Chris Hogan is our guest on this week's episode and man, is his story an inspiring one. Not recruited heavily as a football player, Chris signed a full scholarship with Penn State as a Lacrosse player. After playing LAX for 3 yrs, he transferred to Monmouth University to play football, with no aspirations to play beyond college. Several years later, Chris made the Buffalo Bills roster, after being cut from multiple other NFL teams, where he played for several years before the Patriots picked him up, and everything changed. Chris talks about the winning culture he experienced with the Patriots and playing with Tom Brady, his Super Bowl experiences and much more in his story of overcoming adversity. He also talks about returning to lacrosse as a professional player after retiring from the NFL, and as a father of four, his thoughts on today's youth sports culture and being a sports dad.

The guys talk to Hall of Fame pitcher and MLB broadcaster John Smoltz. In addition to sharing his youth sports story, Smoltzie shares great insights for young athletes, parents, and coaches, as well as valuable baseball-specific advice for young pitchers.

Jordan Palmer grew up in the shadow of his older brother, Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer. Jordan wasn't a starter on his high school team until his senior year, and he attended the one D1 school that offered him a scholarship, UTEP. And while his story was full of adversity, he remained committed to reaching his full potential, eventually spending several years playing as a backup QB in the NFL, UFL, and the Arena Football League. Jordan's commitment to his craft led him to become a "go-to" quarterbacks coach, working with numerous high-profile NFL and College quarterbacks still today. In addition, Jordan is also a highly successful entreprenuer, having co-founded of several very successful businesses, including his latest venture. Thread Performance. Jordan shares his journey as a player, coach, and sports dad with our guys in this episode.

After winning the 1998 National Championship at Tennessee and serving as Captain of the 2001 team, Will Bartholomew's football career ended in his first year with the Denver Broncos due to a devastating knee injury. Will took his passion for sports and training and founded D1 Training, one of the nation's fastest growing performance training centers for young athletes, with over 150 locations (and growing) across the United States. As a dad of three athletes, one playing D1 football, Will shares valuable insights into the world of youth sports from his own experiences as a player and dad. Will also shares valuable information for our audience on the importance and impact of formalized training, why it matters, when kids should begin, and much more. In addition to what Will shares on this episode, he provides much more with over 20 episodes on Pure Athlete's PA+ platform, found at pureathlete.com.

With it being Mental Health Awareness month, we want to replay this informative episode for our viewers that was recorded in Feb of 2023, but the information is still very current. Our guest is well-known sports psychologist and mental wellness expert Dr. Armando González. Dr. Mondo works with numerous pro athletes such as Dansby Swanson, Lindsey Vonn, Charles Goodwin, Mallory Pugh, among others. Our discussion with him explores the cultural challenges our young people are facing, and he shares great insights and thoughts for young athletes, parents, and coaches to help maximize mental performance and prioritize overall mental wellness.

With more than 115 episodes under their belts, Jeff, Britt, and Brad discuss some of their biggest learnings along the way, and Jeff shares some areas in which his perspective has evolved as his kids get older, and as he has participated in our discussions with guests and each other. This is a fun conversation that parents will relate to... AND...the guy look ahead to the future of Pure Athlete with a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

With 10 Gold Gloves and 434 career homers, Andruw Jones is regarded as one of the top centerfielders of all time, and the guys have a great conversation with him on this episode. Having shared an outfield together for the Braves, Jeff shares what it was like as a rookie playing next to the best outfielder "he has ever seen," including what Andruw told Jeff before Jeff's first right field start with the Braves. In addition, Andrew shares some fun stories, talking about hitting two World Series home runs at 19 years old, and which Braves HoF pitcher he didn't enjoy playing behind. Most importantly, Andruw shares what it was like to grow up playing baseball in Curacao, how many games he played in his youth, and how he achieved his dream of playing professional baseball. He also contrasts his journey with the current youth sports culture in America, based on what he saw through his son’s recent youth sports journey in Atlanta as he became the #2 overall pick in the MLB draft.

NBA shooting great Dell Curry, father to NBA stars Stephen and Seth, shares stories from his own playing days, as well as parenting insights learned from helping his boys and his daughter Sydel, navigate their own journeys in sports and in life.

Our guest on this episode is MLS Cup Champion, 2x MLS All-Star, 2017 Goal Keeper of the Year and the captain & starting goalkeeper for Atlanta United, Brad Guzan.

Brad shares insights and stories from his career as a player and parent of four, covering what makes a great teammate, the qualities of an influential coach, and how parents can support their children in sports. He also offers advice to young athletes and discusses his own experiences, including playing multiple sports, transitioning to goalie in college, and competing in the Premier League, MLS, Olympics, and World Cup. 

Brad also talks about the culture of youth soccer in America, the 2026 World Cup, the growth of the MLS, being a part of the biggest upset in MLS history, facing Messi and friends, the difference in soccer culture in Europe vs. America, and so much more!

The guys have a great conversation about Sportsmanship in Youth Sports, discussing what Sportsmanship is (and isn’t), why it matters, and how parents and coaches teach it to young athletes.