In this powerful episode of I Am Mentally Tough , host and Mental Toughness Coach Gladine Frasso is joined by licensed professional counselor Antonio Bolden to explore the transformative role of mindfulness in athletic performance and personal development. Together, they break down what mindfulness really means, how it differs from meditation, and why it’s essential for athletes to practice awareness without judgment—especially in high-pressure situations. Antonio shares practical tools and mind...
Jul 13, 2025•26 min•Ep. 33
In this insightful episode of I Am Mentally Tough, hosts Coach G (Gladine Frasso) and Coach David Anderson take a closer look at the current state of AAU basketball. They discuss the growing challenges athletes face with commitment, consistency, and the often-missed connection between talent and purposeful training. The conversation explores how complacency can hold young athletes back, why basketball IQ is just as important as physical skills, and what it means to truly develop as a player. Coa...
Jun 07, 2025•29 min•Ep. 32
In this episode of I Am Mentally Tough, host Gladine Frasso welcomes Coach Bianca Campbell for a powerful conversation on the role of mindfulness in sports. Together, they unpack how mindfulness helps athletes stay grounded in the present moment, reach peak performance, and recover from setbacks with greater resilience. Coach Campbell breaks down the true meaning of mindfulness, dispelling common myths—like the idea that mindfulness is soft or passive—and explains how legendary and elite athlete...
Apr 20, 2025•40 min•Ep. 31
In this episode, Coaches Gladine Frasso (Coach G) and David Anderson dive into the current culture of youth sports, with a particular focus on AAU basketball. They discuss the growing trend of athletes frequently switching teams, the challenges of building meaningful connections, and the critical role parents play in their children’s athletic development. The conversation also covers the pressures young athletes face, the importance of loyalty, and the impact of promises made by coaches. Additio...
Mar 12, 2025•38 min•Ep. 30
In this episode of I Am Mentally Tough podcast, host Gladine Frasso sits down with basketball skills and development trainer, Coach Dana, to discuss the crucial role of mental skills in an athlete's development. They dive into the impact of social media on young athletes, how it can create unrealistic comparisons, and why selecting a trainer should be based on fit rather than social media popularity. Coach Dana also emphasizes the importance of transparency in training and shares key advice for ...
Mar 04, 2025•27 min•Ep. 29
In this episode, Mental Toughness Coach, Gladine Frasso (Coach G.) and WNBA Skills and Development Coach David Anderson dive deep into the critical topic of emotional control in high-pressure situations. Drawing from years of experience coaching athletes at every level—from middle school to the WNBA—they discuss common negative emotions that arise during competition, how these emotions affect performance, and actionable strategies to help athletes bounce back stronger. They go over: Common Negat...
Jan 14, 2025•26 min•Ep. 28
In this episode of I Am Mentally Tough , we tackle an essential and often controversial topic: “Tough Love or Too Far?” As a Mental Toughness coach, I’ve seen firsthand the impact a coach’s approach can have on an athlete’s mindset, performance, and overall well-being. We’ll explore: What tough love truly means in coaching. The fine line between motivating athletes and pushing them too far. The red flags of coaching gone wrong. Practical tips for coaches to maintain a balance of high standards a...
Dec 16, 2024•35 min•Ep. 27
In this episode of the I Am Mentally Tough podcast, we sit down with Aisha Foy, a renowned NIL consultant, to explore the world of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities for athletes. Aisha shares invaluable insights on how athletes can leverage their personal brand not only for financial gain but also for personal development. She emphasizes the importance of documenting their journey, managing their online presence, and mastering public speaking to maximize NIL potential. Aisha also bre...
Oct 23, 2024•40 min
In this episode of the I Am Mentally Tough podcast, hosts Gladine Frasso (Coach G.) and Coach David Anderson dive into the essential role that role players have in basketball, whether they start on the court or come off the bench. They discuss the importance of embracing one's role, the mental toughness required to handle not getting much playing time, and the influence of parental expectations on athletes’ performances. By focusing on factors within their control and fostering a team-oriented m...
Oct 12, 2024•29 min
In this episode, Coach G. and Coach David dive deep into a critical topic that hits close to home for the basketball community: the importance of skill development versus playing year-round basketball games. Many players, especially in middle school and high school, are caught in the cycle of playing five seasons of basketball—middle school, AAU, spring league, summer league, and fall ball—without dedicating enough time to developing their skills and mental toughness. We explore why this is detr...
