Raising Competitors | A Show for Parents of Youth Athletes

Michael Caron sits down to discuss his 15 years in education, using experiences to help youth athletes build more courage & positive self-talk, and what we can do as parents to W.I.N. with our athletes. Connect with Michael & his team at GetBurly.com or @GetBurly on any social media platform. _______________ Additional Resources For You: Read the book, “Compete Every Day,” here.Get 15% off new empowering gear for your athlete at CompeteEveryDay.com with code PODCASTListen to past episodes at RaisingCompetitors.com.Think your company could benefit from learning the same mentality? Click here to learn more about Jake’s corporate & team programs.

_______________ Additional Resources For You: Read the book, “Compete Every Day,” here.Get 15% off new empowering gear for your athlete at CompeteEveryDay.com with code PODCASTListen to past episodes at RaisingCompetitors.com.Think your company could benefit from learning the same mentality? Click here to learn more about Jake’s corporate & team programs.

Former professional soccer player Joanna Lohman discusses her professional journey, the importance of helping our youth athletes build resilience, & how those in our life help us grow through challenges. Connect with Joanna & order her book on her website here. _______________ Additional Resources For You: Read the book, “Compete Every Day,” here.Get 15% off new empowering gear for your athlete at CompeteEveryDay.com with code PODCASTListen to past episodes at RaisingCompetitors.com.Think your company could benefit from learning the same mentality? Click here to learn more about Jake’s corporate & team programs.

Mental performance coach Brett Ashley Davis discusses how parents can help their high school athletes make a successful transition to the collegiate level without burning out or quitting. Connect with Brett on Instagram, her website BrettAshleyDavis.com, & download her free parents' guide here. Additional Resources For You: Read the book, “Compete Every Day,” here.Get 15% off new empowering gear for your athlete at CompeteEveryDay.com with code PODCASTListen to past episodes at RaisingCompetitors.com.Think your company could benefit from learning the same mentality? Click here to learn more about Jake’s corporate & team programs.

Sign up for Elle's APRIL 6, 2023 College Ready: Soccer Webinar here. Mental performance coach & IMG+ consultant Elle' Nelson joins the show to discuss resilience, the importance of finding & aligning our values, & how we can create space as parents to help our young athletes grow. Connect with Elle' on social media here on Instagram & LinkedIn. _______________ Additional Resources For You: Read the book, “Compete Every Day,” here.Get 15% off new empowering gear for your athlete at CompeteEveryDay.com with code PODCASTListen to past episodes at RaisingCompetitors.com.Think your company could benefit from learning the same mentality? Click here to learn more about Jake’s corporate & team programs.

Connect with Amanda on Instagram or on her Fearless Fast Pitch website FearlessFastPitch.com. To listen to the Compete Every Day podcast episode on Sara Blakely and "Where did you fail today?" click here. Additional Resources For You: Read the book, “Compete Every Day,” here.Get 15% off new empowering gear for your athlete at CompeteEveryDay.com with code PODCASTListen to past episodes at RaisingCompetitors.com.Think your company could benefit from learning the same mentality? Click here to learn more about Jake’s corporate & team programs.

Connect with Bella on Instagram or on her coaching website BellaLoomis.com. Additional Resources For You: Read the book, “Compete Every Day,” here.Get 15% off new empowering gear for your athlete at CompeteEveryDay.com with code PODCASTListen to past episodes at RaisingCompetitors.com.Think your company could benefit from learning the same mentality? Click here to learn more about Jake’s corporate & team programs.

Connect with Justine on Instagram or on her team's website RJPG.net. Additional Resources For You: Read the book, “Compete Every Day,” here.Get 15% off new empowering gear for your athlete at CompeteEveryDay.com with code PODCASTListen to past episodes at RaisingCompetitors.com.Think your company could benefit from learning the same mentality? Click here to learn more about Jake’s corporate & team programs.

