Coach's Corner

Steve Specht '86 and Will Reilly '09 kick off the podcast and football season previewing the 2024 Bombers before their away game this week at Lakota West.

John Robinson '00 talks about going from a life on the athletic field to founding one of the most respected egaming brands in the world.  He covers winning a national championship with Yale Lacrosse in 2001, his thoughts on modern screen time, and offers Coach Specht a new gig in coaching. 

Chris Maggio '09 founder of Team Class (www.teamclass.com) talks about his entrepreneurial career, love of travel, and how lessons from St. X have helped him throughout his life both personally and professionally. A talented founder, an intrepid traveler, and a true man for others who embodies what it means to be open to growth.

Tim McDonald talks about the genesis, rise, and current state of the Leo H Gerbus '53 Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Anson Frericks graduate from St. X in 2002 and shares his experience in private equity, at anheuser busch, and the halls of St. Xavier.

Mike Schroeder '02 talks about his new company Future Fans (www.futurefans.com) and how he's building the solution to a problem he and many parents of young children face - how do I get them interested in watching sports.

Now that Coach Specht can spend less time on his sidehustle as the St. Xavier football coach he can get back to his real job of hosting the podcast.  Before moving on to guests, we wrap up the season and talk to Luke Veech '24 about his mentality, lessons, and memories of St. Xavier football.  If you have a guest recommendation - send it to Coach Specht at sspecht@stxavier.org

Edmond Dantes.  Hamlet. Steve Specht.  Three main characters seeking revenge.  This week Coach Specht and Will Reilly talk about a huge upcoming rematch against rival Moeller in week 2 of the playoffs.

Coach Specht and Will Reilly produce one of their most aligned and clearly thought out podcast episodes.  They talk about the round 1 playoff game against Springboro, whether coach Specht would rather get a Steelers or an OSHA tattoo, and the famed children's author Dr. Zeus

Coach Specht talks about gaining momentum at the right time, how he begged Coach Zach Taylor to mention him in the Bengals press conference, and how proud he is on senior day about his hard work and how he's solely responsible for getting seniors to where they are today.  Will Reilly is just humbled and blessed to be here.

Steve Bradley joins to discuss the naming of the annual St. Ignatius v. St. Xavier football game, the Paul Lammermeier Cup, and discuss the legend of Paul.  Coach Specht touts his coaching brilliance for breaking a losing streak and Will Reilly offers some ideas up for the trophy.

Coach Specht and Will Reilly discuss ways to get momentum back on the Bombers side - Coach Specht by teaching resilience, grit, and balance to his players, Will by burning sage and leveraging ASMR to send intentions to the universe.  Ed Franchi, legendary fundraiser for St. Xavier joins the pod to discuss his career and impact on St. Xavier.

Former Colerain and University of Cincinnati standout and current St. Xavier defensive backs coach Ja'Von Hicks joins the podcast to talk about playing against St. X, his college career, and how his hopes for the future.  Coach Specht and Will Reilly try unsuccessfully to get him to admit he would of prefered playing for the Bombers.

Coach Specht and Will Reilly talk about a tough loss to GCL rival Moeller, the upcoming game against Elder, and share their opinions on Hollywood despite having no real context or network to stand on.

Defensive line extraordinaires and actual high school football players Ted Hammond '24 (#97) and Gordy Sufsted '25 (#11) join Coach Specht and Will Reilly to talk about the season so far, how important their upcoming game against moeller is, and air their grievances live to coach specht.  Coach Specht recaps a fantastic atmosphere against Withrow and tells Moeller several extremely strategic plays that their coaching staff should definitely listen to for a strategic advantage and definitely NOT for extra podcast downloads.

Coach Specht '86 and Will Reilly '09 talk about a tough loss to a great McCallie (TN) team and an exciting upcoming game against Withrow at a legendary Cincinnati stadium.  A brief interlude where ChatGPT debates who is the better Stephen (King or Specht) and Coach learns about TSA precheck.

Defensive Coordinator and friend of the pod Jake Brodbeck joins the coach's corner to talk this years defense, fatherhood, and how he's settling into year 3.

