The Mental Mettle Podcast

👉 Get the free playbook here:  resilientparentsplaybook.com

Resilient Parents Playbook: 5 Mistakes Killing Your Athlete’s Confidence (and What to Do Instead)

In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Coach Matt Thomann pulls back the curtain on the real mental performance coach in every young athlete’s life: their parents.

Drawing on hundreds of hours working with athletes, coaches, and his own journey through cancer, stroke, and anxiety, Matt breaks down how well‑meaning parents can unintentionally undermine their kid’s confidence, resilience, and love of the game—and how to turn that around.

You’ll learn:

🧠 Why the car ride home and dinner table talk shape your athlete’s inner voice more than any practice or pep talk.
🏆 The 3 essential skill sets every athlete needs (physical, game, and mental)—and why we usually neglect the mental.
❌ The 5 most common parent mistakes:

Praising results instead of effort and attitude
Using negative motivation (“toughen up”)
Teaching kids to fight/ignore stress instead of manage it
Turning the car ride home into a negative performance review
Trying to be both parent and coach
✅ And practical replacements you can start using today:

How to praise controllables (effort, attitude, communication)
How to build “positive toughness” instead of shame-based toughness
Simple tools to help kids manage nerves and anxiety
The “Three Good Things” car-ride ritual that rewires their brain for confidence
How to run a “reset conversation” if you feel like you’ve been getting it wrong for years
This is not a parent-blaming episode—it’s a parent-empowering one. You’ll walk away with a clear framework for becoming the kind of mental performance influence your athlete desperately needs at home.

FREE RESOURCE – RESILIENT PARENTS PLAYBOOK
Want these concepts broken down into simple, bite-sized steps?

Grab Matt’s FREE email course, “The Resilient Parents Playbook,” and get:

Daily, practical prompts you can use with your athlete
Scripts for car rides and post-game talks
Tools to help your kid manage stress, pressure, and mistakes
👉 Get the free playbook here:  resilientparentsplaybook.com

In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Coach Matt Thomann sits down with Team USA climber Ben Hanna, one of the grittiest and most consistent competitors in American climbing.

Ben was never the “young phenom” who won everything. He never won Youth Nationals, watched peers win titles and World Cups, and almost quit multiple times. Instead, he built a world‑class career on longevity, stubborn persistence, and a refusal to walk away.

We dig into:

• How Ben went from “I’m not that good at this” to becoming:
  • The 24th American to climb 5.15
  • The 86th person in the world to climb V16
  • A fixture in almost every US national final from 2019–2025
• What competition bouldering really demands mentally:
  • Isolation, unknown problems, and 4–5 minutes to figure everything out
  • Walking out to Boulder 1, getting zero points, and hearing the crowd go wild for everyone else
  • Why Boulder #4 is where true mental toughness shows up
• “Persistence over prodigy”:
  • Why not winning as a kid kept him hungry
  • How he handled watching peers succeed faster
  • The near‑retirement moment just weeks before winning Team Trials
• The courage to say goals out loud:
  • Why Ben is finally vocal about wanting to contend for the Olympics
  • How expectations can both sharpen you and crush you
  • Adapting your mindset each season as you go from underdog to “the one to beat”
• Training, sacrifice, and picking one path:
  • Quitting climbing for months to focus on deadlifts, bench, and finger strength
  • Pouring all his “training water” into one cup and trusting it for a full year
  • Why success is less about the perfect plan and more about trying your face off
• Mental health, ADHD, and using sport as medicine:
  • Realizing he’s been self‑medicating anxiety and depression with the gym
  • ADHD, dyslexia, and why traditional school was brutal
  • Learning to design life and routines around his brain instead of against it

If you’re an athlete who has never been the prodigy, or a coach/parent trying to help someone navigate pressure, frustration, and long-term development, this conversation is for you.

Ben’s story is proof that:

• You don’t have to peak early to reach the top.
• Losing can be the best kind of fuel.
• The real edge is mental mettle—the ability to keep showing up long after the talent stories fade.

