The Mental Mettle Podcast

What gives someone the confidence to say those five words?

In this episode of the Mental Mettle Podcast, Coach Matt Thomann sits down with Team USA Women's Handball athlete Julia Taylor to explore a journey marked by profound loss, unwavering purpose, and servant leadership.

After losing both of her parents as a young child, Julia learned firsthand that resilience isn't something you're born with—it's something you discover when life forces you to keep moving forward. That lesson carried her from a college club sport to professional handball in Europe, to representing Team USA, and now to helping shape the future of her sport through leadership.

Together, Coach Matt and Julia discuss:

• Why adversity can become our greatest teacher
• How purpose keeps us going when motivation fades
• What true leadership looks like when you're serving the next generation
• The mental skills elite athletes use to perform under pressure
• Why the lessons we learn in sports prepare us for life far beyond competition

Whether you're an athlete, coach, parent, educator, or simply navigating a difficult season, Julia's story is a powerful reminder that resilience isn't about avoiding hardship—it's about knowing that whatever comes your way...

You'll be ok.

A special thanks to Shane Fisher and American Paragons for connecting us with another outstanding Team USA athlete.

If you enjoyed this conversation, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who could benefit from it.

To learn more about the American Paragons Foundation:
americanparagons.org

For more information about Mental Mettle Coaching:

Sign up here for the FREE Resilient Parents Playbook:
www.resilientparentsplaybook.com

Contact:
[email protected] for a free coaching session with Coach Thomann

www.mentalmettlecoach.com

You've probably heard the saying:

"Hope isn't a strategy."

There's some truth to that—but I also believe I don't want to be part of any strategy that doesn't include hope.

In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Brandi Kelly—former superintendent, licensed clinical social worker, leadership coach, speaker, and founder of Spark Hope EDU—to explore why hope is so much more than wishful thinking.

We discuss how hope fuels action, why focusing on your circle of control builds confidence, and how simple daily habits create lasting excellence. Whether you're a coach, athlete, parent, educator, or leader, these principles will help you build resilience and perform at your best.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why hope is the foundation of action—not a substitute for it.
• How your circle of control determines your confidence.
• The role habits play in building mental toughness.
• Why self-awareness is essential for growth.
• How adversity can become one of your greatest teachers.
• Why greatness is built through consistent daily choices.

One of my biggest takeaways from this conversation is simple:

Hope isn't passive. Hope is aggressive.

Hope shows up.
Hope goes to practice.
Hope keeps working.
Hope believes tomorrow can be better—and then gets to work making it happen.

Connect with Dr. Brandi Kelly
https://sparkhopeedu.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, and share it with another coach, athlete, teacher, or leader who could benefit from this conversation.

If you enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, and share it with a coach, athlete, or parent who could benefit from the conversation.

For more information about Mental Mettle Coaching:

Sign up here for the FREE Resilient Parents Playbook:
www.resilientparentsplaybook.com

Contact:
[email protected] for a free coaching session with Coach Thomann

www.mentalmettlecoach.com

What if the biggest obstacle to peak performance isn't a lack of confidence—but a misplaced identity?

In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, I sit down with mental and spiritual performance coach Ricky Scruggs to explore why so many athletes struggle under pressure and how true mental toughness begins long before the game starts.

Ricky shares how his journey—from growing up in Washington, D.C., to playing Division I and professional baseball, building successful businesses, and coaching athletes, executives, and entrepreneurs—led him to a completely different understanding of performance. Together, we discuss why chasing approval, perfection, and outcomes often leads to anxiety, while competing from a foundation of identity leads to freedom.

We also dive into the role faith plays in mental performance. Rather than separating faith and sport, Ricky explains how biblical principles like identity, truth, service, and purpose provide a practical framework for competing with confidence and resilience.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why identity is the foundation of mental toughness
• How approval and perfectionism rob athletes of confidence
• Competing for purpose instead of validation
• The connection between faith and peak performance
• Practical ways athletes can handle pressure, mistakes, and adversity
• Why mental skills must be trained just like physical skills

Whether you're an athlete, coach, or parent, this conversation will challenge the way you think about confidence, competition, and what it truly means to perform at your best.

