Overcoming The Top-10 Mental Obstacles In Sport - https://go.sportmind.io/Mastery

The SportMind Portal - https://go.sportmind.io/Portal

The Daily SportMind Book: https://www.sportminddaily.com/

The Squash Playbook - https://www.squashplaybook.com/ ⚫️💨

She got expelled from school at age four. Too much energy, uncontrollable, a school that didn't know what to do with her, and a mom who gave her a hug and told her she was awesome. Anyway, 43 years later, Holly Budge has Skydived Everest, summited it on foot, raced a thousand kilometers across Mongolia on semi-wild horses,

and works with over 6,000 female wildlife rangers across Africa. She has done things that most people wouldn't even dare to dream about. But here's what I want you to borrow from her today. Holly doesn't call herself an athlete. She calls herself an adventurer,

And that distinction matters more than you think because when you stop chasing the outcome and fall in love with the experience, something shifts, the pressure changes, joy comes back, and ironically, you perform better. There's a reason the winner of that Mongolia horse race sat at the finish line for two days

wishing he was still out on that step. We get into the mirror step. Her technique for silencing the inner critic when the environment is trying to break you. The difference between fear and risk and why you can outplay one but must respect the other. How she normalized jumping out of planes until it felt like brushing her teeth.

And what that teaches us about pressure

also what Post Expedition Blues has to teach every single athlete about identity and what happens when the big goal is suddenly gone? She says it best herself. My body is screaming, no, but my mind is whispering. Yes. Athletes. This one's for you. This is Holly Budge.

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/hollybudge/

https://www.instagram.com/howmanyelephants/

https://www.instagram.com/worldfemalerangerweek/

https://www.instagram.com/wildlifepositivetravel/

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Overcoming The Top-10 Mental Obstacles In Sport - https://go.sportmind.io/Mastery

The SportMind Portal - https://go.sportmind.io/Portal

The Daily SportMind Book: https://www.sportminddaily.com/

The Squash Playbook - https://www.squashplaybook.com/ ⚫️💨

If you've ever chased a result so hard that it slipped right through your fingers, if you've ever worked relentlessly only to feel strangely empty when you finally achieve the thing you thought would change everything. If you've ever wondered why some people stay grounded, focused, and fulfilled while striving at the highest level, then today's episode is gonna hit you right between the eyes in the best possible way because today.

We are joined by someone who has reshaped how the modern world understands excellence. Brad Stulberg is one of the most influential voices in performance, mental health and human development. His books, the Practice of Groundedness and Master of Change, are staples for elite athletes, leaders, creatives, world class coaches, and anyone who wants to live with more steadiness and purpose.

His writing appears in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and just about every publication that cares about high performance. Done well.

He co-hosts the outstanding podcast excellence actually alongside Steve Magnus and Clay Skipper. And now with his new book, the Way of Excellence Bride is reclaiming What Excellence Truly means. Not hustle culture, not optimization, addiction, not endless metrics, but a deeply human relationship with your craft.

In this episode, we explore the paradox of high performance, why caring deeply and letting go produces your best work. The true definition of excellence, a relationship, not a result. Why gumption, sticktuitiveness is rarer and more important than talent. How to raise your floor under pressure. Not just your ceiling.

Why arrival is an illusion, and satisfaction is found in the struggle itself. How athletes, parents, and coaches can find meaning in the long game and the beautiful truth that the things we work on also work on us. Brad brings research, philosophy, storytelling, and decades of experience working with world class performers.

This is one of those conversations that leaves you thinking differently about your sport. Your ambition, your identity, and your life. So if you're striving for something big, if you're trying to become the kind of person who gives their craft everything without losing themselves, if you wanna understand excellence in a way that actually makes you stronger, steadier, and more fulfilled, then you're in the right place.