If you found this helpful, hit subscribe for more conversations on mental performance, resilience, and mindset from athletes across all sports

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

For more information about Mental Mettle Coaching

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

Contact:  [email protected]

www.mentalmettlecoach.com

Schedule a free coaching session with Coach Thomann

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Skydiving with Sharks with Travis Thomas: Improv Tools for Athletes and Coaches

In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Coach Matt Thomann sits down with performance coach, keynote speaker, and author Travis Thomas to unpack how improv isn’t just for comedians—it’s a powerful mental performance tool for athletes, coaches, and high performers.

Travis shares his journey from being a self-described “mediocre D3 soccer player” to working with elite organizations like U.S. Soccer, the Yankees, Georgia Football, and more. The unlikely bridge? Improvisational comedy.

Inside this conversation, you’ll learn:

• How improv principles like “Yes, And” can transform your mindset in sport and life
• A simple improv game (“word toss”) you can use as a reset tool for anxiety, nerves, or overthinking
• Why performance only happens in the present moment—and how to actually get back there
• Practical ways to create your own “reset button” under pressure
• How to use play and improv to build connection and trust on teams
• Why confidence is overrated and what to focus on instead (courage, commitment, and controllable behaviors)
• The difference between confidence and belief—and why that matters for athletes
• How to shift from internal (me-focused) thinking to external (team-focused) thinking when you’re in a slump
• The improv mantra: “Make your partner look brilliant” and how it can change your team culture

Whether you’re a coach, athlete, parent, or performer in any field, this episode is packed with practical mindset tools you can start using immediately.

Connect with Travis Thomas:
Website: https://www.liveyesand.com
Book: Live Yes, And: What Improv Taught Me About Leadership, Teamwork, and the Meaning of Life
Book: Confidence Is Overrated (add your purchase link here)

If you found this helpful, hit subscribe, drop a comment with your biggest takeaway, and share this episode with a coach or athlete who needs these tools.

For more information about Mental Mettle Coaching

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

Contact:  [email protected]

www.mentalmettlecoach.com

Schedule a free coaching session with Coach Thomann

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Olympian and U.S. Nordic Combined national champion Niklas Malacinski joins The Mental Mettle Podcast to break down the real mental side of elite performance.

Nordic combined is already wild: ski jumping plus cross-country skiing in one event. But the psychology behind mastering two completely different disciplines? That’s next level.

In this episode, we dive into:

How Niklas uses meditation and detailed visualization (down to tying his boots and feeling the wind) to nail jumps where millimeters matter
The difference between the “Zen” of ski jumping and the “grit” of cross-country racing—and how he switches mindsets between the two
What it’s like being the top-ranked American for three straight years and competing with the best in the world
When drive becomes toxic: his honest story of overtraining, isolation, and chasing results so hard it backfired
How he rebuilt his mental game by going “psycho” about recovery, balance, and joy instead of just grind
Using self-talk and affirmations to survive 20–27 minutes alone in your head during a 10k race
Why sleep is the most underrated performance enhancer in sports
The power of reframing nerves as excitement on the biggest stages, including his first Olympic Games
Whether you’re a skier, a football or basketball player, a coach, or just someone obsessed with improvement, Niklas’s insights on mental training, balance, and sustainable high performance will resonate.

Timestamps (approx):
0:00 – Intro to Niklas and Nordic Combined
5:30 – Peaking, age, and consistency vs. one-off performances
12:30 – Growing up in Steamboat Springs & discovering Nordic combined
15:30 – The psychology of ski jumping vs. cross-country skiing
19:30 – How Niklas actually visualizes: routines, senses, and slow-motion reps
23:30 – Fixing technical habits through mental reps
26:00 – Self-talk during 10k races & training his mind as hard as his body
29:00 – David Goggins, “weak mind” culture, and why his approach doesn’t fit elite sport
34:00 – When drive turns toxic: overtraining, isolation, and losing joy
40:00 – Rebuilding: balance, recovery, and redefining “psycho” dedication
42:00 – Sleep, rest, and why they’re non‑negotiable for peak performance
44:30 – Representing the U.S. at the Olympics & honoring his community
45:45 – Why you should start paying attention to Nordic combined

If you found this helpful, hit subscribe for more conversations on mental performance, resilience, and mindset from athletes across all sports

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

For more information about Mental Mettle Coaching

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

Contact:  [email protected]

www.mentalmettlecoach.com

Schedule a free coaching session with Coach Thomann

Order The Mental Mettle Podcast Gear
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In Part 2 of my conversation with Team USA bobsled pilot Shane Fisher, we go deeper into the real cost of chasing an Olympic dream—and why mindset alone isn’t enough when the bills keep coming.

