen is joined by Bryce and Christina from Grow Wellness Sports Psychology where they discuss the mental challenges athletes face when developing their talents off the field but also addressing performance on the field. 

Ryan simplifies attention shifting and what is happening in the brain as hitters focus on the task at hand while giving some insight into training methods, ways to engage with players and how to build drills around it in this short 22 minute episode. 

In this episode, Jake and Ryan explore vision training for baseball hitters with special guest Tyler Starke of Starke Industries (X: @starke_it). Tyler breaks down what sports vision is, what visual skills set the elite hitters apart from the rest, and more. This episode is packed with science-backed insights and practical advice for players, coaches, and parents.

In this eye-opening episode, Jake and Ryan dive deep into the constraints-led approach (CLA) and its game-changing application to baseball training. Forget endless repetitive drills and constant verbal cues—CLA flips the script by manipulating task, environmental, and individual constraints to create dynamic, game-like practice environments where players self-organize, adapt, and discover effective movements on their own. Drawing from cutting-edge research and real-world examples, we explore how this method builds more resilient hitters who thrive under pressure, reduce injury risk through natural variability, and develop true game smarts rather than robotic mechanics. Whether you're a coach looking to revolutionize yo...

This week Ryan flies solo with Jake out. He talks all about approach. Listen in to learn how to plan your approach to "Be Dangerous" at the plate!

This week, Jake and Ryan are back to talk about building swing features. What is a swing feature? Tune in to find out!

Jake and Ryan recorded a special episode of the podcast with longtime high school coach, Dominic Savino, to discuss the myths and realities of high school baseball tryouts. 

This week, Jake and Ryan talk about the "Can You?" development model and how they implement it in the cage so that every player has a clear roadmap for development. Derived from the gymnastics world, the "Can you" model provides clarity for players on where they are currently and guidelines for what they need to do to move on to the next level.

Welcome back podcast fans! This week, Jake and Ryan launch season 2 to talk about their latest initiative in the cage. They'll dive into the science of the eyes and vision, how to train it effectively, and why it matters. It's any episode you won't want to miss!

This week in a special episode in between the first and second seasons of the podcast, Ryan talks with Bill Gosse. Bill is the founder of TeamScore Inc., an organization dedicated to advocating for better sportsmanship. In addition to founding TeamScore, Bill travels the country as an accomplished public speaker and author.

This week Ryan flies solo with special guest Sam Krapf. Sam is the owner of Ground Zero Strength Gym and provides online coaching for guys who are stuck trying to get strong. You can find him on X, @sam_gzstrength.

This week Jake and Ryan talk analytics with former White Sox Hitting Initiatives Coordinator, Devin DeYoung. Devin does a great job simplifying analytics in a way that is easy for coaches to put into action. This is a must listen to episode.  

This week on the podcast, Jake and Ryan have on Jeff Frye. Jeff spent 9 years in the MLB with various teams and spent time sharing about his unorthodox path into professional baseball as well as stories from his career. There are plenty of nuggets players and coaches will be able to take away from this episode.

This week Ryan talks with Chris Thompson, Senior Manager of Baseball and Softball for Cubs Charities. Chris offers a fresh perspective on the world of travel sports.

In this episode Ryan flies solo once again as he talks with Northern Illinois University's Ryan Copeland. They talk recruiting, development and more. 

This week Ryan flys solo with 44Pro's very own Mark Spencer. Mark comes on the show with a wealth of knowledge and experience in the baseball-bat-fitting world; and shares some great insights with us.

This week Jake and Ryan are joined by Alex Destino, former White Sox' minor leaguer. Alex brings some great perspective and some great stories (including one about Ryan you won't want to miss).

This week Ryan flies solo again while interviewing Marquee Sports' Digital Content Manager, Tony Andracki. This episode is filled with some good insights and some cool stories about some of the current Cubs' players. 

This week on the podcast, Ryan flies solo as he chats with former Chicago White Sox Hitting Coordinator and 2018 World Series champion, Andy Barkett.

Part 2:  Jake and Ryan are joined by AJ Gill, former White Sox minor leaguer and Aurora Spartan. If that name sounds familiar, AJ has joined as a guest on our old podcast, Damage at the Dish, and was also mentioned in the episode we did with Coach Stevens from Aurora University.

This week, Jake and Ryan are joined by AJ Gill, former White Sox minor leaguer and Aurora Spartan. If that name sounds familiar, AJ has joined as a guest on our old podcast, Damage at the Dish, and was also mentioned in the episode we did with Coach Stevens from Aurora University.

This week, Jake and Ryan are joined by former big leaguer, Brandon Guyer about mindset. Drafted by the Cubs in 2007, Guyer spent several seasons in the MLB with Tampa Bay Rays and most notably on the Cleveland Indians during their run to the World Series in 2016.  Brandon spent the 2023 season working for the Angels as a mental skills coach. For more information, go to brandonguyer.com.

This week, Jake and Ryan were joined on the podcast by former MLB manager and player, Clint Hurdle. Clint spent ten years playing in the big leagues and returned to the majors for 22 years as a coach and manager from 1997-2019. This is an episode you won't want to miss! 

This week Jake and Ryan talk to head coach of Aurora University Baseball, Adam Stevens, about mental strategies for teams and individual athletes. His Aurora Spartans have become one of only eleven Division III schools to make five consecutive NCAA Regionals and coached them to a program record 42 wins in 2023.

This week, Jake and Ryan are joined by Amy Staheli from healthyfamiliesthrive.com.

Jake and Ryan have on Dania Polly, a certified occupational therapy assistant and the  Director of Clinical Services for Hillman Pediatric Therapy, to talk about emotional regulation and the struggles athletes, coaches, and parents may face in this realm.