Let's dive in. Here is my conversation with the brilliant Brad Stulberg.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradstulberg/

The Way of Excellence: https://wayofexcellencebook.com

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Overcoming The Top-10 Mental Obstacles In Sport - https://go.sportmind.io/Mastery

The SportMind Portal - https://go.sportmind.io/Portal

The Daily SportMind Book: https://www.sportminddaily.com/

The Squash Playbook - https://www.squashplaybook.com/ ⚫️💨

In today's episode, I sit down with one of the most accomplished and intellectually fascinating athletes in modern volleyball, Carli Lloyd. Carli isn't just an Olympic bronze medalist from the Rio Games, a world-class setter with 15 professional seasons under her belt, or an NCAA player of the year who led the University of California Berkeley to their first ever national final.

She's also a deep thinker, a storyteller, and a master of the inner game. And this conversation goes way beyond her resume. We dive into the mental side of being a setter, the emotional thermostat of the team, and how she learned to stay calm, lead, and make decisions under relentless pressure. Carli opens up about perfectionism, her battles with self-talk, the belief that she wasn't good enough and the moment a sports psychologist told her she needed to change her inner narrative or it would break her.

She shares how tools like journaling, breath work, mindfulness, and years of psychological re-patterning helped her transform as an athlete as well as a human being. And how these tools now guide the next generation of female volleyball players. She mentors. We go deep into the Rio Olympics,

the heartbreak of losing the semifinal. The emotional weight of playing for bronze, and the surprising truth about what an Olympic medal can't fix. We talked about acceptance, control, identity, the danger of outcome, obsession, and why optimism is a trainable skill that can completely shift a young athlete's trajectory.

And for me, the real magic in this episode is how honest, grounded, and generous Carli is. She peels back the layers on leadership flow, state fear. Trust, comparison, motherhood, and what it really means to express and not just impress if you're an athlete, a coach, a parent, or simply someone who wants to understand what high performance looks like from the inside out.

This is one of those episodes you'll come back to again and again. Let's dive in with the wonderful Carli Lloyd. 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlilloyd3/

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Overcoming The Top-10 Mental Obstacles In Sport - https://go.sportmind.io/Mastery

The SportMind Portal - https://go.sportmind.io/Portal

Grab Your Copy Of The Squash Playbook - https://www.squashplaybook.com/ ⚫️💨

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When pressure hits — when the match tightens, the heart rate spikes, and the mind starts racing — what separates the athlete who steadies from the one who spirals?

It’s rarely just talent or training. It’s the ability to regulate what’s happening inside.

That’s where Marci Sier brings her expertise.

Marci is a squash professional at the Badminton and Racquet Club of Toronto, and she also runs a private practice in sport and performance psychology.

With a Master’s in Counselling Psychology and advanced studies in sport psych, she’s spent years guiding athletes, coaches, and business professionals to use the same psychological tools that high performers rely on under pressure — awareness, emotional control, and the calm to stay composed when the moment intensifies.

In this conversation, Marci shares how she integrates those mental skills directly into her coaching — teaching young players to celebrate mistakes as part of learning, helping athletes understand how emotions show up in the body, and using imagery, icons, and simple resets to reframe stress in real time.

We talk about how true confidence isn’t a quick technique — it’s something earned through reflection, repetition, and trust in your own process.

Marci also offers sharp insight into early specialization in sport, and how parents and coaches can become active allies in an athlete’s mental development — using the same language, reinforcing the same values, and supporting the same awareness both on and off the court.

At its core, this is a conversation about the inner architecture of performance — how composure, confidence, and connection are built from the inside out.

And how, when you start to see sport as a mirror for life, every challenge becomes a chance to grow.

Let’s dive in with Marci Sier.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marci-sier-ma-cmpc/

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Overcoming The Top-10 Mental Obstacles In Sport - https://go.sportmind.io/Mastery

The SportMind Portal - https://go.sportmind.io/Portal

Grab Your Copy Of The Squash Playbook - https://www.squashplaybook.com/ ⚫️💨

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He’s one of the most meticulous minds in the game —

a Harvard graduate, a top-ten player, and the man who recently beat the World No. 1.