Sep 14, 2024•28 min
In this episode of the I Am Mentally Tough Podcast , Gladine Frasso and Coach David Anderson dive deep into the importance of summer preparation for basketball players. They explore how discipline and mental toughness play a crucial role in determining success during the basketball season. They discuss the concept of "The Harvest Doesn't Lie"—what athletes plant during the summer, whether hard work or laziness, will show when tryouts come around. The hosts also break down the factors that differ...
Sep 05, 2024•24 min
In this episode of the I Am Mentally Tough podcast, Coach G interviews her dear friend Charlie Smith, a keynote speaker and mental performance coach, about his motto "My Life, My Pen." Charlie shares his personal story of overcoming a violent childhood and substance abuse by taking control of his life's narrative. He discusses his five pillars of personal development, starting with knowing who you are and setting realistic goals. Coach G and Charlie emphasize the importance of building confidenc...
Jul 26, 2024•27 min
Tajah Muhammad is the Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of W.I.N.N. Network. She is also a Mindset Performance Coach, Motivational Speaker & Mentor. In this episode Tajah defines what is a growth mindset, the importance of it and how to build a growth mindset. Tajah has over 10+years coaching & mentoring youth, student-athletes, and corporate clients. She is currently a Doctoral Student of Management-Executive Leadership (2024). You can follow Tajah on IG HERE You can follow Tajah...
Mar 10, 2024•32 min
Melissa Boufounos is a Certified Holistic Nutritionist in the Ottawa area. A lifelong athlete, she specialize in sports nutrition and mainly work with teen and adolescent hockey players in her virtual private practice. Her mission is to help the next generation of hockey players optimize their diets and health so they can perform their best on and off the ice and avoid the mistakes she made growing up that cut her playing career short. In this episode Coach G. and Melissa discuss the importance ...
Feb 27, 2024•32 min•Season 3Ep. 1
In this podcast episode we had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Tywanna Smith. She has an extensive and comprehensive background in sports as a retired professional athlete, award-winning sports manager, and award-winning sports researcher. In this episode she discusses the conversations around confidence as it relates to an athlete's transition through and out of sports. She has honed processes and created programming to address this mindset shift and the necessary readiness to transition smoot...
Sep 17, 2023•30 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Monique A.J. Smith, is a Leadership Strategist that guides Athletics Departments/Sport Organizations and Individuals who wish to advance in Athletics Administration/Sports Management careers through her company, Seeds of Empowerment LLC. Smith, a Sports Management veteran of 30 plus years, was Adjunct Faculty at Hampton University teaching Sports Management Courses. Spring 2023, Monique published her 5th issue of Significance in Athletics and Sports, that features Black Women sharing their ‘Spec...
Aug 11, 2023•25 min•Season 2Ep. 8
In this episode, Coach Ebony Hood (Coach E.), talks about having confidence and how to confidently be your authentic self. She shares her personal stories how she grew her confidence and how she moved on from situations that could've broke her spirit and confidence. She also shares how to be your authentic self. Ebony Hood (38), a DC native, she’s a certified IMPACT Basketball Player Development Coach and USA Basketball Youth Development Coach; with a M.S. in Recreational Sports and Coaching Edu...
Aug 11, 2023•26 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Coach Dorian Lee, one of the most sought after Professional Skills and Development Basketball Coach shares his 8 Keys to maximizing your young athlete's potential. For nearly 2 decades, Dorian Lee has been considered one of the foremost authorities in basketball player development. Having worked with over 4,500 athletes worldwide. Our clientele represents a who’s who of basketball notables that include nationally ranked high school talent, elite college players, International, Olympic, WNBA, and...
Aug 05, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Dan Rigby is a public school teacher of 14 years and a recently retired wrestling coach. As a coach Dan spent more than 15 years coaching High School wrestling in public schools across Delaware. He has experience in rebuilding teams that had 0 wins before he became involved and also taking the most prominent program in the area and trying to maintain their winning ways. He was voted Delaware Coach of the year 3 times and although he is done formally coaching, we all know coaches never stop. Rece...
Jul 18, 2023•33 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Micayla McGee, suffered not one but two season ending injuries. Micayla shares her story on how she was able to mentally bounce back from her season ending injuries. Freshman year, she tore her right ACL in a basketball game and two years later she tore her left knee in a basketball game. She shares what were her go-to mental training skills that helped throughout the rehab process and entering her first game back from injury. Macayla's story is truly inspiring, and anyone can learn from how res...