Coach Terrell Williams, 2023 Ohio Strength Coach of the Year, joins Steve Specht and Will Reilly to recap a week 1 win over Lakota West, discuss his journey at St. X and how it's inspired him to improve himself while serving others, and to preview week two up in Detroit.

After 13 minutes and 30 seconds of catching up and rejoicing in best friendship and very little about the subject of the podcast, Head football coach Steve Specht '86 and Will Reilly '09 get around to the start of the 5th season of the St. Xavier Coach's corner.  They discuss the upcoming St. Xavier football season, players to watch, the landscape of football in general, and Friday's matchup against a loaded Lakota West team.

Bret Betz '03 was the emergency physician on the field when Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin collapsed and was resuscitated during a Monday night football game on January 2nd.  Bret goes through his incredible career path, embodies courage under pressure, and talks about his experience in story that will make you proud to be an alumi, a Cincinnatian, and a human being.

Cameron Specht '18 gets a chance to air his grievances about father/coach/cohost Steve Specht '86 while Jake Berkel '17 talks about an unfortunate miscommunication in the State Championship.  Both reflect back on the chaos of the 2016 State championship run and St. Xavier football.

Bomber legends and friends of the program Patrick Berning '08 and Tim Bayer '08 talk about being a part of arguably the greatest football team in St. X history, playing on ESPN, and having a young Coach Specht at the helm.

Brad Brookbank '06 and Joe Ries '06 talk about the first State Championship and perfect season in St. X history, a moment of disregard for instruction turned into iconic punt return moment, and how they've grew from their experience with Steve Specht as head coach.

Matt Vogele '02 and Mike Hurley '02 talk about Coach Specht as a defensive coordinator, the 2001 team that went undefended until the State Championship, and what it was like to help lay the foundation for the success of the St. X football program

Jason Arling and Rocky Boiman talk about the early part of coach Specht's career when he was the defense coordinator for St. X.  They go through the impact it had on their lives while in high school and the lessons and memories they carry with them today.

Kirk Herbstreit joined us live at Sorrentos to answer questions from the crowd, the differences between calling games at different levels, being a parent at St. X, and the College football playoffs (before the Michigan/Ohio State game).

Coach Specht talks about lessons he's learned from the 2022 football season and the process for the end of season.  They invite their 12 listeners to Sorrentos on November 22nd for the annual live show and solicit guests for the second half of Season 4 of the St. Xavier Coach's Corner

Coach Specht guarantees a victory, talks about how he thinks the game should be at RDI Stadium on Ballaban field, and discusses how coaching alone is responsible for advancing through week 1 of the playoffs.

Coach Specht goes out of his way to essentially guarantee not only a win this week against Fairfield, but a State Championship as well.  They recap the season in five minutes to help the bandwagon fans feel welcome, and discus their favorite Halloween candy.

Coach Specht and Will Reilly discuss senior day, the rarity of freshman playing varsity snaps, and how to gear up for the playoffs.

Coach Specht talks about his relationship with Chuck Kyle, the legendary St. Ignatius coach who is in his final year, including lessons he's learned from knowing him, watching him, and competing against him.  Will continues to push the cosmic agenda for the Bombers to go on a run.

As the king of the road game against Lasalle approach's, Coach Specht '86 and Will Reilly '09 think of alternative cosmic ways to turn the season around, the life lessons that come with facing real difficulty, and how the Bombers have a 3 game season to prepare for the greatest run in High School sports

Coach Specht decides not even his world renowned coaching can change the mojo of the season and solicits help from other dimensions.  The Bombers prepare for Louisville Trinity and Coach Specht and the boys get ready to go on a run!

Coach Specht '86 talks about the greatest high school football stadium in the country, Ballaban field, and how he wishes he was playing there instead of what he calls 'A Pit'.  Will Reilly '09 answers some questions as Steve.  Zach Rengers '22 hacks the system again to give statistical predictions that may be the spark the Bombers need to go on their championship run.

Coach Specht talks about how much he loves national rankings for high school teams and how it's always one of his primary goals in a season.  It's Moeller week and in typical fashion Coach Specht guarantees a victory at all cost regardless if his players learn anything.  A hacker breaks into the pod and gives some very specific, numerical football predictions for the game that are strictly predictions.