Shane pulls back the curtain on the financial side of being an elite athlete for Team USA:

• How little funding most athletes actually receive
• The sacrifices and side jobs required just to stay in the game
• The emotional toll of training like a pro while living without pro-level support

We also unpack the origin story of the American Paragons Foundation—the organization Shane founded to support underfunded Team USA athletes. He explains how American Paragons helps athletes by:

• Connecting them with employers who understand the demands of high-level training
• Partnering with media platforms and storytellers (like this podcast) to share their journeys
• Matching them with mentors who’ve navigated the same path
• Finding lodging hosts who can relieve the burden of housing costs while they train and compete

If you’ve ever wondered what it truly takes—mentally, emotionally, and financially—to represent your country on the world stage, this episode will change how you see Olympic hopefuls.

Tune in to Part 2 with Shane Fisher to learn how you can support America’s next generation of Olympians and become part of the solution.

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

For more information about Mental Mettle Coaching

Contact:  [email protected]

www.mentalmettlecoach.com

Schedule a free coaching session with Coach Thomann

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Shane Fisher is an elite athlete on a mission to become an Olympian. He started in tennis, moved into the decathlon, and now competes as a pilot for the USA Bobsled Team.

Along the way, Shane has learned that mental skills matter more than physical talent. Yes, he trains hard—but his unwavering self-belief is what truly drives his success.

He’s also discovered a tougher truth: being an athlete for Team USA is rarely glamorous or profitable. Until you’re among the most well-known, funding and sponsorships are extremely limited. Most athletes are on their own.

That’s why Shane founded the American Paragons Foundation—to support underfunded Team USA athletes who are chasing their dreams on the world stage.

Enjoy Part 1 of this episode with Shane Fisher, and learn how you can help support America’s next generation of Olympians.

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

For more information about Mental Mettle Coaching

Contact:  [email protected]

www.mentalmettlecoach.com

Schedule a free coaching session with Coach Thomann

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In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Matt sits down with Morgan (Kane) Brons—former Iowa State women’s basketball standout, D2 Sweet 16 finisher at Nova Southeastern, and founder of Winning Edge Coaching.

Morgan’s journey is a masterclass in resilience, identity, and mental toughness:

In this episode, we cover:

• Morgan’s path from Utah standout to Iowa State post player
• The ego hit and self-doubt that came with redshirting her freshman year
• How scout team, strength training, and film built her basketball IQ and confidence
• Learning mental skills late in college—and why she’s determined to give high school athletes a head start
• The impact of sports psychologists and how COVID accelerated mental health awareness in athletics
• Why “control the controllables” and “be confident” became empty phrases—and how to make them actually actionable
• Journaling, visualization, self-talk, and other tools Morgan used to turn anxiety into performance
• The difference in how girls and boys often handle self-talk and pressure
• How habits, not big moments, create success (inspired by The Slight Edge)
• Why Morgan founded Winning Edge Coaching and how she helps middle and high school athletes with:
  • Mindset & confidence
  • Strength & recovery
  • Nutrition basics
  • Mentorship and identity beyond sport

We also dive deep into:

• Identity: Who are you outside of your sport?
• The danger of tying your entire worth to performance
• How parents can do less harm and more good—especially on the car ride home
• Why athletes need both confidence in who they are and humility to keep growing

If you’re a:

• High school or middle school athlete who wants to get mentally tougher
• Parent who wants to support your athlete the right way
• Coach looking to make mindset more than just a buzzword

…this episode is packed with practical ideas you can start using today.

Contact Morgan at

Winning Edge Coaching - Train to reach your potential!

Subscribe to The Mental Mettle Podcast and start forging your 100% Mettle today.

For more information about Mental Mettle Coaching

Contact:  [email protected]

www.mentalmettlecoach.com

Schedule a free coaching session with Coach Thomann

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In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Coach Matt Thomann sits down with Coach Greg Geisinger to dig into what it really means to “coach the heart first.”

