Outside The Chute

Episode 50 - Blair Setford

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 Canadian Nationals, just to name a few.
We’re going to talk to Blair on getting his start in the game in Jordan, Ontario, becoming involved in the executive side of the game, that amazing 2016 World Title win with the Toronto Gators, as well as, much much more.
Blair was such a great guy to have on for our milestone 50th episode as he can not only tell a good story, but has such a rich knowledge of the game that it makes those stories even better.

Episode 49 - Ashley Burkhardt

Outside The Chute sat down and chatted with Purdue University alum, former Dallas Charge pro and host of “When The Cleats Come Off”, Ashley Burkhardt.
Ash had a stellar four years at Purdue, where she earned three straight All-Region honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches' Association (NFCA). She was also a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and garnered first-team All-Big Ten accolades in 2014. She was drafted in the National Pro Fastpitch League by the Dallas Charge where she would spend two years before moving on to the coaching ranks and then starting her own business called Ashley Burkhardt Training.
We’re gonna talk to Ash about getting her start in the game, her time at Purdue, of course, her Ashley Burkhardt Training, which produced the fantastic podcast “When The Cleat Come Off”, as well as, much, much more.
It was an absolute joy to get to talk to Ashley about her career and the success of her training program.  I’m sure big things are in store for her and I wish Ash nothing but the best moving forward.

Episode 48 - Rob O'Brien

Outside The Chute sat down and chatted with former Team Canada National Team member and St John’s, NL native, Rob O’Brien.
OB had a fantastic career that spanned almost 20 years.  He’s a 4 time ISC All World selection, 3 time, Canadian Nationals MVP, 6 time ASA Champion, 8 time Canadian National Champ, as well as, an ISC World Title in 2010.
We’re gonna talk to Rob about getting his start growing up in Newfoundland, representing Canada at the 1993 ISF World Junior Championships in New Zealand and bringing home the gold, his storied ISC and Canadian National career and, of course, the successful Goofie Newfie Pub & Grill that OB owns in Fergus, Ontario.
Rob was an absolute pleasure to chat with and we shared a ton of laughs in this episode.  Pretty sure everyone is definitely going to love this interview.  

Episode 47 - Leah Majeski

Outside The Chute sat down we Alabama Crimson Tide Alum and Marketing and Promotions Manager for Mizuno Fastpitch USA, Leah Majeski.
Leah had a great four years with Alabama where she would be a four time Academic All-SEC and make two trips to the Women’s College World Series in 2003 and 2005.  From there she would spend a few years with the Softball Factory before moving into her current roll with Mizuno Fastpitch USA as the head of Marketing and Promotions.
We’re gonna talk to Leah about getting her start in the game, the decision to attend Alabama, those two WCWS, as well as, still being involved in the game with Mizuno and much much more.
Leah was an absolute treat to chat with and I feel Mizuno is in fantastic hands with her being able to showcase all its amazing products.

Episode 46 - Yusef Davis Jr.

Outside The Chute sat down and chatted with US Men’s National Team member and Las Vegas, Nevada native, Yusef Davis Jr.
Yuse is another one of those Baseball players that has made the transition to Fastpitch and has had tremendous success so far in doing so.  He’s already made his way onto the US Men’s National team, captured a silver medal at the 2019 Pan Am Games and been named to an ISC All World Team in just 7 years of playing the game.
We’re gonna talk to Yuse about getting his start in the game, what it was like growing up in Long Beach, California, some of the people who have helped him along the way, travelling to play down in New Zealand and, of course, much, much more.
Hopey and I had an absolute pleasure chatting with Yuse.  He’s such a positive guy, which I’m sure you’ll hear, coming through in this interview.

Episode 45 - Joey Lye

Outside The Chute sat down and chatted with Williams College Ephs alum and current Canadian National Team member, Joey Lye.
Joey had an amazing 4 year run at Williams College where she would set five all-time school records during her four seasons; batting average (.457), runs scored (150), hits (211), total bases (267) and stolen bases (62). She would also play varsity hockey as well, patrolling the blueline as part of the Ephs defence, where she tallied 41 points (18G, 23A) in 100 games.  Joey has also had international success with Team Canada as she has 3 WBSC bronze medals, 2 Pan Am Games silvers, and of course, the epic 2015 Pan Am Games gold won on home soil in Toronto.
We’re gonna talk to Joey about getting her start in the game, the decision to attend Williams College, jumping into the coaching ranks, as well as, her time with Team Canada and their mission to bring back a gold medal from Tokyo in the upcoming Olympic Games.
Joey was such a treat to chat with and I know everyone is going to love this episode with one of the greats to ever wear the red and white.

Episode 44 - Tim Macumber

Outside The Chute sat down and chatted with Softball Canada Hall of Famer and Newport, Nova Scotia native, Tim Macumber.
Tim had an illustrious career as he has won an ISC World title, a Canadian Senior Men’s Championship, a gold medal at the 2003 Pan Am Games, been named All Canadian four times and to 3 ISC All World Teams, just to name a few.
We talked to T Mac about getting his start in the game down in Newport and the role his dad played in it, winning a Canadian Junior title with Lloydminster in 1991, how tough the ISC circuit was back in the day, as well as, the honor of getting inducted into the Softball Canada Hall of Fame just one year after he retired.
Tim was a pleasure to chat with and I’m sure you’re all going to enjoy this trip down memory lane with an absolute beauty from our home province.

Episode 43 - Cole Evans

Outside The Chute sat down and chatted with New Zealand Black Sox captain, and 2017 World Champion, Cole Evans.
Being 22 years of age you would figure that there wouldn’t be much to cover with Cole but he has already had as much international experience as most players have had in their lifetime.  Cole got his first taste of the Men’s game on a global scale at the 2015 ISF World Championships in Saskatoon at the ripe age of 17 and hasn’t looked back, recently being named team captain of the New Zealand Black Sox, which is incredible.
We’re gonna chat with Cole about getting his start in the game, what the minor ball scene was like growing up, of course, those 2015 ISF Worlds, as well as, what it was like being named team captain of such a storied franchise at such a young age.
Cole was awesome to chat with and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for this amazing talent going forward.