But Victor Crouin’s story isn’t about a single result.

It’s about what happens between the results — the daily habits, honest reflections, and mental frameworks that turn potential into progress.

Over the past few seasons, Victor and I have worked together on the mental side of his game — through tournaments, voice notes, and SportMind tools.

We’ve explored how routines become rituals, how visualization and scripting sharpen focus, and how the three A’s — Awareness, Acceptance, Action — build the ability to stay composed when it matters most.

In this conversation, Victor opens up about the unseen work behind performance:

how he trains consistency and calm under pressure, how he learned to lose well before winning well, and why he now aims to raise his floor instead of just chasing ceilings.

We talk about ego, over-confidence, reflection, and the point where preparation meets freedom.

And underneath it all, there’s a message for any athlete — that mindset isn’t something you turn on when the lights are bright.

It’s a skill you train, a habit you build, and a process that defines who you become.

If you’re serious about understanding what separates talent from mastery — and what the mental game really looks like behind the scenes — this one’s worth your full attention.

This is Victor Crouin.

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victor_crouin/

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Jesse shares the story behind his transition from the court to the mental game, how SportMind has evolved into where the very best in the world go to for their mental game, and the innovative ways his SportMind app is helping athletes build resilience, focus, and confidence. We also dive into his current work with some of the world’s top squash professionals, including Victor Crouin, Sabrina Sobhy and Tinne Giles, and we discuss how the mental side of the game continues to shape the future of high-performance sport.

Whether you’re a coach, player, or simply fascinated by the psychology of performance, this conversation offers deep insights into the mindset of champions and the evolution of a brand redefining how athletes think, train, and compete.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Overcoming The Top-10 Mental Obstacles In Sport - https://go.sportmind.io/Mastery

The SportMind Portal - https://go.sportmind.io/Portal

Grab Your Copy Of The Squash Playbook - https://www.squashplaybook.com/ ⚫️💨

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There’s a moment in this conversation that’s really stayed with me.

Alan said, “The best of the best never get bored with the basics.”

It was something Kobe Bryant told him back in 2007 — and it became one of the guiding principles behind his entire approach to performance and life.

And when you hear him talk about it, you realize it’s not a slogan. It’s a way of being.

It’s about how the greatest performers in the world — whether they’re in sport, business, or any craft — show up again and again for the small, often unseen things that nobody else values… but that make all the difference when the lights come on.

Alan Stein Jr. has lived that truth for decades.

He spent fifteen years courtside with basketball’s elite — names like Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry — helping them train their minds, bodies, and habits to perform when it matters most.

Then he took everything he’d learned about discipline, confidence, and focus, and brought it into the corporate world — becoming one of the most sought-after keynote speakers, authors, and performance coaches on the planet.

His books Raise Your Game, Sustain Your Game, and his latest, Next Play, have become modern blueprints for building long-term excellence — on the court, in the boardroom, and in everyday life.

But what I love most about this conversation is how deeply human it is.

We go far beyond the surface-level talk of motivation or mindset.

Alan opens up about redefining success — moving from chasing external validation to living what he calls a “high-quality life.”

We unpack the difference between fun and enjoyment — how to keep joy alive even in high-pressure, high-stakes environments.

He shares the four rules he taught his own kids about sport — effort, coachability, teamwork, and fun — and how those same principles scale all the way to elite professional athletes.

We explore confidence — how it’s built through repetition, self-trust, and honest self-talk.

We dive into performance anxiety — how to reframe nerves as excitement.

And we touch on identity, flow, and mindfulness — with some incredible parallels to Stoic philosophy, Buddhism, and the principles we teach inside SportMind.

It’s rare to have a conversation that bridges the gap between Kobe’s gym and the everyday arena of life so naturally.

This one does that.