Steve Specht talks about his brilliant coaching finally led the Bombers to their first win of the season, how he is overlooking next weeks opponent, and decides to come up with his own segments because he is tired of his cohosts lack of imagination.

Coach Specht talks about a great opportunity for he and the team to learn, the plan going forward, and how he doesn't think he got enough facetime during ESPN's broadcast.  Will wonders why he wasn't mentioned in the 'notable football alumni' segment and why they talked about 'the kids' so much.

Coach Specht decides that if he can't go undefeated what's the point of even coaching, how the only reason he's continuing is so that he can get some facetime on ESPN (12:00PM, Sunday August 27) this week as the Bombers take on Loyola (Chicago), and about how this is the only school he's ever played that has an alumnus ranking #1 in the 'cool guy alumni' power rankings.

The pod is back!  Coach Specht '86 guarantees another undefeated state championship, specifically calls out the teams he's circled on his schedule and the teams he's not worried about, blames other people for his failures in the off season, and discusses how he doesn't care if this team grows and gets better, only that they can win football games.  Co-Host Will Reilly '09 remains humbled and amazed at the kids dedication to become men for others.

Does winning an Oscar from the academy mean anything if you haven't won an Andy from the Coach's Corner?  Would you rather have dinner with Matt Damon and Liam Hemsworth or sit on the hot seat of questions from your old OC/IP teacher?  Animate some of histories greatest films or have dozens of listeners on Cincinnati's #1 ranked Wednesday morning, high school alumni podcast?  Patrick Osborne '99 answers these and more!

Does winning an Oscar from the academy mean anything if you haven't won an Andy from the Coach's Corner?  Would you rather have dinner with Matt Damon and Liam Hemsworth or sit on the hot seat of questions from your old OC/IP teacher?  Animate some of histories greatest films or have dozens of listeners on Cincinnati's #1 ranked Wednesday morning, high school alumni podcast?  Patrick Osborne '99 answers these and more!

Best friends Steve Specht '86 and Will Reilly '09 are joined by Notre Dame Defensive Coordinator Al Golden and talk about choosing teams with ties to his name, his run as the Bengals linebacker coach, and his excitement for the upcoming college football season.

Zac Taylor joins his best friends Steve Specht '86 and Will Reilly '09 to talk about the Bengals run to the super bowl, his opinion on The Rock's Super Bowl intro, and his favorite Summer Activities including a sport he invested called 'Chairball'.

Jordan Cornette talks with best friends Steve Specht '86 and Will Reilly '09 about his time playing basketball for Mike Brey, winning a state championship and his love of St. Xavier basketball, and the connection he feels to his brother Joel '99 during March Madness every year.

The best friends finally get their third member to join them as Dave 'Yid' Armbruster joins Steve Specht and Will Reilly to talk about his trip to the Super bowl, what it was like to see the Bengals make a run after 30 years, and why he couldn't get them into media row for the game.

A Presidents day special!  Steve Specht '86 and Will Reilly interview the past four president of St. Xavier High School about their time as president, which president's and leaders in history they admire, and how St. X has changed but stayed the same over the decades

Steve Specht '86 and Will Reilly '09 give a new intro to an old interview of their close friend Zac Taylor, hoping to provide him the space to focus on the super bowl while still giving him the podcast bump.

WHO-DEY!  Wayne Miller talks about his time as the Bengals radio halftime and post game reporter in addition to his duties at St. Xavier High School.  He talks a little shop with cohost/former halftime reporter Will Reilly '09 and goes through Bengals Super Bowl keys to victory with Coach Specht.

#1 supporter of the podcast Tim Schroeder '75 rejoins the podcast to talk about the Clinical trials segment throughout the season, the future of the pod, and how tech problems stemming from Will's 2008 Macbook are no longer a viable excuse for the pod not publishing.

Jeff Berding '85, president of FC Cincinnati, joins Will Reilly '09 and Steve Specht '86 to talk about the creation of FC Cincinnati, hosting the US - Mexico World Cup qualifier, and the difference between Coach Specht's football and the worlds football.