Connect with Ricky Scruggs:
🌐 Website: www.rickyscruggs.com
📸 Instagram: @rickyscruggs19
🎵 TikTok: @truthtoker1969

If you enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, and share it with a coach, athlete, or parent who could benefit from the conversation.

For more information about Mental Mettle Coaching:

Sign up here for the FREE Resilient Parents Playbook:
www.resilientparentsplaybook.com

Contact:
[email protected] for a free coaching session with Coach Thomann

www.mentalmettlecoach.com

What if everything you've worked for came down to just six attempts?

That's the reality for Team USA hammer thrower Rachel Richeson. After years of training, sacrifice, and relentless improvement, Olympic dreams and World Championship opportunities can be decided by just six throws.

In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Rachel shares her incredible journey from a high school volleyball player who didn't even throw the hammer until college to becoming one of the top hammer throwers in the world.

But this conversation goes far beyond track and field.

We discuss:

• How confidence is built by recognizing progress and believing you still have "more in the tank."
• Why elite performers focus on growth instead of outcomes.
• The hidden pressure that comes with rising expectations.
• How Rachel incorporates mental training into every practice—not as something extra, but as part of the process.
• Using body scans between throws to recognize anxiety without letting it control performance.
• The psychology of youth sport specialization, identity, and intrinsic motivation.
• Why failure is one of our greatest teachers... even though, as Rachel says, "it still sucks."

Whether you're an athlete, coach, parent, or simply someone pursuing excellence, Rachel's insights offer practical strategies for performing under pressure and trusting your preparation when the moment arrives.

A special thanks to Shane Fisher and American Paragons for connecting us with another outstanding Team USA athlete.

If you enjoyed this conversation, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who could benefit from it.

To learn more about the American Paragons Foundation:
americanparagons.org

For more information about Mental Mettle Coaching:

Sign up here for the FREE Resilient Parents Playbook:
www.resilientparentsplaybook.com

Contact:
[email protected] for a free coaching session with Coach Thomann

www.mentalmettlecoach.com

What happens when a lifelong endurance athlete is suddenly told he has Stage 4 cancer and may only have months to live?

In this episode of the Mental Mettle Podcast, Coach Matt Thomann sits down with Ironman competitor and author Jim Logan for a powerful conversation about resilience, faith, and the mindset required to keep moving forward when everything is on the line.

Jim shares his journey through diagnosis, treatment, and recovery while continuing to pursue endurance racing at the highest level, including his goal of finishing the Ironman World Championship in Kona.

Together, they explore the deeper lessons behind his story:

• How intentional suffering in sport can prepare you for unexpected hardship in life
• The moment fear began to shift into faith
• Why vulnerability and surrender became turning points in his journey
• The difference between focusing on finish lines versus embracing the daily process
• How purpose and perspective can change everything in the face of uncertainty

This conversation goes far beyond triathlon and cancer. It’s about what it means to rebuild your life from the inside out when the future is unclear, and how discipline, belief, and faith can carry you through the darkest moments.

Whether you're an athlete, coach, parent, or someone navigating your own challenges, Jim’s story is a reminder that strength isn’t just about pushing harder—it’s about continuing to move forward with purpose.

Just keep TRI-ing.

To learn more about Jim Logan, his book, and his mission to inspire others through faith, endurance sports, and his cancer journey, visit www.justkeeptri-ing.com.

To learn more about Mental Mettle Coaching, visit www.mentalmettlecoach.com. If you're looking to strengthen your mindset, build resilience, or improve your performance in sports, work, or life, email [email protected] to schedule a free coaching session.

In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Coach Matt Thomann sits down with Roanoke Benson girls basketball coach Ryan Davis for a powerful conversation about anxiety, expectations, coaching, and vulnerability.

Ryan shares his personal story of battling severe performance anxiety as a high school athlete—a struggle that ultimately cut short the playing career he loved. But this isn't a story about overcoming anxiety and leaving it behind.

It's a story about how that struggle shaped the coach he would become.

Together, Matt and Ryan discuss:

• How anxiety impacted Ryan's basketball career

• The hidden connection between expectations and anxiety

• Growing up trying to play under pressure

• Why athletes often put more pressure on themselves than anyone else does

• How vulnerability helps coaches build trust

• Why empathy may be a coach's greatest leadership tool

• The "Play Fearless" philosophy and helping athletes compete freely

• Why mental skills deserve practice just like physical skills

• The importance of controlling the controllables

• How adversity can become a superpower when used to serve others

One of the biggest takeaways from this conversation is that Ryan isn't a great coach despite his anxiety.

