In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Ian Ritchie, father of Atlanta Braves first-round pick JR Ritchie, shares honest lessons about parenting in youth sports.

This episode explores coaching your own child, holding a higher standard without damaging the relationship, and supporting siblings who choose different paths. From Bainbridge Island Little League to elite travel baseball, Ian reflects on identity, perspective, and what really matters before draft day ever arrives.

If you’re a parent navigating youth baseball, travel sports, or the emotional side of supporting your athlete, this conversation offers grounded insight without hype.

In this episode of Surviving Youth Sports, Rhett sits down with Angie Mentink.

Many know Angie from her work covering Major League Baseball with the Seattle Mariners. Others remember her playing days with the UW Softball Huskies and the Colorado Silver Bullets. But here, she speaks as a parent navigating the realities of youth sports with two very different sons.

Angie reflects on parenting without projecting your own athletic journey onto your kids. She talks about the car ride home, injuries, specialization, scholarships, and the rising cost of youth sports. The conversation stays grounded in what actually matters long term.

At the center of it all is a mindset her family repeats often:

“Here we are. What are we going to do from here?”

For parents, coaches, and athletes trying to balance ambition with perspective, this episode offers honest reflection on how to support kids without losing sight of why they started playing in the first place.

In this episode of Surviving Youth Sports, Rhett Parker sits down with college baseball coach Justin Cunningham to talk about youth sports parenting, perspective, and what changes when you move from the dugout to the stands.

Justin has coached at multiple levels of college baseball and currently leads at Lyon College, but this past year he experienced the game differently — as the father of Connor Cunningham, starting shortstop for Murray State during their College World Series run. Watching your child compete at a high level is exciting, but it also exposes something every sports parent feels: you have no control.

Rhett and Justin discuss the pressure youth sports parents place on the future, the reality of development not being linear, genetics versus growth, backyard reps versus travel hype, and how NIL and the transfer portal are changing college athletics. At the center of it all is a simple priority: whether your child becomes a Hall of Famer or chooses another path, youth sports should help them learn resilience, handle failure, and grow into strong teammates and good humans.

This episode is for youth sports parents, coaches, and athletes navigating competition, ambition, and the tension between long-term dreams and enjoying the present moment.

In this Surviving Youth Sports Short, Xavier Neyens shares a humble and genuine player’s perspective on what it really means to “make it.”

After listening to his father’s episode, Xavier reflects on his journey through youth sports, high school baseball, and basketball, and what truly mattered along the way. For him, success was never just about results, rankings, or future opportunities. It was about the process. Daily habits. Discipline. Character. And the foundation his parents built at home.

He shares what “it worked out” means to him and why the small, consistent things made the biggest difference. Early morning workouts. Clean nutrition. Accountability. Relationships. Staying present. Competing in multiple sports. Most importantly, being supported without pressure and without making the journey about outcomes.

For parents, athletes, and coaches navigating youth sports, travel baseball, high school competition, and the recruiting process, this episode is a reminder that development happens in the unseen work. There is no secret formula. What matters most is who you become while going through it.

If you are raising or coaching an athlete, this conversation centers on the long game. Process over results. Relationships over recognition. Growth over shortcuts.

Subscribe to Surviving Youth Sports for honest conversations about parenting athletes, coaching youth sports, and the realities of player development.

Keep on surviving.

Rhett Parker welcomes Steve Neyens, a firefighter, devoted husband, and the father of Houston Astros first round draft pick Xavier Neyens. The episode opens with a familiar youth sports reality: once your kid becomes known, your identity can quietly shift too. You are not Steve anymore. You are “X’s dad.”

From their small town roots in Mount Vernon and Nooksack Valley, Steve shares why their family never bought into the idea that one path fits every athlete. Xavier played multiple sports, built real friendships, and still developed into an elite player. The focus was not constant movement or chasing the next best thing. It was staying grounded, staying healthy, and steadily getting better.

This conversation also widens beyond baseball. Steve talks about his daughter Harper’s volleyball journey, the time and cost of club sports, and what it feels like to be near the finish line as a sports parent. The biggest theme is simple and hard to live out: you do not have to do it all, and it is going to be okay.