It’s packed with stories, tools, and truths you can apply immediately — whether you’re an athlete, a coach, a parent, or just someone trying to perform a little better under pressure.

This might be one of my favorite conversations we’ve ever had on the podcast — equal parts grounded and inspiring.

So wherever you are — out on a run, in the gym, or driving to training — take a deep breath, settle in, and enjoy this one.

Here’s my conversation with Alan Stein Jr.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alansteinjr/

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Overcoming The Top-10 Mental Obstacles In Sport - https://go.sportmind.io/Mastery

The SportMind Portal - https://go.sportmind.io/Portal

Grab Your Copy Of The Squash Playbook - https://www.squashplaybook.com/ ⚫️💨

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In this episode, Shaun sits down with Jesse Engelbrecht — former World No. 55 squash player turned sport psychologist and founder of SportMind. They dive into the mental side of performance, from fear of failure and pressure to breathwork, visualization, and daily mindset habits. Jesse shares his journey from pro player to coach and author, revealing how mastering the mind can transform how we train, compete, and live.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Overcoming The Top-10 Mental Obstacles In Sport - https://go.sportmind.io/Mastery

The SportMind Portal - https://go.sportmind.io/Portal

Grab Your Copy Of The Squash Playbook - https://www.squashplaybook.com/ ⚫️💨

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Alison Waters, former world no. 3 and 4 time British Open champion is my guest on the show today. You’re in for a real treat! We discuss topics such as mental toughness, coping with a career threatening injury, how to cultivate resilience as a junior, habits and daily processes, evolution of her game getting older plus a whole wide ranging conversation that you should hopefully get a lot out of. Please enjoy.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Overcoming The Top-10 Mental Obstacles In Sport - https://go.sportmind.io/Mastery

The SportMind Portal - https://go.sportmind.io/Portal

Grab Your Copy Of The Squash Playbook - https://www.squashplaybook.com/ ⚫️💨

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I'm absolutely delighted to have on the show today, Daryl Selby. I feel lucky enough to call him one of my friends. We toured the world a lot together. He obviously reached a lot higher ranking than me, but we shared some cool tournaments and some cool times together. So, it's really cool to be able to have a chat with someone of Daryl’s caliber, but also just an excuse to have a chat with a friend that I've not caught up with for a while. And hopefully this comes across on the conversation. It's nice and free flowing, it takes lots of different directions and we just have a good time having a good chat about his career, looking back at a few things, looking back at some really key moments in his career and a very different way to look at the mental side of the game, not your traditional style. He goes into a very honest open chat about his structure, his routine or lack thereof, and how this actually helped contribute to his mindset of his game. He talks a bit about how to play to your style and know yourself and that's a really powerful message. He comes at it from a different angle. It's not your traditional model of mental toughness, but boy, he was known as one of the most dogged players out there. If you watch him, he appears on “shot of the month” a lot of the time and also “rally of the decade”. He’s got an amazing catalogue of entertaining skills. So naturally talented the way he hits the ball, smooth, great around the court, but the underlying fact is that he was dogged, he was determined, he never gave up. He had that real grit, that real determination and this comes across in the conversation. I hope you're able to extract a few things from the talk. Just a few little stats about Daryl. He's reached the world ranking high position of world number 9 in 2010. In 2011, in one of his biggest titles, he won the British Nationals, beating Nick Matthew, who at the time, Nick Matthew was world champion and world number 1. He goes into a lot of detail and a really great story of how he thought he won this event because of a poem from his sister, which is really sweet and really enlightening when you listen to it. Another couple of notable events; he reached the semi-finals of the Tournament of Champions in 2012. In 2019 he captained England at the World Team Championships. A very proud Englishman, he wears his heart on his sleeve when he's playing for his country, and he scored some really big wins in the England shirt. You can tell that he loves playing for England, and it's obviously a very different dynamic. I hope you enjoy this really wide ranging varied in depth friendly conversation with myself and Daryl Selby.

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