He's a great coach because of it.

His struggles gave him empathy. They taught him how pressure feels. They helped him connect with athletes in ways many coaches never can.

If you're an athlete, coach, parent, educator, or anyone navigating the pressures and expectations of life, this conversation is for you.

Subscribe for more conversations on mental toughness, resilience, leadership, and personal growth.

Connect with Coach Matt / Mental Mettle
www.mentalmettlecoach.com

[email protected]

Most people think mental toughness is just grinding harder at what you’re already good at. This episode is about the opposite: choosing to be a beginner again on purpose.

In this conversation, I sit down with USA Team Handball player and Olympic hopeful Katie Timmerman. Katie went from being a high-level college and pro basketball player to a complete novice in a sport she’d never even heard of… and did it knowing she’d be bad at first.

We get into:

• From Hoops to Handball
  • How an Instagram DM from USA Team Handball changed her path
  • What it was like walking into her first camp with no real idea how to play
  • Going from “expert” in basketball to “day-one rookie” in handball
• Choosing Hard Paths on Purpose
  • Flying to Korea on a one-way ticket with no guarantee she’d be drafted
  • Living in a foreign country, new language, new league
  • Leaving pro basketball to chase an Olympic dream in a pay-to-play sport
• Mental Mettle, Not Just Skill & Strength
  • How she realized her mindset was actually hurting her game
  • The books and tools that helped her flip her self-talk
  • What she does mentally when she knows she’ll fail more than she’ll succeed
• Turning the COVID Shutdown Into an Advantage
  • Why COVID hit during the worst mental stretch of her career
  • How losing access to gyms forced her to attack the mental side
  • Using therapy, reading, and reflection to come back as a different player
• The Reality of Underfunded Olympic Sports
  • What “Team USA” actually looks like in a sport with almost no funding
  • Tradeoffs: delayed career, part-time jobs, and financial strain
  • Why she still says it’s worth it

If you’re an athlete, coach, or competitor in any field, this episode is a playbook for:

• “Vulnerability reps” – intentionally doing things you’ll be bad at to grow faster
• Reframing setbacks – using shutdowns, cuts, losses, and “no’s” to build your mental game
• Building true mental mettle instead of just more reps and more weights

Follow Katie on Instagram! @katie_timmerman

 To learn more about the American Paragons Foundation:
americanparagons.org

For more information about Mental Mettle Coaching:

Sign up here for the FREE Resilient Parents Playbook:
www.resilientparentsplaybook.com

Contact:
[email protected] for a free coaching session with Coach Thomann

www.mentalmettlecoach.com

When life changes in an instant, who you are after matters more than what happened.

In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Coach Matt sits down with Scott Lackey — U.S. Army veteran, former college basketball player, patented inventor, Ironman finisher, newspaper columnist, and leadership author — to talk about what he calls “lightning‑strike moments”: those shocks that split your life into before and after.

Scott opens up about losing everything, hitting rock bottom with a pregnant wife and young kids, and realizing that no matter how impressive your “scoreboard moments” look from the outside, they don’t protect you from pain on the inside. From there, the conversation goes deep into how you actually respond when the rug gets pulled out from under you.

We get into:

• Why it’s never really about what happened to you, and always about how you respond to it.
• How sudden hits — a firing, a diagnosis, a stroke, a betrayal — can become turning points instead of end points.
• The idea of “waking up to die again”:
  • the destructive version, where you wake up every day and slowly die inside, and
  • the powerful version, where you choose daily sacrifice, discipline, and hard things that forge you into someone better.
• What Scott learned from the military and Ironman about intentional adversity — training yourself to do hard, uncomfortable things so you’re ready for the adversity you don’t choose.
• Vulnerability as real toughness: letting people see you’re not invincible, telling the truth when you’re not the hero, and why Scott chose to write his book in a way that exposes his flaws instead of hiding them.
• Forgiving your past self, including forgiving “the person you never became,” so you’re not dragging old weight into every new day.
• Living a Carpe Diem mindset and focusing on direction over distance: caring less about five‑year plans and more about taking the next right step today.
• How Scott’s faith anchored him at rock bottom, and his belief that God isn’t running to meet you in the dark — He’s already there when you arrive.