Connect with Klayton on Instagram, LinkedIn, or order his book Ready Player Win here. Additional Resources For You: Read the book, “Compete Every Day,” here.Get 15% off new empowering gear for your athlete at CompeteEveryDay.com with code PODCASTListen to past episodes at RaisingCompetitors.com.Think your company could benefit from learning the same mentality? Click here to learn more about Jake’s corporate & team programs.

Connect with Danielle on Instagram or on her website TheDOMethod.com. Additional Resources For You: Read the book, “Compete Every Day,” here.Get 15% off new empowering gear for your athlete at CompeteEveryDay.com with code PODCASTListen to past episodes at RaisingCompetitors.com.Think your company could benefit from learning the same mentality? Click here to learn more about Jake’s corporate & team programs.

Intentionality is the key to deep relationships and deep relationships are what make a strong and cohesive team. This week on the Raising Competitors podcast, leadership and team development facilitator Bobby Audley shares ideas for team-building that will last. It doesn’t matter if your team is a group of young athletes, seasoned pros, or employees who work with one another in an office, finding a way to bring them together as individuals and as people will help foster a bond that will make the whole group stronger. Some of the most successful teams aren’t the ones who win the most games, Audley says, but the ones who have good camaraderie and a shared vision. That comes from building trust between teammates, allowing yourself to be vulnerable as a person, and not getting defensive when someone challenges you — but instead using a challenge as a learning opportunity. It comes down to opening up the doors to good communication and a willingness to share with those around you. What You’ll Learn: Support the show by using code PODCAST for 15% off at CompeteEveryDay.com!

It’s a serious commitment to be a youth sports parent and it can be challenging, at times, to find the best way to support your child through their journey. It takes time, money, and emotional energy to stand on the sidelines and provide healthy motivation at home, while leaving room for your child to grow and learn on their own. This week, author, motivational speaker, and performance coach Alan Stein Jr. talks about parenting a young athlete. It comes down to modeling the behaviors you want to see them learn and use in everyday life, he says. “I think every parent needs to get great clarity on why you want your children to play sports. And that’s not for me to answer for anyone. That’s for each and every parent to articulate,” says Stein. Once you know why you want them to be there, you can develop the tools to help guide them. As parents, the unseen hours between games and practices, sometimes without our kids around, can be the most important for holistically improving ourselves and building the structures and frameworks to support our families. Things You’ll Learn:

Every person has a body, a heart, and a mind. It’s where these three components come together that the magic happens, says this week’s guest, teacher and coach Lani Silversides. Practicing mindfulness about how we speak with and act around kids can help us set a positive example for them. It can also help them build a strong skillset and work ethic that will serve them well as they grow and progress. Things You’ll Learn:

Kids are like sponges. They soak up whatever you say to them, as parents or coaches, and learn how to act and react from the behavior they see modeled for them. That’s why it’s important to be mindful of how you respond. This week, coach Nicole Denes shares tips on supporting the process, rather than focusing on the outcomes, and helping kids build good habits for the long run. It can be helpful to think about problems or mistakes before they happen. That way, you can practice how you might respond before you’re put on the spot. Especially for kids and adults who tend towards perfectionism, it can be useful to re-focus on the skills you need to improve, rather than whether or not a result was perfect. After all, perfection may be unattainable, but improvement is always possible. What You’ll Learn:

Enjoyment is a key part of sticking with sports. Especially for youth athletes, finding happiness and fulfillment in the game is central to wanting to come to practice every day and putting in their best work. This week, coach and blogger Erica Suter shares ideas for helping youth athletes take joy in the process because if they care about playing, they’ll keep coming back. One of the ways to help kids have fun is by letting them explore. More and more, kids are being tracked into playing a single sport in the hopes of going pro or getting a scholarship to college. But, Suter says, kids are better athletes when they have the flexibility to try new things and grow themselves in different ways. As parents, that could mean letting kids play multiple sports or getting them involved in other routines and skills, like strength and conditioning. “Build the human first,” Suter says. Then, focus on the player. What You’ll Learn:

Kids aren’t just mini-adults. They think differently, process stimuli differently, and fundamentally understand the world in a different way. That’s why it’s important, as adults, to be careful what you say when you want kids to understand you, and how you say it. This week, James Leath talks about the challenges and rewards of working with young athletes and shares tips for connecting with them on their level for better communication and outcomes. As the founder of Unleash The Athlete, he has years of experience working both with youth and with the people who support them, like parents and coaches. By working to understand how kids experience the world around them, you can better support them on their journey of growth. What You’ll Learn: Resources The Resilient Athlete Course hereJoin James’ Coach Mentorship Program hereTeam Building Activities Course here

Being a successful team means being on the same page. That goes for athletes, parents and coaches. Everyone has to have a shared goal in mind and work to achieve it. This week, The Colony High School Lady Cougars Coach & Vice President of the Texas High School Girls Coaches Association Colby Davis shares tips for managing the expectations and abilities of a young team and all of its supporters. It comes down to having good communication at all levels and making sure everyone is invested in the end game. Young teams can comprise players of many skill levels. Each player brings their own strengths to the team, even if it’s being the loudest cheerleader on the bench at gametime. The key to keeping players in sync with one another is to play to those strengths and help kids understand the importance of recognizing others’ successes. It also makes them tougher competitors, if they can see what the competition is doing right and adapt to improve their own game and ultimately, win. What You’ll Learn: You can follow Coach Colby Davis on Twitter @CoachDavis10. You can also follow The Colony Lady Cougars on Twitter @TheColonyBB. Support Raising Competitors by using code PODCAST at CompeteEveryDay.com for 15% off any order!

It can be daunting to find support and resources you can trust as a player, coach, or parent. This week, fellow podcaster and baseball aficionado Joe Ferraro talks about his Youth Baseball School endeavor, which seeks to bring together useful information in one place for ballplayers and their supporters. It’s a community where you can seek out likeminded people for advice and tips to get the most out of your experience with the sport. For Compete Every Day podcast listeners, Ferraro may be a familiar voice. He’s the founder and host of the One Percent Better podcast and joined us in season 3 here. He brings the same commitment to education and relationship-building to his new project. In this episode, he also shares stories of how lessons he learned in baseball have translated to life as a whole and the importance of staying true to the pursuit of lifelong learning, which makes finding curated and trusted resources all the more important. What You’ll Learn: Listen to Joe Ferraro's interview on the Compete Every Day Podcast here. Support the show by using code PODCAST for 15% off any order at CompeteEveryDay.com. Connect with Jake on Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter!

Kids are kids and they need to have fun. Nowadays, there’s a tendency to push kids into picking a particular sport at a young age. There’s the prevailing idea that if a kid isn’t specializing early, they’re falling behind. Southbay FC founder Kelly Gray says in actuality, kids should be doing the opposite. They should be able to try out as many sports as they want when they’re young, and hold off on choosing a main focus until they’re older. For nearly a decade, Gray played in Major League Soccer. He became a coach soon after retiring from the field. He saw both kids and adults questing for player perfection when they should have been focusing on progress. Kids need to be able to enjoy their experience in sports, Gray says, and have the opportunity to learn different skills. Those extra abilities will serve them well as they get older and put them ahead of the competition when it really counts. What You’ll Learn: Support the podcast by using code PODCAST for 15% off any order at CompeteEveryDay.com

My nephew has been struggling in school lately. He battles ADHD as I did, and I know he’s gotten frustrated by how long it’s taken him to get some concepts. I can relate. You just want to bang your head against a wall when a subject isn’t “clicking.” He came in town this weekend with his family, and I wanted to encourage him. I got him a TCU football t-shirt with the words Built. Not Born. It was the perfect message I wanted to share with him. I wrote him the following letter that I hope also encourages you – and your young Competitor – too. RaisingCompetitors.com