The Pure Athlete Podcast

This week's guest is 2024 Olympic Gold Medalist and 2019 World Cup Champion MALLORY PUGH SWANSON. As the USWNT’s leading scorer in the 2024 Olympics, including scoring the only goal in the gold medal game, Mal has overcome injuries, doubt, and much more along her journey to the top of the soccer world. Her journey began like many young girls today, playing youth soccer from an early age, as well as playing basketball, and running track until high school. Mal talks about the areas she excelled from the beginning, as well as the areas she had to work hard to develop in her teen years. She also authentically shares about various periods of adversity she faced, including a time when she thought she had lost her passion for the game. She talks about the pivotal moments of life that helped her regain her belief, the role her faith has played in her journey, and the joy of winning a gold medal.

At the end of the day, Youth and High School sports should always be fun, but what if a young athlete has big goals and aspirations? What if they want to become the best athlete they can be, pursing a dream of playing for their high school varsity team, at the college level, or even becoming a professional athlete? Many sports families are pursuing those goals from a young age, and we think that’s fantastic. But you should be aware of the challenges you’ll encounter. You should have a roadmap to help your young athlete become the best version of themselves on the field, court, pool, or track. On this episode the guys discuss all of this...Britt as an "all in" dad of a D1 athlete, Brad as an "all-in" sports dad and high school AD, and Jeff as a former highly accomplished athlete and current sports dad and coach.

Join us today as we welcome former 6x Silver Slugger and 7x MLB All-Star catcher Brian McCann! Brian shares his experiences growing up as the son of a college baseball coach and how his dad played a key role in helping shape his sports journey, which ultimately led to a very successful career in the MLB. Brian gives his thoughts on the current state of youth baseball today and sheds some light on some of the struggles that he has with the evaluation process of youth baseball players.

Brian also dives into his thoughts on the 2024 World Series as well as shares some entertaining stories during his own MLB career, including some of his favorite moments playing alongside Pure Athlete's own Jeff Francoeur. You don't want to miss this one!

Fueling your body with the right fuel is critical to an athlete's ability to operate at peak performance. Professionals in every sport have discovered the value of regulating what they eat, how much they eat, and when they eat. Young athletes are no different...adapting strong nutritional habits can be a key factor in taking performance to elevated levels, impacting energy levels, stamina, and recovery for young athletes. On today's episode, former college basketball player and current sports nutritionist Kelsey Poulter shares her experience and expertise with us as we discuss the importance of nutrition to athletic performance, answer specific questions related to training, recovery, game preparation, and so much more as she shares information and practical advice for parents, coaches, and young athletes.

If you're a sports parent, and especially if you have multiple kids, you know what we're talking about. Today's youth sports culture is so consuming, it's a challenge to keep sports from dominating our family life. We want to do all the things to help our kids achieve their sports goals, but we also have family goals that are equally important (or maybe more important in the long run). How do we juggle it all? How do we ensure that our families aren't going in five different directions all the time, and missing out on simply being together? How do we ensure that our non-sports kids aren't constantly taking a back seat to the high-level athlete in the family? ON this episode, Jeff, Britt, and Brad (with 14 kids between them) discuss their own challenges in these areas including some tips and ideas that will help you come on on the other end of the sports journey with a healthy family dynamic.

11-year NFL QB Nick Foles is our guest on this episode, sharing great insights from his sports story that began as a multi-sport athlete growing up in Texas to becoming the Super Bowl MVP for the Philadelphia Eagles. Foles discusses how he developed his abilities as a youth and high school player, how he handled disappointment and adversity in college including how close he game to quitting, how he handled being a backup in the NFL who rose to the occasion to lead his team when his number was called. He also talks about becoming a sports dad himself, sharing his thoughts on the challenges in youths sports today. Finally, Nick answers five fun, rapid-fire questions from Jeff that allow us to get to know him a little better. Nick is known for being one of the best, high character guys on and off the field, and you will be inspirited listening to him.

Renowned sports psychologist Dr Caroline Silby has spent the last few decades working with high performance athletes in a variety of sports, including several Olympic Gold Medalists. On this episode, she shares her expertise, techniques, and tools to help young athletes achieve BELIEF, the mental state that enables maximum performance in the biggest moments. The guys talk with her about how young athletes develop belief, how they regain it if lost, how parents can contribute to both increased and diminished belief. They also discuss when parents should consider having their kids work with a mental performance expert, how to find a qualified one, and many more aspects of developing the right mindset for your young athlete.

The intensity of youth sports is increasing, and that's not debatable. Kids are playing more at younger ages - more practices, more tournaments, more games. More pressure to perform exists, and the expectations are higher than ever. As a result of these factors, the risk of burnout is also greater than ever. We've all heard the phrase "burnout," but what is it and what does it really look like? What are the factors that create burnout? What are the signs that my kid is experiencing it? And what steps can parents and coaches take to mitigate the risks of this happening? On this episode, the guys discuss the burnout issue in a comprehensive way, sharing from their personal experiences and from recent research It's easy to believe that burnout will never happen to your kid, but if you don't have a good understanding of the issues, you won't recognize it until it's too late.

Former NFL player, Head Coach, College Head Coach and current ESPN NFL Analyst Herb Edwards guests on this episode, and his reputation as a guy with vast experience who always shoots straight with his opinions is evidenced as he talks with the guys. In addition to sharing his own youth sports story, including the impact of his parents who allowed Herm to steer his own ship, he also shares interesting stories from his time as an NFL coach, including a fascinating story about 9/11 as the new coach of the New York Jets. Coach Edwards also talks about his time coaching the Arizona State Sun Devils, discussing the transfer portal, NIL, and some advice for parents. Finally, Herm shares his philosophy on coaching that is applicable to coaches at all levels.

3x Gold Medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings joins the show, sharing her continued passion for volleyball (beach and indoor), and for the growth of women's sports. Kerri shares how her love for volleyball began at an early age, in the midst of playing multiple sports and loving the "free play" aspect of childhood sports that was strongly encouraged by her parents. She also shares her experiences and development as a club and high school player who was eventually recruited to play Indoor at Stanford, where she became a 4x All American, NCAA Player of the Year, and NCAA Champion. Kerri also shares what drew her from Indoor to Beach, discusses her thoughts on what makes a great teammate, shares her advice on playing both club AND school volleyball, and also talks about her 1440 organization. In addition, as a mom of three young athletes, Kerri discusses her approach to sports parenting.