If you’ve been blindsided by an injury, getting cut, a health scare, a business failure, or a personal crisis, this episode is for you. It’s an honest look at suffering, mindset, and faith — and how to start moving forward when the lightning has already struck.

Connect with Scott Lackey
www.scottlackey.com

Connect with Coach Matt / Mental Mettle
www.mentalmettlecoach.com

[email protected]

If this conversation hit home, subscribe, share it with someone going through their own lightning‑strike moment, and keep building your mental mettle.

In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Matt sits down with Team USA para powerlifter Ashley Dyce, who was born with spina bifida and has fought her way onto the world stage through a decade of relentless commitment.

Ashley shares how she went from discovering the Paralympics on TV to representing the United States, what it really looks like to stick with one path for 10+ years, and how she’s handled injuries, surgeries, missed lifts, and seasons that felt like setbacks instead of breakthroughs. She talks about chasing a 300 lb bench, preparing for the Paralympic Games, and using both her faith and sports psychology tools to stay locked in when progress isn’t linear.

We get into:

• Choosing a lane and committing fully to para powerlifting
• Coming back from injuries and health issues without quitting on the dream
• How faith and sports psychology work together in her mental game
• Practical tools: visualization, music, and routines to manage nerves on the big stage
• Competing as a woman with a disability and why representation matters

If you’ve ever wondered how far you can go by going “full send” on one goal—and refusing to back off when it gets hard—Ashley’s story is a powerful example of what persistence and progress really look like.

Subscribe for more conversations on mental toughness, mindset, and high performance from athletes, coaches, and performers at the highest level.

Timestamps (approximate): 00:00 Intro
00:40 Ashley’s journey into para sports
03:30 Discovering para powerlifting
05:00 From 135 to chasing 300 on bench
08:00 Failing in the gym and building real resilience
11:30 Injuries, surgery, and non-linear progress
18:00 Training, recovery, and daily life as a Team USA athlete
19:30 Faith as a foundation for mental toughness
21:30 Working with a sports psychologist
24:30 Visualization, nerves, and reframing anxiety as excitement
28:30 Competing on the Paralympic stage
31:00 Representation, purpose, and lifting for something bigger than medals
34:00 Ashley’s goals and final thoughts on persistence and progress

Follow Ashley: www.instagram.com/ashley_dyce/

To learn more about the American Paragons Foundation:
americanparagons.org

For more information about Mental Mettle Coaching:

Sign up here for the FREE Resilient Parents Playbook:
www.resilientparentsplaybook.com

Contact:
[email protected] for a free coaching session with Coach Thomann

www.mentalmettlecoach.com

In this episode of The Mental Middle Podcast, Coach Matt Thomann sits down with Megan Gilmore—founder and executive director of Larksong, certified coach, and author—to talk about how early we should be building mental health and well‑being skills in kids. (Spoiler: much earlier than most people think.)

We cover:

• Why well‑being and “mental health” for kids should start as early as physical health
• How a single caring adult can radically buffer a child from adversity (ACEs vs. PACEs)
• The science showing that well‑being education boosts grades, graduation rates, and resilience
• Megan’s children’s book that turns brain parts into fun characters kids can understand
• “Mind Bandits” (kids’ version of limiting beliefs) and how to help children name and tame them
• Larksong’s Superhero Camp: a five‑day experience that teaches kids real tools for stress, emotions, and self‑talk
• Why parents and teachers don’t have to be experts to start this work—they just have to start

If you’ve ever wondered:
“How young is too young for mindset and mental skills?”
or
“Am I going to mess my kid up if I try this and don’t know what I’m doing?”

…this conversation will give you both the why and some concrete how.

🔗 Learn more about Larksong & Superhero Camp
Website & Superhero Camp info: www.larkssong.com/superherocamp
(Volunteering, sponsoring, and donating options are all there.)

📚 Megan’s Children’s Book
Amy Dala and the Answer
Amy Dala and the Answer: 9781087933382: Amazon.com: Books

Resilent Parent's Playbook by Mental Mettle Coaching.

resilientparentsplaybook.com

Contact Coach Thomann

[email protected]