Today, we are tackling one of the most important topics facing people today and one that is tremendously prevalent in the athlete community. Mental health issues are something that are becoming more and more prevalent in today’s sports world among athletes of all ages. While we are certainly not experts on the topic, we do have experience dealing with some of these issues from a personal level as well as from a coaching and parent perspective.

Athletes are definitely very susceptible to anxiety and depression because of the amount of pressure athletics can bring. However, so many coaches and parents don’t talk with their athletes about how to handle it. Throughout this conversation, we talk about what we believe are some of the pillars of positive mental health as well as some practical ways to fight against those demons that so many people face. 

We really enjoyed this conversation and hope you do as well. Here is episode 12 of Unlocking Athletes

Welcome back to “Unlocking Athletes” I am really excited to release this episode that we have titled “Coach’s Roundtable” Today, we’ve got Russ Dixon joining the podcast. Russ coaches our kids class here at Evolution Athletics as well as adult fitness classes. He’s been working with the kids program for about 6 months now and has grown it from 1 or 2 kids to over 20 and does a great job of giving them some basic fundamentals of fitness as well as providing a fun atmosphere to help create a positive relationship with the gym and exercise

Throughout the episode, we talk through some of the similarities and differences in coaching kids vs HS athletes vs Adults. What the goals should be for each level as well as some of the issues we see as coaches working with different groups. I hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed recording it

Sit back and enjoy episode 11 of “Unlocking Athletes”

What’s up everybody, we hope you enjoyed Episode 9 last week as we talked about goal setting and how to set SMART goals. Part of our SMART acronym was “Authentic” and making sure that your goals align with who you are and what you value. 

That sparked an interesting conversation and we wanted to dive into it a little deeper. In this episode we talk about the importance of values using the framework of a great book by Greg Everett called Becoming Tough. We live in a very instant gratification, self serving, and weakening society in a lot of ways. As coaches we preach toughness to our athletes constantly, but rarely do we define it and talk about practical ways to improve it. Coach Everett does a great job of giving us a context to discuss toughness and how we can apply the principles to our jobs as leaders and coaches.

We hope you enjoy episode 10 of “Unlocking Athletes”

We’re Back! It’s been a few months since we put out a podcast, but I am happy to say we are back to it in 2024 with a new excitement and a new format. My best Friend and I will be co-hosting this show moving forward. If you don’t know Tyler Crump, make sure you go back and listen to Episode 8 so you can get the background. We will still have different guests as often as we can, but we are excited to be hosting this show together!

In this episode we dive into a very common conversation at the beginning of each new year. Google says that 34% of Americans made resolutions or goals going into 2024. We decided we wanted to take this podcast and talk about a very common practice when setting goals and that is the acronym SMART.

We will talk through some of our goals, and what it means to set quality goals for yourself and as coaches, how we can help our athletes set and achieve their goals this year. I hope you enjoy episode 9 of "Unlocking Athletes."

Today I am really excited to have my best friend in the world with me on the podcast. Tyler Crump has been in the fitness industry coaching since 2010 working in multiple gyms in North Carolina as well as Ohio. He is currently the Head Coach at College Hill Crossfit in Greensboro, NC.

I’ve known Crump since 2005 when we were recruited and played college football together. After living on my couch for most of our Sophomore year, we became best friends and have been ever since. We were best men in eachother’s weddings and have shared a lot of similar life experiences along the way. One of those experiences that we share is a passion for coaching people - which is what we’re gonna talk about today. 

We dive into some of the issues surrounding the fitness industry from both of our perspectives. His being more of the competitive fitness athletes and mine more on the Sports Performance side of things - as well as some common ground with coaching the general population of gym-goers.

I’m extremely proud to call this guy my best friend and very lucky to have him in my life - I hope you enjoy episode 8 of "Unlocking Athletes"

I’ve been working with and coaching HS athletes now for almost 14 years. During that time, Almost every young athlete says they want to be D1. My response has always been....are you sure? Most kids like the idea of playing D1 without ever understanding what it actually takes.

Today, we are talking with one of my best friends in the world - Coach Greg Harbaugh. Greg is the Co-Offensive Coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Minnesota. He has worked his butt off through the ranks of D3 all the way up to where he is now making 7-8 coaching stops along the way.

Throughout the conversation, we go through what college coaches are looking for in players and what separates good, great and elite level players. We also go into what it takes to play in college at each level and what it truly looks like to be a college athlete.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did - buckle up for episode 7 of Unlocking Athletes.

All athletes have a secret superpower at their disposal… Ask Elite athletes in any sport and you’ll hear about this same power. What’s ironic is it’s probably the most under-utilized tool that athletes use. We’re talking about recovery. 

Today on the podcast, I am privileged to have Jen Palin. Jen is a Massage Therapist living in Richmond Hill, GA. She is the owner and operator of Headstrong Massage - a company which she started and built from the ground up to help athletes in all walks of life get the most out of their bodies by increasing their ability to recover and get back to 100%.

On top of being an entrepreneur, Jen is also a former Division 1 athlete, mom, coach and still athlete herself. Throughout this discussion, in addition to the importance of recovery we talk about the challenge of teaching female athletes about the importance of strength training both physically and mentally. Finally, we get into the balance of parenting and coaching and how to get the most out of younger athletes

I hope you enjoy episode 6 of “Unlocking Athletes”

It’s hard to scroll through instagram, walk through a bookstore or go through youtube without hearing about the subject of leadership. From Jocko to David Goggins to Tony Robbins to Jordan Peterson - Leadership is definitely a buzz word right now. What does it mean? How do we get better at it?

 Today we have my friend and Pastor, Keith Waller. Keith is currently the pastor of New Life Church in Apex, NC. Prior to that, he spent over 10 years as a Green Beret in the US Army and finished his career as a Special Operations instructor at Ft. Bragg

Recently, he wrote a book called “Shut up and Lead” outlining some principles of leadership and some practical applications for athletes, parents, coaches and just the general population of people. As a Military operator, husband, father and Pastor, Keith has a wide array of experience of leadership styles and personalities to pull from. It was very interesting being able to hear how he used all those experiences to mold him into the leader he is today and how we can apply those principles to our everyday lives.

I hope you enjoy episode 5 of “Unlocking Athletes”

Today we are privileged to hear from a friend of mine Greg Titiriga. Greg is currently a recruiting specialist with Next College Student Athlete and has helped thousands of athletes find the right fit for them to continue their sport at the college level. 

Greg has been through the recruiting process as a player where he ended up at Fresno State University and as a HS and College Coach before joining NCSA in 2017.

Throughout this conversation we are going to talk about some basics of recruiting. We go through some of the mistakes and assumptions that a lot of athletes and families make when talking about recruiting. More importantly we are going to talk about What to do, when to do it and how to do it to give your athlete their best chance not just to play some place in college, but help them find the RIGHT place

Sit back, take notes and I hope you enjoy episode 4 of Unlocking Athletes

Today, I am very excited to have Carlos Collazo on the podcast. I have known Carlos since 2010 - when he was a sophomore in HS playing baseball. Over the years we have become good friends and it has been awesome to see him grow into success doing something he loves to do. 

Carlos is now the lead writer for Baseball America focusing most of his attention on the Major League Baseball Draft. He watches thousands of HS and College players each year, talks to scouts, coaches and team management about the potential of HS and College baseball players to play at the professional level. You’ll also see him on MLB network and ESPN during draft coverage.

In this episode, we dive into the idea of early sport specialization. Then into some of the things that he sees that separates good players and great players. Lastly, we talk about some of the benefits and pitfalls of the club and travel baseball circuits and what to look out for as a player or parent.