Jun 10, 2023•30 min•Season 2Ep. 4
In this episode Coach G. and Coach Anderson invite William Carter the Founder of Student Assist and Student Athlete Iyanna Rogers who currently plays for University of Pennsylvania. Student Assist is a non-profit organization created to help students reach athletic and academic success in higher education and is NCAA CERTIFIED. William Carter discusses how AAU Coaches can help their athlete play at play at the next level. Iyanna Rogers: Four-year starter and two-year captain for Highland Springs...
Apr 22, 2023•29 min•Season 2Ep. 2
In today's episode we talk to Danny Ourian on how athletes can effectively handle pressure in their sport. Danny Ourian, M.A., is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant® with the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. "Coach Dan" is currently an Affiliate Faculty member and Placement Coordinator with Holy Names University's Sport and Performance Psychology Department. Dan earned his Master’s degree in Sport Psychology from John F. Kennedy University, where he completed a research thesis on...
Feb 07, 2022•29 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Ray Bullock, Sr. has worked professionally in the ABL, CBA, and USBL. His college experience includes working both men's and women's basketball in Divisions I, II, and III. With may years' experience, Ray is a professed life-long student of the game. As a college assignor, he gave lots of officials their first collegiate experience at the NAIA and Division I level. Ray Bullock has officiated the game of basketball from the middle school, high school, collegiate and professional level. Ray discus...
Jan 26, 2022•45 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Today our guest is Tuck Taylor who is a Mental Performance Specialist and the owner of Nuero Beast. Nuero Beast is a science-based program that is designed to give athletes a competitive advantage by optimizing the way they perceive and process information. Tune in as we talk about mental fatigue and what athletes can do to increase their athletic performance TucK Taylor Instagram - Neuro Beast Where you can find Mental Performance Coach Gladine Frasso and book her for one on one sessions Instag...
Nov 10, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Martin Soaries is the owner of Basketball Society and the Co-Owner of Holistic Hooper. Join us as he talks about what exactly is meditation, the myths we hear about mediation, how basketball players can add meditation to their routines, and he takes us through a quick meditation practice. Martin can be found on Instagram - Basketball Society and Holistic Hooper Where you can find Mental Performance Coach Gladine Frasso and book her for one on one sessions Instagram Twitter Website Where you can ...
Oct 29, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Part II of II. In this episode we talk to Coach Shay Robinson. Coach Robinson was the former assistant coach for the Maryland Women's Basketball Team and is now the current assistant coach for Ole Miss women's basketball team. This is part two of two with Coach Shay Robinson. In this episode Coach Shay talks about the impact Coach Yo has made on the Ole Miss Women's Basketball team, he also talks about working with one of the best Mental Performance Coaches in the Game Stu Singer and shares some...
Sep 30, 2021•31 min•Season 1Ep. 8
This episode we talk to Coach Shay Robinson. Coach Robinson was the former assistant coach for the Maryland Women's Basketball Team and is now the current assistant coach for Ole Miss women's basketball team. This is part I of a part II Series. In part I we talk about Shay's background and past success with Maryland Women's Basketball Team. He shares with us: What a holistic approach to basketball looks like The impact one of the world's top mental performance coaches had on the Maryland's Women...
Sep 13, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Sylvia Hatchell is a Naismith Hall of Famer, Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, 3X National Coach of the Year, and 3X ACC Coach of the Year. At North Carolina she won a NCAA Championship, made 3 NCAA Final Four Appearances, made 23 NCAA appearances and has 8 ACC Tournament Championships. At Francis Marion she won the AIAW and NAIA Championship. Sylvia is also a 3X author of books: Fight! Fight!: Discovering Inner Strength When Blindsided By Life The Complete Guide to Coaching Girls' Basketball: Bu...
Aug 01, 2021•50 min•Season 1Ep. 6
In this episode Gilbert arenas dives into Coaches being too much in control and needing to give their players more ways to lead the team, the different types of leaders we see on teams and how athletes can gain and sustain their confidence. Gilbert Arenas Information Here is his Instagram Here is his podcast Coach G. Information Here is her Instagram Here is her website FREE Goal Setting Guide/E-book for athletes Here is the information for the Athlete Development Workshop Coach David Informatio...
Jul 09, 2021•22 min•Season 1Ep. 5
In this episode Gilbert Talks about the importance of having time management, a pre-game routine, an in game routine and a post game routine. With today's game not having a lot of shot blockers Gilbert tells us how much he thinks he would average in today's game and why. Coach David Anderson and Gilbert talks about how young players today can develop the complete package on the court and finally Gilbert talks about the role of parents in sports. Gilbert Arenas Information Here is his Instagram H...
Jun 04, 2021•20 min•Season 1Ep. 4