After more than 20 years in boys’ high school basketball and a successful run as the head boys coach at Arcola High School, Greg made a surprising move: stepping away from a winning boys program to take over the girls team in a really tough situation. He shares honestly about:

• How he realized he was once “coaching out of fear, not love”
• Moving from an old-school, iron-fist style to a heart-first, relationship-driven approach
• Why wins and losses alone left him feeling empty, even during Elite Eight and Sweet 16 runs
• How coaching the heart has actually produced tougher, more connected teams

A major theme in this conversation is accountability and spiritual support. Greg talks about a former player he now calls his “spiritual caddy” — a trusted brother who walks with him daily in Scripture, prayer, and honest conversations. They text each other their “God shots,” encourage each other, and call each other out when needed.

Greg unpacks:

• Why every coach (and every man) needs a “foxhole brother” and spiritual accountability partner
• How his coaching transformation changed who he is at home as a husband and father
• The tension and humility of leaving a successful boys program to help stabilize and rebuild the girls side
• Why coaching with love does NOT mean coaching soft—and how his teams are both tough and deeply connected

If you’re a coach, parent, or leader who senses there has to be more than just chasing the scoreboard, this episode will challenge you to rethink how you lead, how you measure “success,” and who you surround yourself with as you coach the heart first.

Subscribe to The Mental Mettle Podcast and start forging your 100% Mettle today.

For more information about Mental Mettle Coaching

Contact:  [email protected]

www.mentalmettlecoach.com

Schedule a free coaching session with Coach Thomann

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“Football should be the best part of a kid’s day.”

In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, host Coach Matt Thomann sits down with Coach Garrett Mueller, head football coach at Stewartville High School (MN), to unpack how a shift in philosophy transformed his program on the field and in the minds of his athletes.

Garrett’s resume is stacked:

• 18 years coaching, 15 at Stewartville
• 8 years as head coach
• 70–14 record, 2 state championships
• A 30‑game win streak

But the real story is how they did it.

We dive into:

• Why he moved away from the “grind” model of football practices
• How Feed the Cats / sprint‑based football changed everything
• Making football the best part of a kid’s day instead of a daily beatdown
• How shorter, high‑intensity practices actually improved performance
• The role of mental health, joy, and recovery in building a championship culture
• Coaching alongside his Hall of Fame dad and now coaching his own sons
• Avoiding youth burnout (and why they don’t push early tackle football)
• What happens when success dips and how to re‑center on your core principles
• The power of “Hunt the Good Stuff” as a daily mindset

If you’re a coach, parent, or athlete who senses there has to be a better way than endless conditioning, punishments, and grind culture, this conversation will give you a concrete, proven alternative.

Subscribe to The Mental Mettle Podcast and start forging your 100% Mettle today.

For more information about Mental Mettle Coaching

Contact:  [email protected]

Www.mentalmettlelifecoaching.com

Schedule a free coaching session with Coach Thomann

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Welcome back to The Mental Mettle Podcast with Coach Matt Thomann – the show where we break down the habits, mindset, and systems behind real mental toughness in sport and life.

In this episode, Coach Adam Lewandowski of Andrew High School in Tinley Park shares how owning both your strengths and limitations is at the core of great coaching, leadership, and athlete development.

We dig into:

• How his early experiences as a player shaped his coaching calling
• Why unchecked ego gets in the way of growth and good decisions
• The impact of technology and modern youth sports on focus, commitment, and toughness
• What he learned from coaching women’s professional football
• How he defines mental toughness and teaches it daily
• Why ownership and accountability are non-negotiable for players
• Building a mission-driven program that develops champions on and off the field
• Using community and service to build character, connection, and buy-in
• How small, consistent actions create big results over time

If you’re a coach, parent, or athlete who wants to build mentally tough competitors while still caring about character and community, this conversation will give you practical ideas you can use right away.

Subscribe to The Mental Mettle Podcast and start forging your 100% Mettle today.

For more information about Mental Mettle Coaching

Contact:  [email protected]

Www.mentalmettlelifecoaching.com

Schedule a free coaching session with Coach Thomann

Order The Mental Mettle Podcast Gear
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