Episode Description

In this episode of Surviving Youth Sports, Rhett Parker sits down with Gabe Grinder, head baseball coach at Southeastern University, to talk about youth sports development, parental pressure, and what kids actually need to grow and stay in the game. From 8U baseball to college athletics, this conversation explores where youth sports is falling short and how adults can do better.

Gabe shares what shocked him most as a parent watching youth baseball in Florida, including missed fundamentals, early pressure to win, and environments that risk pushing kids out of sports too soon. Rhett adds perspective from decades in baseball, unpacking why development matters more than trophies and how competition can exist without sacrificing joy.

This episode is for parents, coaches, and athletes navigating youth sports who want clarity, balance, and long-term development. It is an honest conversation about raising competitors, protecting kids, and helping young athletes build skills and love for the game that lasts beyond a single season.

Subscribe Links

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Key Takeaways

Core Themes

• Youth sports development should focus on skills that grow with the athlete, not early results
• Pressure from adults often impacts kids more than competition itself
• Winning and development are connected, but early shortcuts can limit long-term growth
• Creating positive environments helps kids stay in sports longer
• Simple habits and reflection matter more than stats at young ages

Soundbites

• “I’m trying to teach these kids how to play the game correctly so that as they get older those skills can scale.”
• “They gave us rings for second place. I’m like, what are we doing?”
• “What you do at six, seven, eight years old is not going to decide who you are at 18.”
• “We’re teaching kids how to survive a weekend, not how to play the game long term.”
• “I’d rather have to rein a kid in than try to light a fire that never got built.”
• “If kids stop loving the sport at eight or ten, we’ve already failed them.”
• “Encourage effort, attitude, and not quitting. The rest will sort itself out.”
• “Did you play hard? Did you have a positive attitude? Did you not quit?”

Final Reflection or Closing Thought

Youth sports should challenge kids without crushing them. The goal is not to create early winners, but lifelong competitors who still love the game.

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Share this episode with a parent, coach, or athlete navigating the journey.

If you have a story to tell, we would love to hear from you.

In this opening episode of Surviving Youth Sports, host Rhett Parker sits down with producer Maika’i Derouin to explain why this podcast needed to exist. What begins as a conversation about parenting and coaching quickly becomes a deeper reflection on how complex, emotional, and personal the youth sports journey really is.

Rhett shares how years of experience as an athlete, coach, and now parent of four have reshaped the way he views competition, pressure, car rides home, and the expectations placed on kids and families. Rather than pointing to one defining moment, he describes youth sports as a collection of experiences that force parents and coaches to constantly question whether they’re doing the right thing.

This episode sets the tone for the show. Honest conversations. No absolutes. Real stories from people living it. For parents, athletes, and coaches trying to navigate the gray areas of youth sports, this episode offers reassurance that uncertainty is part of the process and that no one is navigating it alone.

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KP Sports Leadership Foundation (kpslfoundation.org)

What This Episode Explores

✅ Youth sports is not black and white. Every athlete, family, and journey is different.

✅ Parenting and coaching are shaped by a collection of moments, not one defining decision.

✅ Absolute advice often ignores the individuality of kids and families.

✅ Coaching your own child blurs lines and creates challenges that rarely get discussed.

✅ Honest conversations, even uncomfortable ones, are necessary to support athletes’ mental and emotional health.

“Youth sports lives in the gray. That’s the hard part and the truth.”

“There’s not one answer. And that’s actually the beauty of it.”

“We’re not raising college or professional athletes. We’re raising elite humans.”

“Being a coach’s kid is a brutally hard job.”

“Impact creates influence, and influence creates change.”

Youth sports is not about finding the perfect formula. It is about staying present, staying curious, and being willing to evolve alongside your kids. This episode reminds us that uncertainty does not mean failure. It means you are engaged.

Subscribe to Surviving Youth Sports and follow along for weekly conversations.

Share this episode with a parent, coach, or athlete navigating the journey.

If you have a story to tell, we would love to hear from you.

Surviving Youth Sports is a podcast for parents, athletes, coaches, and leaders navigating the realities of youth sports. Beyond wins and highlights, we share real stories about pressure, expectations, mistakes, growth, and what it actually takes to make it through the journey. Honest conversations, lived experiences, and no one-size-fits-all answers.